The tunnels were suffocating, the humidity thick with the stench of mold and scorched stone. Adrias moved silently, exploring the area, his eyes scanning every detail with caution. He needed to understand what was happening here—and why the guards feared this mine.
But suddenly, he felt it—a strange energy, as if it were calling to him. He slowly turned toward one of the walls. A faint glow was emanating from within the black rocks.
He stepped closer. There, between the cracks, he saw a fractured black stone emitting threads of glowing red energy, as if blood pulsed within it. This stone was unlike anything he had ever seen, radiating a strange heat, almost alive.
He reached out cautiously. The moment his fingers touched its surface, a sharp heat spread through his skin—not painful, but mysterious, as if trying to slip into him.
"What is this?" he murmured to himself, feeling a faint flow of energy through his body.
He decided to try breaking it. Perhaps it hid something more valuable. He clenched his fist around it and tried to crush it with force, but the stone was solid—far tougher than he expected.
"No matter. Let's try something else."
He focused his strength and pressed his fingers into the cracks, targeting the weak points. The stone's heat intensified, as if reacting to his power. Then, suddenly, a sharp cracking sound rang out as the stone split into fragments, unleashing a wave of red energy that spiraled around his body.
In that moment, Adrias felt something he hadn't experienced in this body before—a warm yet fierce power flooding his muscles and bones, rebuilding him from within. His frail body trembled as the force coursed through him.
And then he felt it—that familiar sensation. He hadn't experienced it in this body before, but he recognized it.
"I… I'm nearing the second stage of the Embodiment Path?"
It was unbelievable. In his previous life, it had taken him months to advance from one level to the next when he first walked the demonic path. But now, thanks to this mysterious energy, he was shattering barriers faster than he had imagined.
He stood still, gazing at his hands, then clenched them into fists, feeling a subtle but noticeable strength flowing through them.
"This place holds more secrets than it appears."
If more of these stones existed, he could use them to ascend quickly. But the real question remained—why hadn't anyone tried to exploit these stones before?
Did they not know their value? Or was there a darker secret behind them?
Adrias stood motionless, staring at the scattered shards of the black stone he had just broken. The warm energy still seeped through him, interacting with his muscles and bones, reshaping him—if only slightly. Yet amidst all this, a strange feeling began creeping into his mind. It wasn't just ordinary energy—there was something else, something hidden, something he couldn't yet grasp.
He looked around cautiously, his ears straining for every sound within the deep mine. The place was unnaturally quiet—which only increased his unease. Why was this part of the mine abandoned? Why weren't there any other slaves here?
As he pondered the situation, he recalled something he had heard when he first arrived—whispers among the slaves, cryptic warnings, and silent fearful glances.
"Don't go deep into the mine."
"There's something there… something that takes people."
"Even the guards don't dare go too far."
At first, he had thought it was just superstition—stories slaves told to scare one another. But now, he wasn't so sure.
If this place were ordinary, why hadn't anyone tried to harness these black stones? Why hadn't he seen anyone else near this area?
Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. The air around him felt colder, despite the heat the shattered stones had released. He stepped back, eyes scanning the deep shadows stretching through the tunnel.
Then—
A sound.
Barely audible, like a distant whisper. Something was moving. Something that shouldn't be there.
He froze in place, every sense alert. This body was still weak, and he wasn't ready to face any real danger yet. But he had to know.
He slowly turned his head, looking toward the source of the sound. At the end of the passage, where the shadows thickened, he saw something strange—the stone walls seemed to move. Or was it the darkness itself pulsing?
He wasn't sure what he was seeing, but the sense of danger within him grew.
No… this wasn't natural.
In his past life, he had faced countless bizarre things—but he had never felt this kind of tension before. Something was here, something that didn't belong to the ordinary world.
But the bigger question: was this thing connected to the black stones? Or was there a deeper secret lurking in this mine?
He sensed that staying here any longer might be dangerous—but he also didn't want to leave without learning more. These stones might be the key to his future strength. And if something guarded them, that meant they were even more valuable than he had assumed.
He took a deep breath, steadying his heartbeat, then began to move slowly, careful not to make a sound. He didn't know yet if the thing could see or hear him, but he wasn't ready to find out.
He had to be cautious. He had to find answers.
...
...
Adrias moved slowly through the tunnel, his steps nearly silent, but he could feel the echo of his breath bouncing off the damp stone walls. The air was heavier here, saturated with the scent of mold and old blood. The faint light at the end of the corridor was unnatural—it wasn't the warm glow of the torches slaves used, but something colder, like moonlight on a clouded night.
The closer he got, the more discomfort stirred inside him. Something was wrong here. Something that didn't belong in this place.
And then, he saw it.
A corpse.
The body lay slumped against the stone wall, draped in a luxurious deep-purple robe with golden embroidery along the edges. It was clear this person had not been a mere slave or guard.
But the strangest thing of all was the sword.
It was embedded in the rocky ground, the corpse's hand still tightly clutching its hilt, as if he had died trying to hold onto it until his last breath. The blade was completely black, reflecting no light—as if darkness itself had been forged into a weapon.
Adrias stopped just one step away, studying the corpse carefully. There were no visible fatal wounds, no blood—just a dry, withered body, as if all life had been sucked out of it.
He hesitated. Should he touch the sword?
His heart pounded—not out of fear, but anticipation. An inner voice, the instinct of a seasoned warrior from his previous life, told him this sword was not ordinary—and it hadn't ended up here by chance.
He slowly reached out, his fingers wrapping around the cold hilt.
Suddenly—
He felt something surge into him.
It wasn't just energy—it was deeper, as if something had pierced directly into his soul. It felt like the sword had been asleep all this time, and now, after being touched, it had awakened.
The corpse trembled suddenly.
But it didn't move—it crumbled.
In an instant, as if time had accelerated around it, the skin dried and turned to ash, the fine robes disintegrated into the air, and even the bones collapsed into soft dust that vanished with the faint breeze drifting through the tunnel.
Only the sword remained.
Adrias still held it, his eyes wide—not with fear, but awe.
He looked at the weapon in his hand, feeling the energy flowing from it.
"What is this?"
It wasn't just a sword. There was something deeper hidden within—something he couldn't yet comprehend. But one thing was certain:
This sword didn't belong in this place.
Or perhaps… it didn't belong in this world.