The cold night breeze swept through the ruins of an ancient temple hidden deep within the forest, carrying the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves. Amidst the worn-out stones covered in strange carvings, a young man stood still, his eyes locked onto an object buried beneath layers of dust and time.
"This... is impossible," he whispered, his fingers brushing against the surface of the artifact—a pendant shaped like an eye, seemingly made of black gold.
The young man, Rael, was no ordinary explorer. He was a relic hunter working with a secret society, but this artifact… it was different. It pulsed as if it had a heartbeat of its own. The moment his fingers closed around it, a surge of energy coursed through his body, stealing his breath away.
"Arghh!"
Rael collapsed to his knees, his head spinning, the world around him turning blurry. Just before he lost consciousness, a voice echoed in his mind—"The heir... you have finally arrived."
-
Hours later…
Rael gasped awake, his heart pounding uncontrollably. His breathing was ragged, and everything around him was eerily silent. But something had changed. His vision was sharper, every sound in the forest rang with crystal clarity.
And most shocking of all… the wound on his arm, which had been bleeding earlier, had completely healed.
"What… happened to me?"
But he had no time to think. The sound of a snapping twig caught his attention. From the shadows, a group of men dressed in black emerged, each armed with deadly weapons. The skull-and-eye insignia on their uniforms was all too familiar—Phantom Order, an organization that hunted ancient relics.
"Hand over the artifact, and we'll let you live," one of the men spoke, his voice calm but filled with menace.
Rael clenched his fists. Somehow, he knew they wouldn't let him live, even if he complied. And even stranger… he felt a newfound courage burning within him.
"If you want it, come take it yourself."
The men exchanged glances before chuckling darkly.
"You've made the wrong choice."
In an instant, one of them lunged forward, dagger gleaming under the moonlight. Rael tried to move, but—
SWOOSH!
Without realizing it, his body shifted with incredible speed, dodging the attack with ease. His eyes widened—what just happened?!
The attacker froze in shock. But he had no time to react. Rael, driven by an instinct he didn't understand, grabbed the man's wrist and—
CRACK!
A swift kick to the chest sent the man flying backward, slamming into a tree with a sickening thud.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
The leader of the group narrowed his eyes. "Interesting… it seems the artifact has chosen its wielder."
Rael took a deep breath. He still didn't understand what was happening to him, but one thing was certain—he couldn't let the artifact fall into their hands.
And he would fight to protect it.
-
End of Chapter 1