"Lin Sei, if you're listening to this, I'm probably no longer in this world…"
"That voice…it's his brother's…" Lin Sei thought, surprised.
"I'm sorry, you suffered because of me, didn't you? I only wanted to find Dad. I thought I'd be back soon, but… I ended up drifting away like this."
A pang in his throat betrayed him at first, soft, just a tight knot that could have loosened with a deep breath. But instead, it grew, tightening as if all the air in that dark space had turned heavy, filling his lungs with something more than oxygen. His vision began to blur, and he felt moisture cloud his gaze. Lin tried to blink quickly, to stay focused on that voice, but the tears, stubborn, welled up in his eyes, refusing to disappear.
At last, one slid slowly down his cheek, and with that first trace of wetness, like a river overflowing its banks, he felt something break within him. His face lost the tension he had held onto so tightly.
The first tear paved the way for others. The drops rolled down, falling freely, some fast, others slow, as if each tear held a fragment of pain long held in silence. Finally, a sort of muffled sob escaped his throat. Time went on and on, seeming like hours had passed, but in reality, only a few minutes had elapsed. Just then, that nostalgic voice returned.
"October 15, ten years ago. I followed the clues that led me to Dad, but what I never could have imagined was that I would find myself in a cave in the Domain mountain, facing a door. A colossal door that would change my fate. The structure was impressive in its simplicity: two huge columns rising from the earth, covered in nearly eroded arcane symbols. The engravings, delicate and interwoven into geometric and spiral shapes, seemed to tell stories from ages past. In the center, beneath a layer of moss and cracks, there was a relief in the shape of a sun or a divine eye, with golden edges that seemed to emit a faint glow. And next to the door lay an old skeleton.
The skeleton, dimly illuminated by the golden reflections of a phosphorescent stone embedded in the ceiling. It wasn't a human skeleton, nor did it resemble any creature I'd ever seen. Its bones were long and slender, but not fragile; on the contrary, they seemed carved from a strange mineral, a dense, translucent material that emitted a pale glow, as if it had captured the glimmers of a distant star and held them within.
The ribs, which fanned out like the wings of a mythological being, were interwoven with fine threads of gold and silver that, despite the centuries, still shone brightly, as if the magic that created them had never lost its power. Along its spine were small inlays of luminous stone, creating a kind of celestial mosaic that seemed to tell a story in an incomprehensible visual language, like a codex carved in bone and light.
Beside it, coiled in one of its long claws, rested a box as ancient-looking as the skeleton itself. Carved from dark, resilient wood, the box was adorned with intricate runes that glowed faintly, as if they contained a power that still breathed, a divine whisper that persisted. The latch, made of a blackened, opaque metal, was shaped like a half-closed eye, as if the box refused to reveal its contents to anyone unworthy.
There was something imposing about that box, a vibration that seemed to pulse in sync with the silence of the cavern. It gave the impression of containing a fragment of something sacred or of being the seal that concealed a forbidden truth. When one's gaze fell upon it, it was impossible not to feel a magnetic attraction, an inexplicable longing to open it. But the aura it emitted warned clearly: anyone daring to break its seal would face very ancient forces, divine forces that time itself had barely managed to silence.
The skeleton, even in death, clutched the box with a clenched hand, as if, even in its last moment, it had known that its duty was to protect it at all costs. The emptiness of its eye sockets seemed to guard in perpetual silence, a fallen sentinel from a world beyond the human, beyond comprehension, yet still refusing to abandon its mission.
I opened the box, and inside was the old pendant I forced you to wear."
Lin Sei's eyes had stopped shedding tears a while ago. He was completely absorbed in his brother's voice.
"Inside the box was an ancient parchment with a message: *If you reach the end of the tower, your wish will come true. If you wish to participate, cross this door.*
"Normally, I would have ignored that message, but with Dad missing and not knowing of the grandparents' existence, the message caught my attention. So I intended to enter, but before that, I had to spend my last moments with you, before going to look for Dad. But from that day on, each night that passed, I began having stranger dreams. Elves, dwarves, spirits, dungeons, orcs, dragons… I felt that if I didn't go to the tower, my mind would explode, and so it did. I gave you the pendant, and that very night, I disappeared.
"According to the old skeleton's writings, thanks to the pendant, you too will be able to enter the tower, but unlike me, you will have to pass three trials before entering the true tower. From what I understood, by breaking the pendant, you will have a sort of dragon tattoo on the center of your chest."
Lin Sei quickly removed his clothing, almost tripping over himself when he noticed the small dragon drawing.
"If you focus intently on the image, you'll enter a space where you'll have three objects at your disposal, which, according to the writings, were of great value. I only know of the existence of ******'s diary, which will help you a lot, but first, you must overcome the three divine trials, or you will die."
"To leave you this message, I had to sacrifice much. Don't disappoint me, little brother. I love you and be careful of... E,...-"
"The Host cannot access that information!"
"The Host cannot access that information!"
"The Host cannot access that information!"
"You will now be directed to the first trial: THE PATH OF THE LONER. Be very careful, Host, or you will die."