Chapter 23 – The Forgotten Sanctuary
The underground ruins trembled.
Stone dust drifted from the ceiling like gray snow.
Sarthak instinctively tightened his grip around the Black Devil.
The Guardian remained kneeling.
Its pale blue flames flickered wildly.
“They are close…”
its hollow voice echoed.
“Who are they?”
Sarthak asked.
The Guardian slowly rose.
Its rusted armor groaned after what seemed like centuries of stillness.
“The Seekers.”
⸻
Before Sarthak could ask another question—
A violent explosion echoed through the tunnels.
BOOM!
The entire sanctuary shook.
Large cracks spread across the ceiling.
Far away…
Someone laughed.
It wasn’t the laugh of an ordinary person.
It was confident.
Cruel.
As though every obstacle before him already belonged to the past.
⸻
The Guardian turned toward the tunnel.
“The sanctuary has remained hidden for four thousand years.”
“I failed.”
Its voice carried neither fear nor regret.
Only acceptance.
Sarthak frowned.
“What exactly is this place?”
The Guardian looked around the ancient chamber.
“This…”
“…is the First Sanctuary.”
“The resting place of the First Bearer.”
⸻
The First Bearer.
Again…
Those words.
Every answer only created more questions.
⸻
The Guardian stretched out one hand.
Ancient runes across the chamber began glowing faintly.
On the walls…
Sarthak noticed murals he had ignored before.
Thousands of warriors stood beneath a black sky.
Mountains floated above oceans.
Cities burned beneath crimson flames.
At the center of every mural…
Stood the same man.
Clothed entirely in black.
Holding the Black Devil.
Yet…
The man wasn’t smiling.
He wasn’t celebrating victory.
He was crying.
⸻
“What happened to him?”
Sarthak whispered.
The Guardian remained silent.
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Finally…
It answered.
“He won.”
“…And lost everything.”
⸻
A strange chill ran through Sarthak’s body.
For the first time…
He realized something.
No story about the Black Devil ever called its bearer a hero.
Only a destroyer.
⸻
Another explosion echoed.
Closer this time.
Chunks of stone crashed into the chamber.
The Guardian raised one hand.
A transparent barrier formed before them.
The falling debris shattered against it.
“You must leave.”
“I still have questions.”
“You always will.”
⸻
The Guardian walked toward the statue that had broken open earlier.
Beneath the shattered pedestal…
A hidden staircase slowly appeared.
Dark.
Narrow.
Leading even deeper underground.
Sarthak stared.
“I thought we were already underground.”
The Guardian almost sounded amused.
“You have only reached the entrance.”
⸻
Suddenly…
A voice echoed through the tunnel behind them.
“So…”
“We weren’t mistaken after all.”
Footsteps followed.
Slow.
Confident.
Three figures emerged.
Each wore dark gray cloaks embroidered with a silver eye.
The symbol seemed alive.
Watching.
Always watching.
The man standing in front removed his hood.
His hair was silver.
His face appeared no older than thirty.
Yet his eyes…
Looked impossibly ancient.
He smiled politely.
“I’ve searched for this sanctuary for nearly eighty years.”
His gaze shifted toward Sarthak.
“And imagine my surprise…”
“…to find a child opening it.”
⸻
The Guardian stepped between them.
Its sword slowly left its rusted sheath.
The sound echoed like thunder.
“You shall not pass.”
The silver-haired man sighed.
“I respect your loyalty.”
“But your era ended thousands of years ago.”
He raised one finger.
Nothing happened.
Or so Sarthak thought.
A heartbeat later—
The Guardian’s left arm fell to the ground.
Cleanly severed.
Sarthak’s eyes widened.
“He never moved…”
The silver-haired man smiled.
“Observation.”
“Good.”
“You’ll survive longer than most.”
⸻
The Guardian ignored its missing arm.
It charged forward.
Its sword split the air with tremendous force.
The tunnel itself cracked.
The silver-haired man finally took one step.
Only one.
The Guardian froze.
Its remaining arm trembled violently.
The sword stopped inches away.
Exactly like the Imperial soldier.
Only…
Far worse.
⸻
“What…”
Sarthak whispered.
The pressure alone made breathing difficult.
The silver-haired man calmly spoke.
“Intent.”
“The language understood by all life.”
Then…
He flicked a finger.
The Guardian exploded into countless pieces.
Not shattered.
Erased.
Its body became dust.
Only its helmet remained.
Rolling across the floor until it stopped at Sarthak’s feet.
⸻
“No…”
Sarthak muttered.
The Guardian had protected him.
Spoken to him.
Called him heir.
And now…
It was gone.
Just like that.
⸻
The silver-haired man looked almost disappointed.
“I expected more.”
His eyes finally settled upon the Black Devil.
Every trace of calm disappeared.
His pupils contracted.
His breathing became heavier.
“So…”
“It truly exists.”
For the first time…
Greed appeared on his face.
Pure.
Undisguised.
“The Black Devil.”
⸻
Sarthak instinctively stepped backward.
The hidden staircase remained open behind him.
The silver-haired man noticed.
His smile widened.
“Run.”
“It won’t matter.”
“No matter where you go…”
“The sword belongs to us.”
⸻
Suddenly—
The helmet lying beside Sarthak spoke one final time.
Its fading voice barely remained.
“Descend…”
“…before the sanctuary seals forever.”
The staircase began collapsing.
Stone by stone.
It would close within moments.
Sarthak looked forward.
An enemy beyond imagination.
He looked behind.
Endless darkness.
No certainty.
No safety.
Only a path no one had walked for thousands of years.
For a single heartbeat…
Fear rooted him in place.
Then…
He remembered the Imperial soldier’s words.
“You prepare to retreat before you choose to fight.”
No.
This time…
He wasn’t running away.
He was moving forward.
Sarthak gripped the Black Devil tightly.
Without another glance…
He leaped into the darkness beneath the sanctuary.
The staircase collapsed behind him.
The silver-haired man rushed forward.
His expression finally changed.
“No!”
The entrance sealed shut with a deafening roar.
Silence returned to the ancient ruins.
The silver-haired man stared at the solid stone.
Then…
He smiled.
Not in anger.
In excitement.
“So the wheel has begun to turn again.”
Far below the earth…
Sarthak fell into darkness.
Toward a place where even history…
Had forgotten to remember.
End of Chapter 23