Val just looked at him and said, "The shadow said that I can remove a layer of magic seal here."
"What?"
Ember spoke again, "Is this why the ground's shaking?" while looking down.
It seemed like whatever it is approaching them, it has no intention of going anywhere else except in their direction.
The shadow replied in Val's mind, "You see, that stone altar there is the source of all of this." and relayed it to Ember.
Ember turned around, and indeed the altar was indeed shaking and its stones were coming loose as if something heavy is trying to get inside the ruins.
Ember stood back and readied himself to fight.
However, this time, Val said, "Brother, stay here. I don't know exactly how to remove it, so I'll follow what the shadow is telling me. Watch my back, brother."
And with these words, Val ran forward toward the stone altar. He stopped a few steps away, the shadow said in Val's mind, "Touch the altar."
Then Val did what the shadow told him to do, then suddenly, something strange happened.
Val heard the rush of wind behind him, yet not a single breeze touched his skin.
Suddenly, the stone slab shifted with a guttural groan, grinding against the altar's surface before sliding away as if lifted by invisible hands. Beneath it, a black void stretched wide, dark as pitch, waiting. The ground beneath Valens vibrated violently, as if ready to shatter.
Then the shadow inside Val's head spoke once again: "Look through your own eye. It will reveal everything."
Valens lifted his gaze. What he saw defied comprehension, beyond words or explanation.
A dark void opened right in front of him, it was huge, and it was so wide it almost looks as if it was about to swallow everything under it.
The void before him expanded—a massive, yawning darkness so vast it seemed ready to consume everything in its path. It loomed, silent and overwhelming, threatening to swallow the world beneath it. It gets close enough to Val, it touched his head.
"Val! Are you okay?" Ember shouted, his voice laced with panic.
Val couldn't respond. His mouth wouldn't move. Something from the dark void had grabbed him, holding him in an unbreakable grip. Ember's voice reached him again, but Val couldn't reply, couldn't even turn his head.
He struggled, pushing against whatever restrained him, but his strength was useless. The invisible force held firm.
All he could do was stare ahead as the figure within the void moved closer. Inch by inch, it drew near, its presence oppressive and cold. The grip on him tightened as the void before him began to shift.
Suddenly, a blinding white light burst from the darkness, flooding his vision and leaving him momentarily dazed.
A massive head emerged, crowned with curved horns that resembled weathered stone. The creature's jagged fangs jutted forward like unsheathed blades, their shadows stretching across its scaled jaw.
Val's heartbeat thundered in his chest, each beat slowing as the creature's glowing purple eyes locked onto him, piercing and unrelenting.
Its form was draped in deep black cloth, shimmering faintly, and around its neck hung a large golden crescent moon, gleaming like a silent omen.
"Bellator. Are you one of them?" The voice boomed, deep and resonant, shaking the air.
But Val stood firm. Despite the icy dread gripping his chest, he steadied himself, his voice calm and unwavering. "Yes, I am," he answered, meeting the creature's gaze head-on.
The creature raised one arm, its other hand pressing firmly against Val's head. Warm, sticky liquid ran down Val's cheek, making him shudder.
Then, without a word, the creature released him and turned toward Ember. The oppressive weight of its presence forced Ember to his knees, groaning under the pressure.
It loomed over Ember and repeated the same question, its voice reverberating through the air. "Bellator. Are you one of them?"
With great effort, Ember pushed himself to his feet, his breaths labored, sweat dripping from his brow. "Yes, I am," he answered, his voice strained but steady.
The creature turned back toward Val, who was trembling where he stood. Its form shifted, expanding into a massive black void that seemed ready to consume the very ground beneath them. The void opened wide, its maw impossibly vast, and spoke in a deep, unbroken tone.
"I have been waiting for you."
A brilliant flash of light burst from the void, and in an instant, it vanished. Darkness fell over the area, thick and suffocating. Val dropped to his knees, his entire body trembling, cold sweat running down his arms and legs.
"Val! Val! Are you okay?" Ember's voice cut through the silence, desperate and worried.
Ember rushed to Valens and caught him before he collapsed, gently lowering him to the ground as Val slipped into unconsciousness.
They remained in front of the altar as the darkness surrounding the area began to dissolve, fading into tendrils of black smoke. The smoke curled and drifted toward Val, seeping into his left eye.
As it entered him, a torrent of images flooded Val's mind. Scenes unraveled like a film playing before his eyes, each frame bringing a surge of pain so intense it felt unbearable. The visions grew clearer, the emotions sharper, until they felt as real as the ground beneath him.
The vision shifted. Val found himself standing in a dark, ominous place, the air heavy with an overwhelming sense of evil. Suddenly, flames erupted around him, spreading wildly. The screams of people filled the air, indistinguishable cries of terror, accompanied by the clashing of swords and sinister laughter echoing in the distance.
Val's knees buckled as dizziness overwhelmed him. He gasped for breath, trying to steady himself, his mind racing.
'Was this how it looked in the past?' he wondered, his gaze darting around the chaos.
Then, a deep voice cut through the chaos: "Well done."
It was the same voice from earlier. Val tried to turn and look behind him, but something unseen restrained him, holding him in place. He inhaled deeply, a sudden warmth spreading through his body, calming his senses.
A blinding golden light appeared before him, enveloping everything in its glow.
The chaos dissolved into a golden mist, and in an instant, it was gone.
Val's eyes fluttered open. His vision was blurry at first, but clarity returned quickly. He lay still, breathing heavily, the weight of what he had seen pressing on him.
Val stood up suddenly, feeling disoriented. The sun was just beginning to rise above the horizon.
In front of him, Ember stood with his back turned, speaking into his phone. Val stared at his brother, unable to hear the conversation or muster the strength to speak. He tried to say something, but no words came, and then everything went black.
When Val opened his eyes again, pain surged through him. His vision blurred, so he squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the dizziness to pass. It felt like an eternity.
Finally, his sight cleared, and he noticed Ember had turned toward him.
"Are you okay?" Ember asked, his voice filled with concern.
Val gave a small nod. He felt like his whole body was shaking all over; his head too.
Ember slipped an arm under Val's shoulder, helping him stand and supporting him as they walked through the grass. They stopped at a small clearing, where Ember sat Val on a rock to rest.
They stayed there for hours as the sky darkened. Val drifted in and out of sleep, his exhaustion evident.
When the night grew pitch-black, with no sign of dawn, Ember gently helped Val to sit on the ground, making sure he was comfortable.
As Ember prepared for the night, he glanced at Val. "You've been unconscious for three days. How do you feel?"
Val nodded weakly. "Stronger… like I've gained something," he said softly, his voice distant, more to himself than to Ember. "But this place… it feels like something stayed behind. Watching."
Ember paused, turning to him. "What do you mean? Did you see or hear anything?"
Val shook his head with a faint, distant smile. "No... but this place feels like a home for some lingering evil. They're not alive, but something still dwells here. I can sense it now and then."
"We'll need to go through this place again, Val," Ember said. "Having a plan will make it safer. But for now…" He paused. "If anything else happened while you were unconscious, you should tell me."
Val shook his head. "That was all I saw," he replied.
The night passed quietly, much to Val's relief. When morning came, they took a short walk around the area before starting again. Ember kept a close watch on Val, but nothing unusual occurred.
Returning to the temple ruins, they resumed their search. After an hour with no results, Ember turned to Val. "Use the drone. We need to expand the search."
They walked to the edge of the cliff, where Val launched the drone. Spotting something on the feed, he zoomed in on his tablet.
"Brother," Val called, and Ember joined him. "There's something a few miles from here," Val said, handing him the tablet while continuing to maneuver the drone.
The camera locked onto ruins about four miles away. As Val adjusted the drone, Ember studied the tablet. "Move it further, but slower," he instructed, keeping his eyes on the screen.
"What's strange about them?" Val asked, glancing at his brother.
Ember's eyes narrowed. "It feels like more than just ruins—a village or maybe a fortress. But there's something ancient about it, like a secret buried for centuries."
They monitored the drone's feed closely. When something unusual caught their attention, they stopped and focused, watching intently.
Val guided the drone lower, focusing on a spot that caught his attention—a structure resembling a tower, unlike anything he'd seen before. Ember, watching closely on the tablet, suddenly pointed.
"There! Fly the drone closer to that wall," Ember said. "Focus on whatever's written or drawn there."
Val adjusted the controls, and together they zoomed in on a symbol etched into the wall.
The rest of the area was in ruins, but this particular wall remained intact and clear, standing out from the destruction around it.
When the camera finally got close enough to focus on the mark, Ember just stared at it silently.
After several minutes, Ember took his hands off the tablet and sighed deeply. He pulled out his mobile phone while beside Val.
A few moments later, they heard the ringtone from inside the pocket of Ember. He looked at Val with an exhausted look and answered, "We might have found it."
He listened and nodded slightly, then looked back to the tablet where Val is still maneuvering the drone.
After the call ended, Ember asked him to stop the drone; then he turned around to Val, and said, "Let's go."
They jumped down and began walking toward the spot where their drones had captured images. The ruins are about four miles away from here. It seemed to have been a village or small city before whatever destroyed it and abandoned it.
Although there was a mark on the wall from the drone image, they still need to make sure that it was the Blovik Empire they were looking for.
Ember stopped before they entered the ruins. He took a deep breath.
"You think this is the place?" Val asked quietly.
"Maybe, but I don't think we have any other choice," responded Ember. He continued looking around him and sighed. "What a pity that this has been abandoned so long ago."
"Yes, the ruins do not appear well kept at all," commented Valens.
"Well, let us get started," Ember said firmly. They entered the ruin. As they did, their eyes caught something peculiar; Ember walked over to investigate it with his eyes wide open and found what appeared to be a door of some kind lying flat on the ground, in front of them. He picked it up and placed it back on its hinges, then went inside.
Val followed after him into the room where their drones had taken pictures earlier. They looked at the tablet again and saw a picture of what was written or drawn on the wall there.
They stared at it for a while without talking before Ember turned around, with the tablet in his hands, and spoke. "I think this is it."
He put down the tablet in front of Valens. It was not much, but enough to convince them about the Blovik Empire, which seemed to have been established a long time ago.
They tried to look around if there might still be remnants of some kind of library or something in this abandoned place. It was not that easy though. The place was deserted and there wasn't any trace of a book, scroll, or writing anywhere.
"It must have been like a fortress," Val remarked while he stood on the door frame.
"Maybe, although the ruins appear so old, maybe a long time ago," agreed Ember. To test that this is definitely the area or part of Blovik Empire, Ember pulled out the small metal ball scanner to scan the area and pulled out his tablet.
Ember was looking at something on his tablet for quite a while, until he said, "Well, I think we'll have to stay here to wait for the results of the scan. It may take a while."
The scans were conducted from different places inside and around the ruins of the city or village that used to stand there. The scans revealed what they wanted to find: the marks left by the inhabitants of Blovik Empire, and that indeed it seems these are the markings left behind by them.
The mark is a symbol in which three symbols of different sizes are intertwined within a circle. These marks seem to indicate some sort of building, perhaps a castle or fort; but there are no remnants anywhere that might indicate such a thing. It may just be that it is too old for that.
The next best thing could be that these are the remains of this place, which would not have been abandoned without reason.
They must have had some sort of trouble here that led them to leave it all alone and abandon it.
What could cause them to abandon a place so easily?
There is only one possible explanation: an invasion force.
Perhaps their own nation was being invaded, and that was why they abandoned the place. This was the most likely possibility, although it does not explain what could have happened exactly.
There were many other possibilities as well, but the above seemed most probable to Ember as he is currently watching the images being slowly revealed on his tablet. He thinks of what else can be done until the scans are complete.
"I think we should take a rest for a while and then get started again."
He looks up at the sky through the ruins, seeing nothing but blue and white clouds passing by slowly, which he finds peaceful.
Valens nods in agreement, looking down to the ground before him with a grim expression on his face. He turns around to find out something.
Ember follows him after seeing his face, and asks: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," says Valens in response. "I just think maybe we should have brought more members of our team. This is big enough to have four or five members working at this."
Ember nods, then speaks: "You're probably right. We might need help if the task at hand gets too hard to do just for the both of us."