A searing pain ripped through Noah's body as the sigil's energy enveloped him. It was unlike anything he had ever felt—if he had ever felt anything like this before. The sensation wasn't just heat or electricity; it was something deeper, something primal, like the very fabric of his being was being rewritten.
His vision darkened. His heartbeat thundered in his ears. The world around him twisted—stone, dust, and the monstrous beast warping into streaks of light and shadow.
Then, silence.
Noah collapsed to his knees, gasping. The searing pain subsided, replaced by a dull, thrumming sensation in his veins. His breath came in ragged heaves as he forced himself to look around.
The chamber was no longer the same. The stone floor beneath him, once ancient and crumbling, now pulsed with a faint blue glow. The air was thick, charged with an unseen force. The carvings on the walls—they had changed. The symbols were no longer worn and faded. Now, they pulsed with life, shifting as if they were watching him.
And the beast—
Noah's gaze snapped toward the creature.
It was no longer advancing. Instead, it stood at the edge of the sigil's light, its amber eyes burning with something almost… uncertain. Its elongated limbs twitched, its claws scraping the stone floor. The shadows that clung to it rippled as if something unseen was restraining it.
Noah didn't know why, but he understood one thing.
The sigil was keeping the beast at bay.
His mind raced. He had no idea what just happened—what this place was, what the sigil had done to him. But if the creature couldn't step inside…
Then this was his only chance.
Noah clenched his fists, steadying his breath. Think. The sigil had reacted to him—had changed him. Did that mean it could be used? Could he control it?
A flicker of something deep in his mind stirred. Words—no, meanings—he didn't recognize, yet somehow understood. The sigil wasn't just a marking. It was a gate. A conduit.
And he was connected to it now.
The moment he realized it, he felt it—something shifting inside him.
A whispering knowledge. A sensation in his fingertips, a pull in his chest.
Power.
Noah didn't think. He acted.
His hands moved on instinct. Fingers tracing the air, as if he had done this before. His body knew what his mind didn't.
The sigil beneath him flared. Light erupted from the carvings, spiraling outward in tendrils of energy. The beast snarled and reeled back as the energy surged toward it.
For the first time, it hesitated.
Noah felt the power building—felt the energy vibrating through his very bones. He focused, letting the instinct guide him.
A single word formed in his mind.
"Bind."
The moment the thought solidified, the light around him responded. Chains of blue energy erupted from the sigil, lashing toward the beast.
The creature roared as the chains wrapped around its limbs, locking it in place. It thrashed, but the more it struggled, the tighter the bindings became. Shadows bled from its form, writhing like dying smoke.
Noah staggered. His vision blurred. The strain of using the sigil so suddenly hit him like a wave. His body wasn't ready—this power wasn't something meant to be wielded so easily.
But it was enough.
The beast's snarl turned to something else. Not just rage.
Fear.
Then, just as suddenly as it had attacked—
It retreated.
The creature let out one final snarl before melting into the darkness, its form vanishing like mist. The tension in the air snapped, and the sigil's glow began to fade. The bindings disappeared, their purpose complete.
Noah collapsed to the ground, panting.
The beast was gone.
But the knowledge remained.
Noah lay on his back, staring up at the ceiling. His heart was still racing. The power—that sigil—what was it? How had he known how to use it? And… what had it done to him?
Slowly, he sat up. He still felt it—the connection. Faint, but present. As if the sigil had left something inside him, something waiting to be understood.
His fingers twitched. He could still feel the lingering energy in them.
And then, a message appeared before his eyes.
Words—floating in the air, made of light. Impossible, yet real.
[Unknown Arcana Awakened]
You have touched the power of a Forgotten Sigil. Your body has begun to change.
Noah's breath caught. What?
Another line appeared.
[Path of the Forgotten Initiated]
You have stepped onto an unknown path. Its destination is beyond mortal sight.
His pulse pounded in his ears.
A system? No. It didn't feel like one. This wasn't a notification, not like a game. It was… something else. Something alive.
He reached out a hand, but the words slowly faded, as if they had never been there.
Noah exhaled shakily. His body still ached, exhaustion pulling at him. But something deep in his chest burned with certainty.
This had only been the beginning.
He had stepped onto a path he didn't understand.
But there was no turning back.
Noah forced himself to his feet. His legs were unsteady, his breaths slow and deliberate. He needed to move. Staying here meant dying. That beast—it would come back.
He took a step forward, deeper into the ruins. The corridor ahead stretched into darkness, but he didn't hesitate.
Whatever this place was, it held answers.
And he was going to find them.