Kendo returned to the disposal grounds before dawn.
He brought tools this time. A proper chisel. A reinforced pry bar. A lantern with extra oil.
The collapsed trench remained undisturbed.
He descended more carefully than before, using rope anchored to a stable post near the pit's edge.
The cavern welcomed him with the same oppressive stillness.
But it no longer felt empty.
The massive skeleton loomed in the dim lantern light, ribs arching overhead like the remains of some ancient cathedral.
He approached the same rib where he had harvested the first fragment.
The gap he had carved was visible.
The surrounding bone looked darker now.
He pressed his hand against it.
Warm.
Warmer than before.
He inhaled slowly.
"Just ore," he murmured to himself.
He began chiseling carefully along a larger deposit this time. The sound echoed sharply through the chamber.
Each strike reverberated along the ribcage.
Dust fell in thin streams from above.
As the second fragment loosened, the faint vibration returned beneath his boots.
Stronger.
He paused.
Silence.
Then, faintly—
A rhythm.
Slow.
Deep.
Not sound.
Sensation.
Like pressure building behind his thoughts.
He shook his head and resumed chiseling, faster now.
The fragment broke free.
The cavern trembled.
A crack formed along one of the distant vertebrae.
Kendo's breath caught.
He extinguished the lantern instinctively.
Darkness swallowed the chamber.
For several long seconds, he stood still, heart pounding.
Then, across the cavern—
Two faint points of dim red light flickered within the skull's hollow sockets.
He blinked.
The lights vanished.
Only darkness remained.
His pulse roared in his ears.
He relit the lantern with trembling hands.
The skull sat unmoving.
Empty.
Silent.
Kendo swallowed hard.
He secured the fragment and moved toward the rope.
He did not look back as he climbed.
As he reached the surface, a hairline crack spread silently across the skull below.