Chapter 91: I guess we’re going down

The little squirrel disappeared between two of the enormous Silent Stones. Noir watched it for a few seconds, waiting for it to reappear, but couldn’t help glancing sideways at Aster.

"Are we really going to follow it?"

Aster kept his gaze fixed on the spot where the creature had disappeared.

"So far, it hasn’t shown any intention of harming us. Besides, it seems to know exactly where it wants to go. I don’t know what we’ll find at the end of the road, but after so many years of searching for an answer in this place, it would be pretty absurd to ignore the first clue that appears right in front of us."

Noir narrowed his eyes.

’Finally, an answer that makes sense.’

The squirrel reappeared a few meters further on and wagged its enormous blue tail before continuing. It seemed to be waiting for them, as if to make sure they were all following it.

"It definitely wants us to go with it," Arlene remarked.

"That’s exactly what’s worrisome," Noir replied as he began to walk. "Every time something tells us to follow it, we end up in trouble."

He was clearly referring to the golden sphere—the one that nearly killed him when he first encountered it, only for it to lead him to the Golden Dragon later. What would have happened if she’d had evil intentions? Noir would already be completely dead.

The little princess, who was walking beside him, grabbed his tail and started tugging on it.

"Come on!"

Noir looked down at her.

"Don’t pull on my tail."

The girl just smiled and pulled again.

"Come on."

Noir closed his eyes for a moment before letting out a long sigh.

The group made their way through the enormous boulders, following the little blue creature. Aster walked calmly ahead, while Noir kept his senses alert to their surroundings. He still couldn’t detect any living creatures. There were no monsters, no animals, not even small insects hiding among the rocks.

It was as if all forms of life had abandoned this part of the world.

And that was precisely what bothered him the most.

The Silent Stones weren’t empty.

Noir couldn’t explain how he knew it, but ever since they’d entered that place, he’d felt that something wasn’t right. It wasn’t a presence he could detect with his senses, but a much more subtle sensation. As if the enormous stones were part of something he still couldn’t quite understand.

After several minutes, Noir stopped.

"Wait."

The others stopped as well.

Aster turned his head.

"What’s going on?"

Noir pointed to one of the stones in front of them. The surface was covered with moss, just like many of the others, but beneath the vegetation, something that looked like a series of symbols could be made out.

"This was hidden."

He stepped closer and brushed aside some of the moss with a claw. The stone revealed several figures carved into its surface. They didn’t look like letters, nor were they simple decorative drawings. An elongated creature, another with wings, and several humanoid figures surrounded a circle at the center.

Aster approached slowly.

For a few seconds, he said nothing.

Noir noticed the almost imperceptible change in his expression.

"Do you recognize it?"

Aster ran a hand over the symbols and brushed away a little more moss.

"I can’t say I really recognize it. I’ve seen similar depictions elsewhere, though I’ve never come across the same symbols. They’re too old to know for sure what they originally meant."

Noir looked at him intently.

"That sounds quite different from saying you don’t know what they are."

Aster let out a little laugh.

"Because it probably is. When you’ve lived this long, you learn that there’s a huge difference between not knowing something and recognizing that you’ve seen something similar before. My memory can recall places and events that happened centuries ago, but that doesn’t mean I have all the answers. Sometimes I only have fragments."

Noir frowned slightly. ’This man really knows how to talk without answering directly,’ he thought, somewhat frustrated.

Before he could continue, the little squirrel let out a sound.

Everyone turned their gaze toward her.

The creature stood before another stone. It stopped moving and stared intently at the monolith.

Noir stepped closer.

"What do you want to show us?"

The squirrel took a small leap and placed one of its paws on the stone. But nothing really happened.

Noir waited a few seconds.

"Was that it?"

The squirrel lifted its head and looked at him. Then it touched the stone again.

This time, a faint blue light slowly swept across the monolith’s surface. The symbols began to light up, one after another, until it reached the circular figure in the center.

Noir immediately stepped back; his Draconic Sense kicked in. He couldn’t detect any creatures, but he could sense the mana that had just awakened. It was enormous, and it wasn’t in the stone... It was beneath them.

"Aster..." murmured the young black dragon, unsure of what was happening at that moment.

"Yes," replied the man, without taking his eyes off the monolith. "I feel it, too."

Noir looked down at the floor cautiously. The little princess had hidden behind Arlene, while Uki kept his ears pricked up and bared his teeth slightly.

The light faded after a few seconds, and the symbols were once again hidden beneath the appearance of simple ancient markings.

Silence returned.

Noir looked at Aster.

"Was that the answer you were looking for?"

Aster remained silent for a few moments before answering.

"I don’t know. For a long time, I thought that finding an answer would mean discovering something concrete—a name, a story, maybe an explanation of who built these stones and why they were abandoned."

He paused to take a breath and search for the right words, then continued:

"But after so many years, I realized that perhaps I was looking for something much simpler: a sign proving that all those stories weren’t just legends invented by people who lived long after these stones were built."

Aster looked at the monolith again.

"And now a creature that, according to everything I know, shouldn’t even exist touches a stone that has remained silent for centuries and makes it react. I don’t know what it means yet, but I do know it can’t be a coincidence."

Noir looked at the little squirrel. The creature sat in front of the stone, slowly wagging its enormous blue tail.

"So, I guess it wants us to figure out what’s going on."

"It sure looks that way," Aster replied. "And if I’m right, it probably didn’t bring us all the way here just to show us a shiny rock. There’s something further ahead. Something the creature knows about—or at least something it seems to be looking for."

Noir sighed.

"Right. Because just walking away would have been way too easy."

Arlene let out a little laugh.

"You’re starting to sound like you’re used to this sort of thing."

The young black dragon shook his head, but uncovering the mystery of this place was immensely satisfying; that was why he wanted to explore this world and encounter all kinds of creatures.

He pushed his thoughts aside and replied:

"I’m not used to it. I’ve just learned that whenever something strange happens, there’s usually something even stranger behind it."

La ardilla comenzó a avanzar otra vez.

This time, Noir didn’t protest.

The group continued to follow her as the enormous Silent Stones rose on either side of the path. Some were completely covered in moss and vegetation, while others revealed fragments of ancient figures.

Noir tried to memorize every detail he encountered, but the more he looked, the more questions arose.

Then the golden sphere appeared beside him.

Noir glanced at it out of the corner of his eye.

The sphere was spinning. Not as it usually did. Its movements were faster, and tiny golden particles escaped its surface before re-entering it.

Noir frowned.

"Do you know what’s going on, too?"

The sphere didn’t answer. It just kept spinning.

Noir turned his gaze forward.

"That’s what I thought."

A few meters ahead, the squirrel stopped.

Everyone stopped with it.

This time it wasn’t standing in front of a stone. It was in the middle of a small clearing surrounded by enormous monoliths. The creature looked down at the ground.

Noir followed its gaze. At first he saw nothing; after a few seconds, he made out a line: a small crack running through the earth.

Noir approached slowly.

The ground trembled. A deep sound reverberated through the Silent Stones. It was a low, distant sound, as if something gigantic had stirred in the depths.

BOOM!

The crack began to widen slowly. Small fragments of earth and stone fell from its edges as a faint bluish glow appeared in the depths.

Noir took a step back, cautiously observing the opening that, until just a few seconds ago, hadn’t existed.

Several of the Silent Stones vibrated at the same time. The little squirrel ran toward the opening and disappeared inside before Noir could react.

Aster approached the edge and watched for a few seconds. His expression changed slightly before he pointed toward the interior.

"There’s a structure underneath."

Noir raised an eyebrow.

"A structure?"

"Yes. Look closely."

Noir narrowed his eyes. At first, he could see only darkness and stone, but after a few seconds he managed to make out something that seemed to extend far beyond the crack. They were steps.

A massive stone staircase led down into the depths.

Noir looked at the others before turning his gaze back toward the entrance.

"I guess we’re going down."

Aster smiled slightly.

"It looks that way."