The tunnel stretched endlessly into darkness.
Joon-won tightened his grip on the dimly glowing crystal in his hand, its faint blue light casting eerie shadows against the rough, stone-carved walls. The deeper they ventured, the colder the air became; not just physically, but in a way that pressed against his skin, whispering of something long forgotten.
Behind him, Haneul moved with quiet grace, her fingers tracing the ancient inscriptions on the walls. Her lips moved silently, as though tasting the words of the past, their meaning just beyond her grasp.
Min-jae moved with measured steps, his sharp eyes scanning ahead, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword. His body was tense, prepared for whatever might be waiting in the depths of Hwangcheon.
A single, golden glow had drawn them here; a faint light seen from the surface, flickering in the depths beneath the dead pnet. What was once assumed to be a barren wastend now revealed its secrets, hidden beneath yers of dust and forgotten history.
“How deep do you think this goes?” Min-jae muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Joon-won exhaled slowly, gncing at the faint pulse of light that guided them. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “But whatever this is… it’s been waiting for a long time.”
.. ..
The narrow tunnel gave way to an expansive corridor, impossibly vast for something built beneath the surface. The ceiling arched high above them, supported by pilrs that seemed to defy the weight of the pnet pressing down.
Strange symbols were carved into every inch of stone; flowing, elegant script that hummed with a faint energy. The further they walked, the more Joon-won felt something stir inside him.
It wasn’t fear.
It was recognition.
As if a piece of him already knew these halls, even though he had never set foot here before.
At the end of the corridor, a doorway loomed. A massive, golden archway, untouched by time. Its surface shimmered, responding to their presence.
Haneul paused, her eyes narrowing. “This pce… doesn’t want to be found.”
Joon-won turned to her. “What do you mean?”
She hesitated, brushing her fingers against the doorway. “It’s not just ancient. It’s aware.”
A chill ran down his spine.
Before he could respond, Min-jae stepped forward. “We came this far,” he said firmly. “We’re not turning back.”
With that, he pressed his palm against the golden surface—
And the doorway opened.
.. ..
A rush of warm air greeted them.
Unlike the cold, lifeless tunnels behind them, the chamber beyond the door breathed; as if the pnet itself had exhaled after centuries of stillness.
And at its center—
A monolithic structure.
A pilr of golden crystal, rising like the heart of the ruins. Its glow pulsed steadily, like a slow, rhythmic heartbeat.
Joon-won took a step forward, his breath caught in his throat.
“That’s it,” Min-jae whispered. “That’s what we saw from the surface.”
The energy in the chamber was heavy, pressing against them with an invisible force. It wasn’t just old; it was watching.
Haneul’s gaze remained fixed on the crystal. “This is not mana,” she murmured. “It’s something else.”
Joon-won frowned. “Then what is it?”
She didn’t answer. Instead, she reached out—
And the chamber came alive.
The walls ignited with golden light, the symbols now burning with an energy that had been dormant for centuries. The entire room shook, as if the pnet itself had awoken.
Then—
A whisper.
A voice, distorted and fragmented, drifting through the air like a lingering memory.
"...who... disturbs our rest...?"
Min-jae reacted instantly, drawing his weapon. Joon-won clenched his fists, mana crackling around him.
But Haneul stood still.
She didn’t flinch. Didn’t run.
Instead, she listened.
“It’s not speaking to us,” she whispered. “It’s remembering.”
The pilr pulsed, and suddenly—
Images flooded Joon-won’s mind.
.. ..
A city, bathed in golden light.
Towers of crystal stretched toward the sky, their surfaces shimmering beneath the twin moons. Streets filled with people, their garments woven with intricate patterns of gold and blue.
A civilization unlike any he had ever seen.
Proud. Radiant. Alive.
And then—
Darkness.
A creeping, writhing mass of corruption, swallowing the light, devouring the very fabric of the world.
The towers shattered; their golden glow extinguished. The streets ran empty, the people lost to the shadows.
A lone figure stood amidst the chaos—
A woman, her silhouette framed by the burning city.
She reached out, her voice lost in the storm.
And then—
Nothing.
.. ..
Joon-won gasped, his vision snapping back to reality.
The chamber returned to stillness, the golden glow fading once more.
He staggered back, his breath ragged.
Min-jae caught his arm. “What the hell just happened?”
Joon-won’s hands trembled. His heartbeat pounded against his ribs.
He had seen it.
Hwangcheon wasn’t always barren.
It was once a world filled with life.
And then, something had taken it.
Something had erased it.
His gaze snapped to Haneul, who remained silent, her fingers still resting against the crystal.
"You knew," Joon-won whispered.
She finally turned to him. “…I suspected.”
Min-jae exhaled sharply, gripping his sword. “We need answers. Now.”
Joon-won looked back at the pilr.
It still pulsed, faint but steady.
Like a heartbeat.
Like it was guiding them.
And in his gut, he knew.
This was only the beginning.
.. .. .
