Chapter 220 - 215
The guild was quieter than John expected.
It was still early evening, but several tables were empty. A few adventurers sat together near the back, speaking in low voices while occasionally looking toward the entrance.
John noticed it immediately.
Fear.
Not panic, but the kind of uneasiness people tried to hide.
Cael walked beside him as they entered, followed by Lythriel, Aerion, Sylvara, and Darius.
A guild receptionist looked up.
"Can I help you?"
Cael stepped forward.
"We heard about the survivor."
The receptionist’s expression changed.
"You mean Arlen?"
"Yes."
She looked at the group carefully.
"Why?"
"We’re traveling east," John answered. "We heard about the disappearances."
The receptionist hesitated.
"You should reconsider."
John raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Because whatever is out there hasn’t been identified."
"We’re not asking you to send us there," Aerion said. "We just want to speak with him."
The receptionist glanced toward a hallway.
"He’s in the back room. But he’s not exactly..."
She stopped.
"He’s not what?"
"Stable."
John’s expression became serious.
"We’ll be careful."
After a moment, she nodded.
"Second room on the left."
John and the others followed the hallway.
The door was slightly open.
Before John could knock, they heard someone speaking inside.
"Don’t go east."
Everyone stopped.
A man’s voice.
Quiet.
Almost a whisper.
"Don’t go east."
John pushed the door open.
A young man sat on the edge of a bed.
He looked exhausted.
His clothes were torn and stained with dirt. Several bandages covered his left arm and shoulder.
His eyes immediately went to John.
Then widened.
He stood so quickly that he nearly fell.
"You..."
John caught him before he hit the floor.
"Easy."
The man stared at him.
His breathing became faster.
"You’re him."
John frowned.
"Who?"
"The dragon."
The room became silent.
Lythriel looked at John.
Cael’s expression hardened.
Aerion immediately closed the door.
John helped the man back onto the bed.
"Tell me your name."
"Arlen."
"Arlen, what happened?"
Arlen looked toward the window.
For several seconds, he didn’t answer.
Then he whispered,
"It found us."
"What found you?"
Arlen’s hands began shaking.
"We were heading east. Seven of us."
"Adventurers?"
He nodded.
"We took a request to investigate people disappearing along the road."
Darius crossed his arms.
"Then what happened?"
"We found tracks."
"Monster tracks?"
"I thought so."
Arlen swallowed.
"They weren’t."
John leaned forward slightly.
"What were they?"
Arlen looked at him.
"Footprints."
Lythriel frowned.
"Human?"
"Yes."
"Then why did you say something found you?"
Arlen’s face became pale.
"Because they weren’t coming from anywhere."
Nobody spoke.
Arlen continued.
"We found footprints in the dirt. They started in the middle of the road."
John’s eyes narrowed.
"And ended?"
"At the forest."
"Did you follow them?"
Arlen nodded.
"We thought whoever made them might know what happened to the missing people."
He looked down at his hands.
"We were wrong."
"What did you find?"
"A clearing."
Arlen’s voice became quieter.
"There were weapons scattered everywhere. Bags. Armor."
"From the missing adventurers?" Aerion asked.
"We thought so."
"Did you find bodies?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Arlen looked toward the door.
"We heard someone breathing."
Darius frowned.
"Someone was hiding?"
Arlen shook his head.
"No."
His eyes met John’s.
"It was coming from beneath us."
John’s expression changed.
"Beneath the ground?"
"Yes."
The room felt colder.
Arlen continued.
"The ground started moving."
He grabbed the blanket tightly.
"Roots came out of the dirt."
Sylvara frowned.
"Roots?"
"Black roots."
John remained silent.
That detail bothered him.
"Did they attack you?"
"They grabbed two of us."
Arlen’s voice cracked.
"We tried to cut them. Nothing worked."
"What happened to the others?"
"I don’t know."
John noticed something.
"You’re missing your right glove."
Arlen looked down.
His expression changed.
"I lost it there."
"Did you lose anything else?"
Arlen hesitated.
Then reached beneath his shirt.
He pulled out a small piece of metal.
It looked like part of a broken insignia.
John stared at it.
The moment he saw it, his Dragon Core reacted.
A faint pulse moved through his chest.
John’s eyes narrowed.
"Where did you get that?"
Arlen looked confused.
"It was on the ground."
"Near the roots?"
"No."
Arlen shook his head.
"It was beside a stone."
"What stone?"
"A strange one."
John took a step closer.
"What was strange about it?"
"There was a symbol carved into it."
Cael immediately looked at John.
"What symbol?"
Arlen looked at Cael.
"I don’t know how to describe it."
"Try."
Arlen closed his eyes.
"It looked like a circle."
He drew a rough shape in the air.
"Inside the circle was something like a dragon’s eye."
John’s expression became serious.
Cael’s face went pale.
"You know it?" John asked.
Cael didn’t answer immediately.
Then he said,
"Not exactly."
John waited.
"My family records mention a symbol like that."
"What does it mean?"
"I don’t know."
Cael looked toward Arlen.
"But I’ve seen the description before."
John turned back to the survivor.
"What happened after you found the stone?"
Arlen’s hands began trembling again.
"We heard a voice."
"What did it say?"
Arlen stared at John.
"It called us intruders."
John’s eyes narrowed.
"Then?"
"It said..."
Arlen swallowed.
"’The bearer is not here.’"
Silence.
Lythriel looked at John.
"It was looking for you."
John nodded slowly.
"Apparently."
Arlen continued.
"Then everything went dark."
"What happened afterward?"
"I woke up outside the forest."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
"How did you survive?"
Arlen shook his head.
"I don’t know."
John studied him.
There was something wrong.
Not with Arlen himself.
With his story.
He wasn’t lying.
John could tell.
But there were missing pieces.
Important ones.
"What happened after you woke up?"
"I walked until I found the road."
"Nothing followed you?"
Arlen hesitated.
Then whispered,
"I heard footsteps."
"Behind you?"
"No."
He looked at John.
"In front of me."
John frowned.
"Someone was walking toward you?"
"No."
Arlen’s voice dropped.
"The footsteps were coming from inside the trees."
John stood straight.
"How far east?"
Arlen looked at him.
"Two days."
John nodded.
That matched what he had sensed.
Two days east.
The third fragment was there.
But there was something else.
Something capable of hiding itself from the Legacy’s resonance.
John turned toward the others.
"We’re going east."
Lythriel immediately nodded.
"I figured you would."
Aerion sighed.
"I knew you were going to say that."
Darius shrugged.
"At least we’re getting paid if there’s a request."
Sylvara looked at him.
"We’re not doing this for money."
"I know."
Darius smiled.
"I’m still going to check if there’s a reward."
A small laugh escaped Lythriel.
Even John smiled.
The tension in the room eased for a moment.
Then Cael spoke.
"We shouldn’t leave tonight."
John looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because if the people behind this are watching the eastern road, they’ll expect us to leave immediately."
Aerion nodded.
"He’s right."
John thought about it.
The hunters had already found them once.
Rovan had confirmed his identity.
If another group was waiting east, walking directly into their hands would be foolish.
"We stay tonight."
Cael looked relieved.
"Good."
John turned toward Arlen.
"One more question."
Arlen looked up.
"That thing in the forest."
John paused.
"Did you ever see its face?"
Arlen’s expression changed.
He slowly shook his head.
"No."
"What did you see?"
Arlen looked toward the window.
"The eyes."
John waited.
"They were golden."
John’s Dragon Core pulsed.
Once.
Strongly.
The pendant beneath his clothes warmed against his chest.
John’s eyes narrowed.
Golden eyes.
Just like the First Guardian.
But the feeling was different.
Much weaker.
And much more distant.
Still, there was a connection.
Not to the second fragment.
To something beyond it.
Something that had noticed him.
Something that might have been waiting.
John walked out of the room.
Lythriel followed.
"What are you thinking?"
John looked toward the darkening sky.
"That the third fragment isn’t simply sitting somewhere waiting for us."
"You think someone is guarding it?"
"Maybe."
"And the thing Arlen saw?"
"I don’t know."
John looked at the eastern horizon.
"But I think we’re about to find out."
Inside the room, Arlen suddenly looked toward the window.
His face went pale.
Cael noticed.
"What is it?"
Arlen pointed outside.
Everyone turned.
At the far end of the street stood a man wearing a dark cloak.
He wasn’t moving.
He was simply watching the guild.
John stared at him.
The figure slowly raised one hand.
Then pointed directly at John.
A second later, he turned and disappeared into the crowd.
John’s expression hardened.
"Stay here."
He stepped toward the door.
Lythriel grabbed his arm.
"Don’t go alone."
John looked at her.
After a moment, he nodded.
"Fine."
Aerion drew his sword.
Darius followed.
Sylvara stayed beside Cael and Arlen.
John stepped outside with Lythriel and Aerion.
The street was crowded.
But the cloaked man was gone.
John looked down the road.
Nothing.
Then his senses picked up something.
A faint presence.
Moving east.
Fast.
John smiled faintly.
"They want us to follow."
Aerion looked at him.
"Trap?"
"Probably."
Lythriel sighed.
"And we’re still going to follow."
John looked toward the eastern road.
"Not tonight."
He turned back toward the inn.
"We’ll let them think we’re coming."
His eyes narrowed.
"Then we’ll decide how we approach them."
Far away, beyond the town, the cloaked figure stopped beneath a tree.
Another person stepped out from the darkness.
"Did he see you?"
The cloaked figure nodded.
"He knows we’re watching."
"Good."
"And the bearer?"
The figure looked back toward the town.
"He is coming."
The second person smiled.
"Then the third fragment will finally awaken."
Above them, hidden behind thick clouds, something flashed in the sky.
For only an instant, a golden light appeared over the eastern forest.
Then it disappeared.
John saw it.
And so did Cael.
Neither of them said a word.
They both knew.
Something had just awakened.