Chương 72: The House at the Center

The eastern settlement did not return to normal after Varek and his men withdrew. People emerged from their houses slowly, looking toward the road where the mercenaries had disappeared, but no one celebrated the fact that they had survived. There was no relief in the air, only the uneasy understanding that something had happened which was larger than a group of armed strangers arriving at their gates. Leo stood in the middle of the settlement with his sword still in its sheath, watching the eastern mountains.

The pale light above Mount Shinkai had disappeared. The bell had stopped. Yet the ground beneath his feet still carried a faint vibration. Rin remained beside him, his attention fixed on the road.

"He knew my brother." Leo glanced at him.

"Yes."

"He saw him."

"Yes."

"And Kaien entered the mountain twice."

"Yes." Rin's fingers tightened around the hilt of his blade.

"You don't seem surprised."

"I am."

"You don't look surprised."

"I rarely do." Rin stared at him for a moment, then exhaled.

"You're difficult to read."

"So are you."

"I've been trying to find my brother for three years."

"That explains some of it." Rin looked toward the mountain again.

"What do you think happened to him?" Leo did not answer immediately. There were too many possibilities. Kaien could have found something beneath Mount Shinkai and become trapped. He could have discovered the fragments and followed them willingly. He could have encountered the same people who had been searching for them. Or perhaps the mountain itself contained something capable of manipulating those who entered it. But one detail bothered Leo more than the others. Kaien had returned once. Then gone back.

People did not willingly return to a place that had nearly killed them without a reason.

"He found something," Leo said. Rin nodded.

"I think so too."

"Something important enough to make him return." Rin looked at him.

"Then we need to find it." Leo's gaze moved toward the mountain.

"We will." A voice interrupted them.

"You're not going anywhere tonight." They turned. Hana stood several steps away. She had gathered several villagers behind her, and although most were keeping their distance, their expressions were no longer hostile. Some looked frightened. Others simply looked tired. Hana walked toward Leo.

"Mount Shinkai is not a place you reach after dark."

"We don't intend to climb it tonight."

"You said that as though you had already decided."

"I have." Hana sighed.

"You remind me of someone."

"Who?"

"Yourself, perhaps." Leo said nothing. Hana looked toward Rin.

"And you are exactly like your brother." Rin stiffened.

"You knew Kaien?"

"Not well."

"But you knew him."

"He stayed here for two nights before he went to the mountain." Rin immediately stepped closer.

"What did he say?" Hana hesitated.

"Nothing at first."

"Then?"

"He asked about the mountain."

"What did you tell him?"

"The same thing I told everyone else. That people disappear there." Rin's voice became sharper.

"Why didn't you stop him?"

"Because I tried." The answer silenced him. Hana looked toward the houses.

"Kaien was not reckless. He wasn't some young fool looking for treasure. He spent an entire day asking questions, drawing maps, speaking to the old hunters. He knew exactly what he was risking."

"Then why did he go?"

"He believed someone was already inside." Rin's expression changed.

"Who?" Hana shook her head.

"He never told me." Leo asked, "Did he leave anything behind?" Hana looked at him.

"Perhaps."

"Where?"

"My house." Rin frowned.

"You didn't mention that."

"You didn't ask." She turned and began walking. Leo followed. Rin came behind him. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Hana led them to a larger wooden house near the center of the settlement. Unlike the others, it had two floors and thick wooden beams supporting the roof. Inside, the air smelled of old paper and dried herbs. Hana walked toward a cabinet. She opened the bottom drawer and removed a folded piece of cloth. Rin recognized it immediately.

"That was Kaien's." Hana placed it on the table. Inside was an old metal plate. Three thin lines crossed a circle. The same symbol. Rin reached for it. Hana stopped him.

"Don't." He looked at her.

"Why?"

"Because your brother told me never to let anyone carry it toward the mountain." Rin stared at the plate.

"Then why keep it?"

"Because he told me to." Leo picked up the cloth instead. There was something written on the inside. A short sentence. The path begins where the mountain has no shadow. Rin read it twice.

"What does that mean?" Hana shook her head.

"I don't know." Leo studied the words. It sounded like a riddle, but perhaps it wasn't. The sun. A mountain without shadow. A specific location. He folded the cloth.

"When did he write this?"

"Before he left."

"Three years ago?"

"Yes."

"Did he return?" Hana hesitated.

"Not here." Rin looked at her.

"You said he came back."

"Varek said that."

"You believed him?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I knew Kaien." Hana looked toward the window.

"If he had returned to this settlement, I would have known." Leo considered that. Varek might have seen Kaien near the mountain. But whether that meant he had actually returned from the depths was another question. Perhaps Kaien had reached the surface and immediately gone back. Perhaps Varek had seen him somewhere else entirely. The information remained incomplete. Leo looked again at the metal plate.

"Where did Kaien get this?"

"He brought it with him."

"Was it originally his?"

"No." Rin looked up.

"Then whose was it?" Hana's expression became uncomfortable.

"I don't know." Leo noticed the hesitation.

"You know something."

"I know that people have been finding that symbol for years."

"Where?"

"On stones. On ruins. Sometimes carved into trees."

"By whom?"

"No one knows." Rin frowned.

"Then why didn't anyone investigate?" Hana gave him a tired look.

"People did."

"And?"

"They disappeared." The room became quiet. Leo placed the metal plate back on the cloth.

"How many?" Hana looked toward the floor.

"Fourteen." Rin's face tightened.

"The fourteen weapons?"

"Yes." Leo looked at him. Rin understood immediately.

"The people who disappeared from this settlement." Hana nodded.

"Fourteen entered Mount Shinkai."

"None returned?"

"One did." Rin's head snapped toward her.

"Who?" Hana looked at him.

"Kaien." Rin's breath caught.

"He really returned." Hana nodded slowly.

"Three years ago, after he entered the mountain, he came back before sunset."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't know you were looking for him." Rin stared at her.

"I've been asking about my brother for three years."

"And I didn't know your name." Rin looked away. Hana continued.

"He came back injured. Not badly, but enough that I thought he would stay."

"What happened?"

"He sat here." She touched the edge of the table.

"He didn't speak for almost an hour."

"Then?"

"He asked me whether I knew what was beneath the mountain."

"What did you say?"

"I told him no."

"What did he say?" Hana's eyes became distant.

"He said, 'Good.'" Rin frowned.

"Why?"

"Because he said knowing would make me want to see it." Leo remained silent. Hana continued.

"Then he asked for food, slept for several hours, and left before dawn."

"Where?"

"Back to the mountain." Rin closed his eyes.

"He went back voluntarily."

"Yes."

"Did he say why?"

"He left a note."

"Where is it?" Hana reached into another drawer. This time she took out a small folded piece of paper. Rin opened it. The writing was old but clear. I was wrong about the mountain. It is not a ruin. Do not descend alone. Nothing else. Rin read it again. Then he looked at Leo.

"That's all."

"Yes." Leo took the paper. He studied the handwriting. It was steady. No sign of panic. No hurried final message. Kaien had written it after returning from the mountain. That meant whatever he had seen had not immediately broken him. He had understood enough to leave a warning. But then he had gone back. Leo folded the paper.

"Tomorrow morning." Rin nodded. Hana looked at them both.

"You really intend to go."

"Yes."

"You heard what happened to the others."

"Yes."

"You heard what happened to Kaien."

"Yes."

"And you're still going." Leo looked at her.

"Yes." Hana stared at him for a moment. Then she sighed.

"Then take the old northern trail." Rin looked surprised.

"Why?"

"Because the main road leads directly to the mountain's southern face."

"And?"

"There is nothing there anymore." Leo noticed the wording.

"Nothing?"

"The old entrance collapsed years ago."

"Then why do people keep disappearing?" Hana did not answer. Rin looked at her.

"You know something else."

"I know that the mountain has more than one entrance."

"Where?"

"The northern trail leads to one."

"Why isn't it used?"

"Because it is difficult to reach."

"That doesn't explain it." Hana looked toward the window.

"Because the entrance appears only at certain times." Leo's expression remained calm.

"When?"

"Near sunset." Rin glanced at the darkening sky.

"We missed it."

"Yes." Leo looked toward the mountains.

"No." Hana frowned. Leo stepped toward the window. The last sunlight was fading. The western side of the mountain was already dark. But the eastern peak remained illuminated. One section. A narrow vertical line of stone. No shadow covered it. Leo remembered Kaien's message. The path begins where the mountain has no shadow. He turned.

"Where is the northern trail?" Hana's eyes widened.

"You can't go now."

"Why?"

"Because sunset is almost over."

"That is why we're going." Rin understood. He grabbed his blade. Hana stared at them.

"You two are insane."

"Probably," Rin said. Leo opened the door. The settlement had become quiet again. Most of the villagers had returned inside. The road toward the northern hills was empty. Leo started walking. Rin followed. They had taken only a few steps when Hana called after them.

"Wait." Leo stopped. She approached carrying a small lantern.

"Take this." Rin accepted it. Hana looked at Leo.

"Kaien used to say that the mountain doesn't hide things." Leo waited.

"What did he mean?" Hana shook her head.

"He said it hides the people who aren't ready to see them." Leo looked toward the mountains.

"That sounds like something he told himself."

"Maybe." Hana stepped back.

"Come back alive." Rin nodded. Leo gave no promise. He simply continued walking. The northern trail began behind the settlement and climbed between two hills before disappearing into dense forest. They moved quickly. Neither spoke for the first half hour. The forest grew darker. The trees became taller. The trail narrowed. Rin eventually raised the lantern.

"I don't see anything."

"Keep looking."

"For what?"

"A place without shadow." Rin looked at him.

"That's not very helpful." Leo stopped. Ahead of them, the trees opened. Beyond the branches, the mountain rose into the sky. The last sunlight touched its eastern face. Most of the mountain was covered in shadow. But one narrow section remained illuminated. A vertical strip of stone, perhaps twenty meters wide, extending from the lower slope toward the peak. Rin stared.

"There." Leo nodded. They left the trail. The ground became rocky. The light remained ahead of them, moving slowly as the sun descended. They had only minutes. Rin began climbing. Leo moved beside him. When they reached the illuminated stone, there was nothing unusual about it. No door. No passage. No markings. Rin looked frustrated.

"This is it?" Leo crouched. The ground near the wall was covered in moss. He brushed it away. The symbol appeared beneath it. Three lines through a circle. Rin's expression changed.

"Kaien." Leo placed the black fragment they had recovered earlier against the symbol. Nothing happened. Rin frowned.

"Wrong fragment?" Leo removed it. He looked at the metal plate. Then at the fragment. Then at the symbol.

"The line is incomplete."

"What does that mean?" Leo turned the fragment. A silver line ran across one side. It aligned perfectly with one of the three lines carved into the mountain. He pressed it against the symbol again. This time, the mountain moved. Not the stone itself. The sound came from behind it. A deep mechanism shifted somewhere inside the rock. A narrow crack appeared. Then widened. Cold air poured out. Rin raised his blade. Leo drew his sword. Beyond the opening was darkness. Not a natural cave. A corridor.

Its walls had been cut into precise shapes, and faint silver markings ran along them. Rin stared.

"This is what Kaien found." Leo stepped inside. The moment he crossed the threshold, the sunlight disappeared behind them. The stone entrance closed. Rin turned.

"Leo."

"I know." The mountain had sealed itself. There was no handle. No visible mechanism. Only smooth stone. Rin approached it.

"Can we reopen it?" Leo examined the wall.

"Probably."

"Probably?"

"We don't need to yet." He turned toward the corridor. A faint sound came from deep within. Metal. Something dragging across stone. Rin lowered his voice.

"Someone is inside." Leo nodded. They began walking. The corridor descended gradually, but the slope was so subtle that it was easy to miss. The deeper they went, the colder the air became. The silver markings appeared more frequently. Some were symbols. Others looked like writing. Rin stopped beside one.

"Can you read it?"

"No."

"You recognize the system."

"Not the language." They continued. After several minutes, the corridor opened into a large chamber. Rin's lantern illuminated the floor. Weapons lay scattered across the stone. Swords. Spears. Knives. A broken bow. Fourteen weapons. Rin stopped breathing. He recognized the place immediately.

"These belonged to them." Leo looked around. No bodies. No blood. Only weapons. And at the far end of the chamber stood a massive stone door. Three lines crossed a circle at its center. The same symbol. But unlike the entrance above, this one was incomplete. One of the three lines had been broken. Rin walked toward it. Leo caught his shoulder.

"Don't touch it." Rin stopped.

"Why?" Leo pointed toward the floor. There were footprints. Fresh ones. They led toward the door. And only one set led away. Rin's face changed.

"Kaien." Leo looked at the footprints. The pattern was human. The size matched Rin's description of his brother. But there was something else. The footprints did not come from the corridor. They came from behind the door. Leo's hand tightened around his sword. Someone had entered. Someone had returned. And someone had gone back inside. A low sound came from the other side. Rin whispered:"Kaien?" No answer. Then the stone door moved. Only slightly. A thin line of pale light appeared between the two halves.

A voice came from beyond it. Faint. Exhausted. But unmistakably human.

"Rin." Rin's eyes widened. Leo stepped forward. The voice continued.

"Don't open the door." Rin froze. Then, from somewhere much deeper beneath the mountain, something answered with a second voice. Leo's voice.

"Open it." End of Chapter 72.