They were silent for a bit until Ember broke the silence, "Since we have already relayed the intel about the cult to Exeo, I think we'll need to check out the location that the old man told us."
Valens nodded in agreement, and both decided to start their mission right early in the morning.
The next day dawned without them sleeping much at all. It was still dark outside but the two brothers were already packed and ready to go.
They checked out of the inn and started to travel before even the sun is up.
They headed to where the old man had told them the location of the ruins and arrived at the mountain the old man said.
As soon as they approached, they noticed a road that slopes down to a small, rocky island.
Val keeps looking around and said, "The old man said that there's nothing surrounding the island, just sand dunes and some small shrubs."
Surveying the area from different angles, they confirmed it—endless sand dunes stretched outward, the small island isolated, like a secret the desert barely wanted to keep.
They went down and found it hard to walk due to its softness, but it wasn't as if they would be spending long there.
As they walked, they noticed the ground beneath their feet had grown firmer, the loose sand giving way to hardened clay.
"Look, that might be a building," Valens said, pointing to a cluster of rocks atop a low hill.
Ember followed his gaze and saw large stones resembling boulders. The ground was now solid beneath them, and the rocks ahead seemed shaped, almost like broken steps leading to a structure.
Above them, the clouds began to part, revealing patches of blue sky, but the light remained dim and the atmosphere heavy, casting an eerie gloom over the area.
They decided to move closer to the ruins for a better look.
As they approached, a small temple came into view, standing in the center of the ruins with two large doors at either end and a tall tower.
The closer they got, the more the structure revealed itself. The walls grew taller and sturdier, lined with stones and boulders that formed stairs, along with scattered pillars and columns. The building had no roof or windows, adding to its desolate appearance.
"That looks like a temple—or maybe a tomb," Valens observed.
Ember nodded. "There's an altar in the center and tombs scattered around. We should take pictures."
They began climbing the worn steps leading to the altar, some so eroded that only their heels could find footing.
Valens pulled a small drone from his backpack, attaching its camera to one of the steps. With his remote, he activated the drone, capturing images and sending them directly to his phone.
Ember was busy inspecting the building, studying its structure as if trying to piece together what it might have looked like before it crumbled. Meanwhile, Valens was focused on taking pictures and recording video with his drone. They were just steps away from the altar when something flew past Ember's head.
"Oh shit!" Ember exclaimed, whipping his head around. His eyes locked on Valens, who was smirking mischievously, the drone hovering high above him.
"Do that again, and it's nonstop training when we get back," Ember muttered, his tone half-serious, though a smirk tugged at his lips.
Val chuckled softly, maneuvering the drone back to scan the area more seriously.
Ember shook his head at his brother's antics and pulled a small metal sphere from his bag. Tossing it onto the ground, the device let out a faint click before activating. A moment later, it rolled across the floor like a pebble, emitting faint red grid lines that scanned the ground as it moved.
While the drone mapped the area from above, the sphere worked below, scanning the terrain as it rolled to Ember's left. Together, the devices began gathering a clear picture of the site's size and layout.
Both brothers stopped at the center of the area, keeping a safe distance from the altar as they continued scanning.
Val kept his head down, focused on the tablet in his hands, checking for anything unusual. Ember stood nearby, occasionally glancing at his own tablet for updates, both of them alert.
After the first round of scouting, Val powered off the drone and carefully packed it back into his bag. A few minutes later, the small scanning sphere rolled back to them, its task complete.
"Anything unusual from the drone shots?" Ember asked, his tone calm but focused.
"Not yet," Val replied, still scrolling through the data. "I'm going through them now."
He pulled a small metal rod from his bag, turned it on, and stabbed it into the ground. A blinking red light appeared at the tip. "I've left a marker here," Val explained. "That way, the next drone shots won't overlap with these."
Ember nodded. "Sounds good. Let's handle that later. First, let's grab some food."
They walked back to their bags, Ember still scanning his tablet and map for anything that might prove useful.
After their quick meal, the brothers slowly approached the altar, which resembled a throne or a seat meant for a deity.
The altar before them was uneven, with small stones stacked haphazardly on its surface. Around it, other rocks lay scattered across the area. It seemed someone had once tried to bury or hide the site under dirt and stones, but traces of its significance remained, drawing people back over the years.
The area felt like an ancient cemetery or a grave for someone important.
Val pointed to a gap between two small rocks where a black stone had fallen, revealing more stones inside. Unlike the fallen black stone, the rest were gray. "Look at this," Val said, gesturing to the opening.
Both crouched to inspect it more closely. Inside, they saw a large rock surrounded by three similar stones, arranged almost like a grave or something deliberately buried.
Val pointed at the center. "This looks interesting," he said thoughtfully.
Ember knelt beside him, examining the arrangement. After a moment, he stood and looked at Val. "Well? What's your take?"
Val shrugged. "I'm not sure... but do we dare dig here?"
Ember considered it, then shook his head firmly. "No. It's too risky. This could be sacred—or a tomb. Disturbing it might bring trouble, and the stones could collapse and hurt us. Now's not the time."
"It seems whoever or whatever was buried here was very important," Valens said.
Ember nodded in agreement. They both stood silently for a moment before moving to search the area for more stones arranged like the ones near the altar. On their first round, they found five more clusters, but each seemed to be just small stones stacked haphazardly, scattered as if to cover something beneath them.
Ember pulled out the small sphere again, tossing it onto the ground to scan the area. Once it completed its sweep, he turned it off and packed it away.
Turning to Valens, he asked, "Well? What do you see?"
When the scan results appeared on Ember's tablet, a pattern emerged. Valens pointed to the image. "There's a line connecting several small circles. It looks like... a map."
Suddenly, Deleo's voice echoed in Val's mind: "That's a map."
Valens raised his hand, pointing to the fallen black stone and then to several smaller stones scattered nearby. "See? These circles match the stones we've found."
Ember studied the pattern closely, nodding in thought as Valens continued, tracing the lines on the screen.
But before they could investigate further, the sky darkened abruptly, and loud rumbles of thunder echoed across the ruins. The brothers exchanged a glance.
"Looks like rain," Ember muttered.
They quickly packed their gear and searched the ruins for shelter. Nearby, they found an old tomb with a large tree growing out of its base. The roots formed a natural canopy, offering protection from the incoming storm. They settled under the shelter, waiting for the weather to clear.
To stay dry, Valens and Ember sat on the grass under the shelter. They prepared their meals, eating both lunch and dinner as they waited for the rain to stop.
After a while, the rain cleared, and the sky turned bright and pleasant. Ember pulled out his tablet while munching on his food, reviewing the images again.
"Find anything?" Val asked, glancing at him.
Ember looked up. "Maybe. You said it looked like a map earlier, and I think you might be right. But I need to look closer."
He gestured for Valens to stay put. "Go through the drone shots again. See if you spot anything else."
Valens nodded, pulling out his tablet to recheck his data while Ember stood and wandered around the site. A few minutes later, Ember returned, sitting on the large tombstone. He took out another scanning sphere and activated it near the fallen stone.
As he waited for the scan, Ember glanced upward and noticed a hole in the surface above. His brows furrowed.
'Is that a tunnel? A hidden entrance?'
The images captured earlier by the scanning sphere came to mind—something resembling a long tunnel.
He checked the new data on his tablet, his confusion deepening. He stared at the screen for a moment before looking back at the stones they'd found.
"I think we need to find more of these stones," he muttered, pointing to the five already uncovered. The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to take shape, but more work was needed to complete the picture.
'If they were scattered about here and there, then it will be easier to find the rest of them.'
So without saying a word, he stood up again and looked around him with a serious expression, searching for something to help him search.
He zoomed out the images they captured earlier on the small stones that were on top of each other, and by the looks of it, it really looks like a map. There seem to be lines connecting those small stones
Ember rubbed his chin while analyzing the images, standing still. The lines aren't obvious when someone's staring on the ground but thanks to the scanned images, it is much more clear.
Then after some thinking, he is slowly walking trying to find the center point of this map from the center of the five stones, which they have found so far. He then walked around a bit more to see if there will be more stones that can connect them together.
Ember went back to where Val is and discussed what he had discovered so far. He thinks that maybe there are more of those small stones gathered, but decided they should rest for now and continue tomorrow. They started their dinner after a few hours of more analyzing, they decided to call it a day.
The next morning, the sun came out, just in time for the brothers to begin their search again. They searched high and low for the rest of the stones until one of them found something similar away from the altar. After looking at the small stones for a minute, Val said "Brother, seems like the same as the one we found yesterday, similar small stones stacked up."
"Maybe yes," Ember answered while looking at the stones with a frown. "We need to look around."
While looking around, Ember was thinking, 'The images yesterday being scanned didn't show this part of the stones.' frowning deeply.
Ember took out his tablet once again and zoomed the area to look for any more of these small stones.
After a few minutes of searching, Ember stood up and muttered, "I don't see any other of those little stones."
He turned around and threw the small sphere again, scanning again the new small stones they found just now. He follows the small sphere in that direction with his eyes, trying to find anything else about it.
He walked towards the stones and widened his eyes in shock. The sphere just went through the small stones. A bead of sweat was formed in his temple, deep in thought about what he just saw.
'Illusion? Was there a magic barrier here?'
He picked up the small sphere as soon as it arrived at his feet and scanned his surroundings with his eyes.
Ember called out, "Val, be careful!" without turning around and put back the tablet and the sphere back in his backpack.
He went into a defensive position, with two daggers in his hands and with his Purple Fire activated.
"What is it?" asked Valens while looking around himself with suspicion.
"The stones we found earlier might be an illusion and there might be a magic barrier here."
"Really?" Val said while getting on guard, as he saw Ember walking towards him.
Then soon, Val realized it as well, he remembered that he did put a marker in this location but seems that it was now nowhere to be found.
"I think we're not alone here," Ember said while looking around carefully.
Both Val and Ember are now standing back to back. They look out in every direction possible but only the trees could be seen from their position. There's no one else around.
This time, Ember yelled, "Who's there!" but got no answer.
Ember looked at the surrounding ruins, he can see no shadows nor motion of anything but still, he felt uneasy. He looks again and sees nothing suspicious in front of them anymore.
"We should go before anything happens," Ember whispered while turning around, ready to move.
A subtle tremor crept up through the soles of their boots, growing to a rumble that pulsed against their feet, like something massive shifting beneath the earth.
Ember grabbed Valens and yelled, "Get behind me."
Val moved to Ember and stood right behind him. As if they're trying to avoid whatever or whoever it is coming in their direction.
"It's moving in our direction," Val said while looking straight ahead of him. "What should we do?"
Ember thought a second then said, "Stay here."
And so they remained behind one another, waiting for whatever might be approaching towards them.
Ember took out a small sphere that he kept in his belt pouch for protection against any attack they'll encounter on their way. It was still a small sphere but it's used to absorb magic or any harmful attack thrown at you.
Then, the shadow inside Val spoke in his mind, "You can remove one layer of the magic seal on your eye here."
Val was shocked, and asked, "Huh?! Why are you talking about the magic seal right now?"
"You need to look through your own eye."
Val paused, a faint tremor in his hands as he considered the shadow's suggestion. Then, steeling himself, he focused, and his left eye began to glow, a deep red light spilling forth like a secret being set free.
He could still feel some stinging pain from his left eye and groaned loud enough for Ember to hear.
This made Ember look behind him and was shocked at what Val is doing.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Ember asked while grabbing the shoulder of Valens.
Val just looked at him and said, "The shadow said... I could remove a layer of the seal on my eye, right here."
Valens's voice was barely above a whisper, and Ember's eyes narrowed in shock. "Wait. Here? But—"