The aircraft had been in the air for nearly an hour, but nobody inside was talking about the mountain anymore.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable. It was simply the kind that settled over people after witnessing something they couldn't explain.
Kael sat beside the window, watching the clouds drift beneath the aircraft. The mountain had disappeared from sight a long time ago, yet his mind remained there.
Velaris.
The word continued to bother him.
He had never heard it before the expedition, yet the moment he saw it carved beneath the ancient map, something inside him had recognized it.
Not the meaning.
Not the place.
Only the word.
He rested his forehead against the cold window.
Behind his reflection, the faintest golden glow appeared.
Heaven's Gate.
Kael looked down immediately.
The glow vanished.
He waited.
Nothing happened.
He slowly opened his hand.
The black mark on his palm was still there.
For a moment, he thought about the voice inside the underground chamber.
You were not the first.
He hadn't told Iria.
He hadn't told Elian.
Only Cain knew.
And even Cain had asked him only one question after they left the mountain.
Who do you think it was talking about?
Kael still didn't have an answer.
The aircraft shook slightly as it passed through a layer of clouds.
Cain looked over from across the aisle.
"You haven't slept."
Kael glanced at him.
"Neither have you."
Cain gave a faint smile.
"I'm not the one who saw something inside that door."
Kael looked back toward the window.
"I didn't see anything."
"You heard something."
Kael didn't respond.
Cain didn't press him.
That was one of the things Kael appreciated about him. Cain knew when to ask and when to wait.
A few seats behind them, Iria was speaking quietly with Dr. Elian.
Elian had several pages spread across his tablet.
Every few seconds, he would scroll back to one particular image.
The circular structure.
Thirty-six grooves.
Seven containing traces of ancient residue.
Twenty-nine empty.
The same numbers had appeared too many times to dismiss.
But they still didn't know what the numbers meant.
The aircraft's communication system suddenly clicked.
"Central Command to expedition team. Prepare for immediate debriefing upon arrival."
Elian sighed.
"Immediate?"
Iria looked at him.
"They've probably been waiting since we entered the mountain."
"Probably."
Kael remained silent.
The debriefing didn't concern him as much as the report that had been sent before their return.
The fragment.
The one that had moved.
It had been dormant when it left the Association's secure facility.
It had remained dormant while traveling.
And according to the last transmission, it was still dormant.
Yet it had crossed a distance that should have been impossible without outside interference.
Kael had one question.
Why?
The aircraft began descending.
Through the window, the Association's central complex appeared below.
Unlike the ancient structures beneath Velaris, the headquarters was bright and alive.
Vehicles moved through the outer grounds. Hunters walked between buildings. Researchers carried equipment from one facility to another.
It looked normal.
Almost reassuring.
Kael knew better.
The world had changed during the last few weeks.
Awakened were appearing everywhere.
Monsters were behaving differently.
Ancient structures were being discovered.
And somewhere beneath all of it, thirty-six fragments remained scattered across the world.
Seven had awakened.
Twenty-nine had not.
At least, that was what the Association believed.
The aircraft landed.
The moment the doors opened, several officials were already waiting.
Director Varen stood at the front.
His expression was calm, but the tablet in his hand told Kael otherwise.
"Welcome back."
Cain stepped onto the landing platform.
"Good to be back."
Varen's eyes moved toward Kael.
"You and I need to talk."
Kael nodded.
"I know."
Iria looked between them.
"That sounds reassuring."
Varen almost smiled.
"It wasn't meant to."
They entered the headquarters together.
The first debriefing lasted nearly three hours.
Maps were displayed.
Recordings were reviewed.
Photographs of the underground chambers were examined repeatedly.
Elian explained what they had found beneath the mountain, carefully separating observation from theory.
"The structure predates every known settlement in that region," he said. "The exact age is uncertain, but whoever built it understood a system involving thirty-six locations."
One official leaned forward.
"You're saying the fragments were placed there intentionally?"
Elian paused.
"I'm saying the evidence supports deliberate placement. I am not saying we know who placed them, or why."
Another official looked at Kael.
"And the two Gates?"
The room became quiet.
Kael looked at the screen.
A photograph showed the circular door beneath the mountain.
Two faint energy signatures had been recorded around Kael's hand when he touched it.
One golden.
One black.
"I don't know," Kael said.
The official frowned.
"You've had these abilities for months."
"I know."
"And you still don't know what they are?"
"No."
The answer came without hesitation.
The official leaned back.
"That should concern us."
Cain's eyes hardened.
"It concerns Kael more than anyone here."
Varen raised a hand before the discussion could escalate.
"Enough."
The room settled.
Varen looked at Kael.
"Did the Gates respond differently inside the chamber?"
Kael considered his answer.
"Yes."
"How?"
"Heaven's Gate appeared."
"And Hell's Gate?"
"A line."
"Nothing more?"
Kael shook his head.
"It didn't open."
Varen studied him for several seconds.
"Did you hear anything?"
Kael remembered the voice.
Two doors.
One remembers.
One waits.
He looked at the table.
"Nothing important."
Cain glanced at him.
He knew Kael was hiding something.
But he said nothing.
Varen noticed the exchange.
He didn't comment.
Instead, he changed the display.
A map appeared.
A single point was highlighted.
"This is the last known location of the moving fragment."
Kael looked up.
The location was far from Velaris.
"What happened there?"
"We don't know yet."
"Then why show it to us?"
"Because it stopped."
Kael's expression changed.
"When?"
"Twenty-seven minutes ago."
The room became silent.
Varen enlarged the map.
"The fragment traveled toward an old site that had previously registered no activity. The moment it reached the area, our monitoring equipment detected a second signal."
Elian leaned forward.
"A fragment awakening?"
"No."
Varen shook his head.
"The fragment remains dormant."
Kael stared at the map.
"Then what produced the signal?"
"That," Varen said, "is what we want to find out."
A researcher activated another screen.
The new image showed a dark landscape surrounded by rock formations.
At its center stood a stone structure.
It looked nothing like the chambers beneath Velaris.
There was no entrance.
No visible door.
No symbols.
Just a circular depression in the ground.
And at the center of that depression—
Nothing.
An empty space.
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"Something was there."
Elian looked at him.
"You think so?"
Kael nodded.
"The ground is damaged around the edges."
The researcher enlarged the image.
He was right.
The circular depression wasn't natural.
Its surface had been carved into precise sections.
Something had once occupied the center.
Something heavy.
Something that had been removed.
Varen folded his arms.
"There's more."
The image changed.
A scan appeared.
Beneath the empty space was a hollow chamber.
But the chamber wasn't connected to the surface.
There was no passage.
No tunnel.
No entrance.
Iria frowned.
"So how did the fragment get there?"
"We don't know."
Kael looked at the image for a long moment.
Then he noticed something.
"Move back."
The researcher reversed the scan.
Kael pointed.
"There."
A thin line ran beneath the circular depression.
"What is that?"
The researcher zoomed in.
Nobody spoke.
It wasn't a tunnel.
It was a groove.
A single narrow groove extending from the empty center toward the eastern edge of the structure.
Elian's expression changed.
"That resembles the grooves we found beneath Velaris."
"Not exactly," Kael said.
Everyone looked at him.
Kael stood.
"The ones at Velaris formed a circle."
He pointed at the image.
"This one leads somewhere."
Varen looked toward the researcher.
"Send a team."
The researcher hesitated.
"Director, the signal is still active."
"How strong?"
"Very weak."
"Then send a standard investigation unit."
Cain stood.
"I'll go."
Varen looked at him.
"I expected that."
Iria immediately stood as well.
"I'm coming."
Varen looked at Kael.
Kael didn't wait for the question.
"I'm going too."
Varen sighed.
"I knew that was coming."
Elian closed his tablet.
"Then I suppose I'm going as well."
"No," Varen said.
Elian stopped.
"This isn't a research expedition yet. We don't know what we're dealing with."
Elian raised an eyebrow.
"You sent me into the mountain."
"And I'm trying to learn from that mistake."
Cain laughed quietly.
Iria looked at Kael.
"You hear that?"
Kael nodded.
"Very clearly."
For the first time since their return, the tension in the room broke.
But it didn't last.
A warning alarm suddenly sounded.
Everyone turned.
The lights flickered once.
Then twice.
A researcher looked at his monitor.
"Director…"
"What?"
"We just lost contact with the remote site."
Varen's expression changed.
"How long?"
"Seven seconds."
The connection returned.
The screen remained black.
Then a single image appeared.
The circular depression.
The empty center.
And something standing beside it.
The image was too distorted to identify.
It appeared to be a person.
Or something shaped roughly like one.
It stood motionless.
The transmission ended.
Nobody spoke.
Kael stared at the blank screen.
He hadn't felt a monster.
He hadn't felt an Awakened.
He hadn't felt either Gate.
Whatever had appeared there had left almost no energy behind.
Varen turned toward the operations team.
"Prepare the aircraft."
Cain was already moving.
Kael followed.
As they left the room, Iria caught up with him.
"You saw something."
Kael looked at her.
"No."
She studied his face.
"You're a terrible liar."
Kael smiled faintly.
"Then don't ask questions."
"I wasn't going to."
They continued walking.
"I'm still going to."
Kael shook his head.
For a moment, things felt almost normal.
Then Heaven's Gate flickered.
Kael stopped.
Iria noticed.
"What?"
Kael looked at his hand.
Nothing.
The sensation was already gone.
But this time, it hadn't come from Heaven's Gate.
It had come from somewhere deeper.
Something had answered.
Not the fragment.
Something else.
Kael closed his hand.
"Nothing."
They continued toward the aircraft.
Neither of them noticed the monitor behind them.
On a maintenance screen, a small status window had appeared.
FRAGMENT 17
STATUS: DORMANT
LOCATION: UNCHANGED
Then another line appeared beneath it.
SECONDARY RESPONSE DETECTED
A researcher walking past didn't notice.
The line disappeared a few seconds later.
The journey to the site took less than an hour.
This time, the Association didn't send a large expedition.
Six Hunters.
Kael.
Cain.
Iria.
The aircraft flew low over a vast stretch of rocky terrain.
No cities existed nearby.
No settlements.
Only old cliffs, dry valleys, and scattered remains of structures that had been abandoned long before the Association existed.
The pilot pointed ahead.
"There."
Kael looked through the window.
The site was smaller than he expected.
A circular stone formation surrounded a shallow depression.
There were no buildings.
No visible ruins.
Nothing that suggested the location had once been important.
The aircraft landed several hundred meters away.
The Hunters moved out first.
Cain followed.
Kael stepped onto the ground.
Nothing happened.
No pressure.
No strange energy.
No Gate.
He looked toward the structure.
"It's quiet."
Iria frowned.
"You say that like it's bad."
"It usually is."
They approached carefully.
The closer they came, the stranger the place felt.
Not because of what was there.
Because of what wasn't.
There were no insects.
No birds.
No wind passing through the rocks.
Even their footsteps seemed strangely muted.
Cain raised one hand.
Everyone stopped.
He pointed toward the center.
The circular depression was exactly as it appeared in the recording.
Empty.
Kael walked around the edge.
The stone was ancient.
Unlike the structures beneath Velaris, these stones were rough and weathered.
No polished walls.
No glowing crystals.
No elaborate carvings.
Just one narrow groove.
It began at the center and extended toward the eastern edge.
Kael crouched beside it.
He didn't touch it.
Something about the groove bothered him.
It looked less like a path and more like a channel.
Iria crouched beside him.
"What do you think?"
"I don't know."
She smiled.
"At least you're honest."
Kael looked toward the center.
"What was placed here?"
Cain approached.
"Whatever it was, it was heavy."
"How do you know?"
"Look."
Cain pointed toward the ground.
There were marks.
Four shallow impressions.
Like the corners of something that had once stood there.
Elian's absence suddenly became noticeable.
Kael studied the impressions.
Four corners.
A circular base.
A groove leading away.
It wasn't a fragment.
At least, not one like the objects they'd found before.
Then Kael saw something.
A tiny black mark.
Near the eastern end of the groove.
He reached toward it.
Cain immediately grabbed his wrist.
"Don't."
Kael looked at him.
"I'm not going to touch it."
Cain released him.
Kael leaned closer.
The mark wasn't a fragment.
It was a symbol.
A simple line crossed by another.
He had seen it before.
Not beneath Velaris.
Somewhere else.
In his dreams.
But before he could remember where, the ground trembled.
Everyone stepped back.
The circular depression remained empty.
Nothing emerged.
Instead, the narrow groove began to glow.
Very faintly.
A line of pale light traveled from the center toward the eastern edge.
Kael's hand began to burn.
He looked down.
The black mark on his palm had changed.
For the first time, a thin golden line crossed it.
Heaven's Gate appeared for less than a second.
Then vanished.
At the same moment, something answered beneath the ground.
Not a roar.
Not an explosion.
A click.
Like a lock turning.
Everyone heard it.
Cain drew his weapon.
"Something moved."
Kael stared at the empty center.
"No."
Cain looked at him.
"Then what was that?"
Kael slowly raised his eyes.
"Something unlocked."
The stone beneath them shifted.
A narrow opening appeared at the center of the depression.
Cold air rose from below.
And somewhere deep beneath the site, something began to hum.
Kael took one step forward.
Then stopped.
A faint black line appeared in the air beside him.
Hell's Gate.
For the first time since Velaris, it didn't say WAIT.
There were no words.
Only darkness.
And from somewhere beyond that darkness came a sound.
Three slow knocks.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Kael stared at the Gate.
Nobody else seemed to hear them.
Heaven's Gate appeared on the opposite side.
Golden light met black.
The two Gates remained closed.
But for the first time, they were facing each other.
Kael whispered,
"What are you waiting for?"
The black Gate disappeared.
Below them, the underground chamber opened completely.
And far away, inside a sealed facility where twenty-nine dormant fragments remained under observation, one monitoring screen suddenly changed.
A single line appeared.
FRAGMENT 17 — DORMANT
SECONDARY RESPONSE: ACTIVE
Then another line slowly formed beneath it.
SOURCE: UNKNOWN
No alarm sounded.
No fragment awakened.
But somewhere beneath the world, something had answered.
And this time—
it had answered Kael.