HOKKAIDO, JAPAN — SIX DAYS AFTER THE ATTACK
The silence covering the Minamoto mansion was the kind that only a few places ever know. It was not the peaceful silence of snow falling over the ancient pines. It was the silence left by the dead when no one remains to mourn them.
The stone walls, once imposing, showed deep fractures where magical energy had escaped during the battle. Parts of the east wing were still standing, but the main tower had collapsed onto itself. The central courtyard, where Tanaka Minamoto had fought his final battle, was covered by a layer of ice and ash that the northern wind refused to disperse.
Three black helicopters flew over the area in tight formation. They carried no visible insignia, but their active camouflage systems revealed technology far beyond conventional standards. They descended onto the damaged landing platform with the precision of those who had rehearsed the maneuver hundreds of times.
The hatches opened almost simultaneously.
The first to step out was Haruki Minamoto.
He was twenty-seven years old, although his gaze reflected more time than any clock could measure. He was Tanaka's eldest son, and the mark he now carried on his right forearm — a stylized dragon, barely scarred — weighed on him like a sentence he had never asked for.
Behind him descended twelve elite combatants of the Minamoto family. Their tactical armor, forged from magical alloys and advanced technology, absorbed the dawn light without reflecting it. Each carried activated minor relics, prepared for any eventuality.
The second helicopter deployed Atlas agents.
Kenji Arata was the first to step onto Japanese soil. At his side, Elena Kowalska adjusted the parameters of her detection visor while observing the ruins with a mixture of respect and apprehension.
Behind them came twenty more operatives. They were not magic users, but each carried next-generation magical weaponry designed specifically to confront dimensional threats.
The third helicopter remained in the air, providing coverage and perimeter surveillance.
Haruki walked toward the center of the courtyard without saying a word. His boots left deep prints in the snow mixed with ash. When he reached the exact place where his father had fallen, he stopped.
There was no body. The attackers had taken everything, as if they wanted to erase even the memory of those who had defended that place.
But Haruki did not need a body to know what had happened there.
The mark on his arm began to glow faintly.
—I'm sorry, father —he murmured quietly—. I couldn't arrive in time.
Kenji approached with measured steps, stopping at a respectful distance.
—Mr. Minamoto —he said in a low voice—. We should begin the tracking as soon as possible. If any trace of the attackers remains—
—There are no attackers here —Haruki interrupted without taking his eyes off the ground—. They left days ago. But they left something behind.
Elena, who had been analyzing the perimeter with her visor, confirmed Haruki's words.
—He's right. The energy signatures are weak, but there is something… strange. As if something had been sealed beneath the rubble.
Haruki nodded slowly.
—The dimensional seal wasn't completely destroyed. My father activated an emergency lock before he fell. The Kartnod freed their fleet, but they couldn't take everything.
Kenji frowned.
—What remained sealed?
Haruki looked directly at him.
—The most valuable thing this mansion possessed: the original records of the Supreme Beings. The first negotiations, the agreements, the truth about the creation of the bearers.
Elena felt a chill run down her spine.
—That information…
—That information —Haruki confirmed— is the reason they attacked this place with such force. They didn't only want to free the fleet. They wanted to erase history.
The team began to deploy.
Minamoto operatives established a security perimeter around what remained of the south tower. Atlas agents activated their detection devices, scanning every centimeter of rubble in search of residual magical traces.
Kenji worked alongside two specialized technicians, adjusting the parameters of a portable dimensional scanner. The readings were erratic, distorted by the residual energy of the battle, but something slowly began to emerge from the data.
—Here —he said suddenly, pointing to a specific area of the ground—. There's a subterranean chamber. The protection seals are still active.
Elena moved closer to observe the projection generated by the scanner. A rectangular structure, perfectly defined, appeared about fifteen meters below the surface.
—How do we access it? —she asked.
Haruki was already moving.
—There's a passage from the west wing. If the seals remain intact, the entrance should still be there.
The group advanced cautiously through the rubble. Security operatives covered every angle, anticipating possible ambushes. But they encountered no resistance. Only silence and destruction.
The access passage was exactly where Haruki said it would be. A stone door covered with ancient runes remained closed. The mark on Haruki's arm shone brighter when he extended his hand to touch it.
The runes reacted to the contact.
A deep, resonant sound echoed through the corridor. The stone began to move, sliding slowly aside, as if the building itself were deciding whether to allow them entry.
Behind the door, a staircase descended into darkness.
Haruki went down first.
The underground chamber was larger than any of them had imagined.
Its walls were covered with inscriptions in languages that even Kenji, with all his knowledge, could not recognize. In the center, on a pedestal of black stone, rested several scrolls made of a material that resembled metal, yet was older than any known alloy.
—The original records —Elena murmured in astonishment.
Kenji approached slowly, as if afraid that even the slightest movement might make them vanish.
—This… this predates the Five Families. This predates the Supreme Beings.
Haruki shook his head.
—No. These were written after the Supreme Beings withdrew. But the first bearers wrote them. Using their own blood and essence.
Elena swallowed.
—What do they say?
Haruki did not answer immediately. He stepped closer to the pedestal and extended his hand. The mark on his arm shone with an intensity that illuminated the entire chamber.
The scrolls reacted.
One of them began to unfold slowly, as if time itself had paused to allow its reading. The inscriptions glowed with golden light, projecting images into the air before them.
They were images of another age.
A man —tall, with features disturbingly familiar— stood before an assembly of luminous figures.
The Supreme Beings.
—The first bearer —Haruki whispered.
The image showed the man receiving the mark. But it was not a ceremony of selection.
It was something else.
The first bearer was not being chosen.
He was volunteering.
And what he offered was not only his life.
It was his identity. His memory. His entire essence.
—For the seal to be eternal —Haruki translated as the images continued— the bearer had to fragment himself. His body would die, but his essence would remain linked to the mark. And each time the mark chose a new bearer, that essence would partially awaken.
Elena felt the air leave her lungs.
—Then Noah…
—Noah is not just a bearer —Haruki confirmed—. He is the vessel in which the essence of the first is fully awakening.
Kenji stepped back.
—That explains Brazil. Why they stole the relic. They want him to awaken.
—For what? —Elena asked—. To control him?
Haruki slowly shook his head.
—To free him. The first bearer knew something the families have hidden for millennia. Something about the Kartnod. Something about the original war.
—What kind of something? —Elena insisted.
Haruki looked at her.
—The real reason the Supreme Beings withdrew.
Silence fell over the chamber like a physical weight.
No one spoke for several seconds.
It was broken by an alert from Kenji's communicator.
—We have movement on the surface —a voice reported—. Not friendly.
Haruki reacted instantly.
—Seal the chamber. Protect the records at all costs.
The operatives moved with perfect coordination.
But when they reached the surface, there were no enemies.
Only a message.
Written in magic in the air before them.
The words glowed red:
"The first bearer will awaken. And when he does, he will remember the truth you hid. The question is not whether we are ready. The question is whether you are."
Haruki stared at the message in silence.
The mark on his arm continued glowing.
And far from there, thousands of kilometers away, the Eco-55 medical aircraft crossed the night skies of Europe on its way toward France, transporting a bearer who still did not know he was about to remember everything.
ORLEANS MANSION — FRANCE — TWO DAYS LATER
Night was falling over Marseille when the Eco-55 unit finally landed on the hidden platform of the Orleans mansion.
The hatches opened and the medical team descended first, preparing Eleonor's transfer to the recovery facilities. Sophie stepped out behind them, her face marked by exhaustion and tension from the last few days.
Noah was the last to exit.
He walked with steady steps, without assistance, despite medical monitors recommending absolute rest. His eyes scanned the surroundings calmly — a calm that unsettled those who knew him.
Étienne Orleans waited for him at the base of the platform.
Beside him stood Elena and Kenji, who had arrived from Japan hours earlier.
—Welcome to France, young bearer —Étienne said solemnly.
Noah looked directly at him.
—I don't need welcomes. I need answers.
Kenji stepped forward.
—We have much to tell you. About the chamber in Japan. About the original records. About—
—About the first bearer —Noah interrupted calmly.
Silence fell instantly.
—I already know —Noah continued—. I saw everything in the Chamber of Memory.
He looked at them one by one.
—And now I need to know something.
—What? —Elena asked softly.
Noah inhaled slowly.
—Where is the relic stolen in Brazil?
And somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, the green stone medallion glowed brighter than ever.
As if it had heard the question.
As if it knew its moment was approaching.