For a brief mont after Adrian’s words fell into the air, nobody moved.
The wind drifted softly through the rocky terrain surrounding them while the mbers of the Hero Research Club stared ahead in confusion, their eyes sweeping across the cliffs and uneven stone formations before them. At first glance, there was nothing there except weathered rock walls partially covered in moss and vines, ancient stone surfaces cracked by countless years of erosion beneath the open sky.
Then—
Luca noticed it.
A faint distortion.
Barely visible.
The space ahead shimred for only an instant beneath the sunlight, so subtle that an ordinary person would never have caught it.
Adrian stepped forward calmly.
Without saying another word, he raised one hand and pressed his fingers lightly against the empty air before him.
The world rippled.
A low hum echoed through the surroundings as ancient mana stirred beneath the cliffs, the invisible distortion spreading outward like water disturbed by a stone. The very air itself began trembling while faded symbols slowly erged one after another across the rocky walls surrounding them.
And then—
The illusion broke.
A collective breath escaped several mbers simultaneously.
Hidden behind the false cliffside—
Lay ruins.
Ancient ruins.
A massive stone structure stretched deep into the cliffs themselves, partially concealed beneath centuries of overgrowth and collapsed debris. Towering broken pillars rose from the earth at uneven angles while enormous stone platforms extended inward toward a half-buried sanctuary carved directly into the mountain.
The architecture alone imdiately felt ancient beyond words.
Nothing about it resembled modern kingdoms.
Massive white-gray stones covered in faded golden inscriptions ford pathways leading deeper into the ruins while fragnts of statues stood scattered across the area, worn heavily by ti yet still carrying traces of impossible craftsmanship.
So statues had lost their heads.
Others had broken arms or shattered weapons.
Yet despite the damage—
The overwhelming aura lingering around the place remained undeniable.
Ancient.
Sacred.
Powerful.
Faint traces of mana still flowed quietly through the ruins even after countless centuries, drifting through the air like remnants of a forgotten era refusing to disappear completely.
For several seconds—
Nobody spoke.
Then chaos erupted.
"THIS IS INSANE!"
"An actual hidden sanctuary?!"
"How did nobody discover this place before?!"
One senior imdiately began scribbling frantic notes into a journal while another stared at the ruins with tears nearly forming in his eyes. John himself looked monts away from collapsing spiritually from happiness, his body visibly trembling as he gazed toward the sanctuary ahead.
"...Beautiful..." he whispered dramatically.
Even Sylthara’s usually calm golden eyes widened slightly as she took in the hidden site before them.
Lilliane looked equally stunned, her green eyes moving slowly across the ancient structures while the wind stirred her twin tails gently behind her.
anwhile—
Luca remained silent.
His crimson eyes carefully examined every detail around him as his mind rapidly connected pieces together.
These designs...
He slowly stepped forward.
So elents truly did feel familiar.
Not directly.
Not completely.
But certain architectural patterns resembled structures associated with ancient hero-era civilizations from the ga’s lore. The golden inscriptions engraved into the stone looked similar to fragnts he had once seen within hidden archives and ancient temples during previous playthroughs.
Yet this place—
Was different.
Far more preserved.
Far more significant.
His gaze shifted toward several enormous broken pillars standing near the entrance of the sanctuary.
Each pillar carried faded carvings depicting warriors cloaked in light, standing against monstrous figures beneath shattered skies.
And above them—
A symbol.
A circular crest surrounded by seven stars.
Luca’s eyes narrowed faintly.
The Seven Heroes...
A strange feeling settled within his chest.
Not fear.
Not excitent.
Sothing heavier.
As though the ruins themselves carried mories too old for the present era.
Nearby, Sylthara had already moved toward one of the partially collapsed walls, her fingers lightly brushing against the faded inscriptions carved into the ancient stone.
Luca walked toward her after noticing how focused she seed.
"Did you find sothing?" he asked quietly.
Sylthara remained silent for a mont while carefully examining the symbols before answering.
"...Maybe."
Her silver eyes moved slowly across the worn carvings.
"These markings..." she murmured softly. "I have seen fragnts of similar scripts within the oldest preserved records of the Dark Elf clans."
Luca imdiately focused.
"You recognize them?"
"Not fully," Sylthara admitted honestly while tracing part of a faded inscription carefully. "Most ancient records from the Hero Era are incomplete... and many languages from that ti changed over centuries."
The wind swept softly through the ruins around them as she continued studying the wall.
"But..."
A faint pause followed.
"These symbols are not ordinary religious carvings."
Luca’s gaze sharpened slightly.
Sylthara slowly looked toward the deeper sanctuary hidden within the cliffs ahead.
"...This place was ant to protect sothing."
The hidden sanctuary gradually ca alive with movent as the mbers of the Hero Research Club spread throughout the ruins, their earlier shock transforming completely into unrestrained fascination.
Excited voices echoed between the ancient stone walls while footsteps disturbed layers of dust that had likely remained untouched for centuries.
Everywhere they looked—
There was sothing to examine.
Broken statues lined the pathways leading deeper into the sanctuary, each carved with astonishing detail despite the damage ti had inflicted upon them.
So depicted warriors clad in ancient armor unlike anything used in the current era, while others showed robed figures standing beneath massive celestial symbols that glowed faintly even now beneath the lingering traces of mana.
Collapsed archways connected portions of the ruins together, their surfaces covered in faded inscriptions and complex magical formations that most people could no longer fully understand.
Several mbers imdiately began docunting everything they saw.
One senior obsessively copied symbols into a notebook while another carefully brushed dirt away from fragnts of stone tablets partially buried beneath the ground.
anwhile—
John had completely transcended into another state of existence.
"Hahahaha..." he muttered breathlessly while wandering through the ruins with trembling hands. "This is it... this is what every mber of the Hero Research Club dreams of..."
At one point he nearly hugged a pillar.
Nobody stopped him.
Luca, however, remained unusually focused.
Unlike the others, who explored with pure excitent, his crimson eyes continuously scanned every structure, symbol, and inscription with growing concentration.
Because the longer he looked—
The stronger the strange feeling inside him beca.
I’ve seen this before...
Or rather—
Sothing similar.
The designs etched into the sanctuary walls.
The circular seven-star crest.
The layout of the structure itself.
Fragnts of mory stirred uncomfortably within his mind like sothing buried just beyond reach.
He slowly walked through one of the partially collapsed corridors, fingers brushing lightly across ancient stone as he examined the faded carvings more closely.
The atmosphere inside the sanctuary felt heavy.
Not oppressive.
But old.
As though countless years still lingered silently within the air itself.
Where...?
Luca frowned faintly while staring at another damaged mural.
The image depicted several figures standing together beneath a shattered sky while darkness spread beneath their feet like a tide swallowing the world.
Hero-era imagery.
Without question.
Yet sothing about the artistic style specifically kept bothering him.
He had encountered it before.
Sowhere.
Perhaps in hidden ga lore.
Perhaps in one of the countless forgotten side stories buried within optional ruins and archives.
But no matter how much he searched his mories—
The answer refused to surface completely.
"...Damn it," he muttered quietly beneath his breath.
Nearby, Sylthara continued carefully studying the inscriptions along the walls, occasionally exchanging observations with Adrian, whose interest in her clan’s preserved historical knowledge had beco imdiately obvious.
Adrian himself seed genuinely pleased watching the club mbers explore the sanctuary with such excitent. Unlike John’s explosive enthusiasm, however, his satisfaction appeared quieter.
More personal.
At one point he simply stood near one of the broken archways with his hands inside his coat pockets, observing the younger mbers scattered throughout the ruins while a faint smile rested on his face.
"...Worth the trouble," he murmured softly to himself.
Luca noticed the expression briefly before returning his attention toward the sanctuary itself.
The further they explored, the stranger certain details beca.
So chambers appeared almost untouched despite the centuries.
Several magical formations still emitted weak pulses of mana beneath layers of dust.
And in one partially collapsed room, Luca discovered fragnts of tallic material embedded within the floor that did not resemble any ordinary alloy used in the current era.
Everything about this place felt important.
Important enough that it should have existed sowhere within his mory.
Yet the answer remained maddeningly incomplete.
The group gradually spread deeper through different sections of the sanctuary while excited discussions continuously echoed around the ruins.
"Look at these carvings!"
"This mana structure is still partially active!"
"These symbols definitely aren’t modern!"
At so point, even Lilliane beca visibly absorbed in examining ancient murals while Sylthara quietly translated fragnts of recognizable script wherever possible.
And throughout all of it—
Luca’s thoughts never stopped circling the sa question.
Where have I seen this before...?
Then suddenly—
A loud voice exploded through the sanctuary.
"EVERYONE!"
The shout echoed loudly against the ancient stone walls.
Imdiately, multiple heads turned.
John stood near the deeper side of the ruins with one hand dramatically raised into the air, his entire body visibly trembling with excitent once again.
His eyes practically glowed.
"LOOK WHAT I FOUND!"
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