The air inside the sealed ruin felt heavier than before — as if the chamber itself was exhaling after a century-long sleep. Lucas held the Starlight Seal Disk close to his chest, its silver leather casing cold as winter metal.
Kael peered over his shoulder. "So… what exactly is it? A coin? A badge? A—"
Lucas shook his head slowly. "I don't know. But it's important."
The disk pulsed faintly once in response, as if acknowledging him.
Kael stumbled back. "It moved! It actually moved! How is that thing alive?!"
Lucas didn't answer. He was trying not to show how deeply the pulse had rattled him.
Because in that brief moment, the disk didn't just pulse—
It resonated with the mark on his chest.
The star-shaped birthmark beneath his shirt burned faintly, not painfully… more like a soft throb of warmth, as if answering the call of something familiar.
His system chimed softly.
[Bloodline Resonance Detected]
Starlight Seal Disk — Partial Synchronization: 1%
Warning: Attempting full synchronization at current level may result in backlash.
Lucas swallowed.
Backlash.
That meant pain… or death.
And at G– rank, he didn't have the luxury to experiment.
Kael lifted the torch again, waving it nervously.
"We should get out before another ghost voice starts talking. I swear, this place is colder than winter piss."
Lucas almost laughed.
Almost.
But the cold truth settled beneath his ribs:
Something in this ruin recognized him.
Something tied to his parents.
Something waiting.
And the worst part—
The voice earlier had mentioned judgment.
That meant this place was selective.
Deliberately so.
He wrapped the disk in cloth again and slipped it into his pouch.
The moment he touched the exit step, the chamber's torches extinguished with a crisp snap, plunging the ruin into darkness.
Kael froze. "Uh… that's not good."
Lucas tensed.
But the chamber didn't collapse.
No traps sprung.
No voices returned.
It simply went back to sleep.
Like a guardian returning to slumber after acknowledging its heir.
Lucas nodded once. "Let's go."
Returning to the Surface
They climbed the stairs quickly.
The cold night air above felt warm in comparison to the ruin's oppressive chill.
Kael exhaled loudly. "Finally! I swear I lost ten years of my life down there."
Lucas scanned the rooftop skyline.
Elara was gone.
He had expected her to wait for confirmation of his survival—or perhaps confront him immediately about what they found.
Her absence meant one of two things:
Either she saw enough…
Or something else demanded her attention.
Before Lucas could think deeper, Kael slapped his back.
"Hey. You found a relic. A real relic. That's huge."
Lucas nodded, though his thoughts churned darkly.
Who hid this ruin?
Why under the slums?
What were his parents involved in?
Who was searching for the crest?
The old man's warning echoed again:
"Those who killed your parents… are looking for you."
Lucas's fingers tightened around the pouch.
Kael noticed, his expression shifting serious.
"Lucas… you okay?"
Lucas inhaled slowly. "…Not really."
Kael threw his arm around Lucas's shoulder and forced a grin.
"That's fine. You're allowed to not be okay. That's why I'm here to punch whatever scares you."
Lucas actually laughed at that.
Kael grinned wider. "Damn right. Now let's get back before someone sees this hole in the ground."
Lucas nodded—and the two slipped into the shadows of the slums.
Behind them, unseen, a faint ripple of mana spread across the ruin.
Something had awakened.
And something else felt it.
-----
Elara's Perspective (On the Rooftops)
Elara stayed still on the roof long after Lucas and Kael disappeared.
Her frost-blue eyes glinted softly as she stared at the now-dark ruin entrance.
She had sensed something when Lucas touched the relic.
A resonance.
Old.
Ancient.
Dangerous.
Starlight.
A name she had only heard once, whispered in stories her mother used to tell her.
"The Starlight bloodline is older than kingdoms, Elara.
It shines brightest when the world darkens."
Elara wrapped her cloak tighter.
Lucas Starlight…
He was not a normal slum orphan.
Not even close.
And she needed to know exactly what he carried.
"Lucas…" she murmured, a thoughtful edge in her voice.
"Who are you really?"
She turned sharply as a faint mana disturbance flickered nearby—
Someone else was in the slums.
Someone watching.
Someone not aligned with the Academy.
Her lips hardened.
She stepped off the roof with ghostlike silence, following the faint trace.
The night grew colder.
The First Threat Arrives
Lucas and Kael reached the shack area without incident.
The slums were quiet—too quiet.
Most people were indoors.
Lucas stopped abruptly.
Kael glanced at him. "What?"
The system flickered in front of Lucas.
[Danger Sense Triggered]
Hostile presence within 40 meters.
Intent: Unknown (Malicious lean).
Lucas stiffened.
"Someone is here."
Kael's fists tightened. "Where?"
Lucas didn't answer. He scanned the darkness.
A figure stepped out from behind a cracked stone pillar.
A man in ragged black fabric.
A tattered cloak pulled low.
Eyes that glowed faintly crimson in the dark.
A smell like rot and old metal.
Lucas's heart dropped.
He knew this type of aura.
Chaos corruption.
This was no random thief.
No slum gang member.
A low-ranking cultist.
And if a cultist was here, it meant one thing:
They sensed the Starlight crest awakening.
The man's smile stretched unnaturally. "Found you… child of starlight."
Kael stepped in front of Lucas instantly.
"Oh hell no. You're not touching him."
The cultist chuckled, voice warping strangely.
"Protective friends… adorable.
But useless."
Mana swirled around his fingers—dark, tainted, unstable.
Lucas's pulse spiked.
This enemy was weak by cult standards—maybe E– rank.
But Lucas and Kael?
Were barely above G–.
Kael whispered through clenched teeth, "Run or fight?"
Lucas swallowed.
"Neither."
Kael blinked. "What do you—"
Lucas pulled the Starlight Disk from his pouch.
It glowed faintly.
The cultist hissed. "THAT—! Give it to me! Now!"
Kael cursed under his breath. "Great. We caught a lunatic."
Lucas's heart hammered.
He didn't know how to use the disk.
He didn't know what it did.
But he knew one thing—
His bloodline resonated with it.
He held it tightly and whispered,
"Please… do something."
The disk pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
Then it emitted a small burst of silver light—
Not an attack.
Not a weapon.
But a shockwave that forced the cultist to stumble back.
He shrieked in pain, clutching his head.
"ARGH—! No… no… that light…!"
Kael stared. "What did you DO?!"
Lucas didn't answer.
Because he didn't know.
The system chimed frantically.
[Bloodline Shield Triggered]
Starlight Seal Disk — Emergency Defense (Auto-Activation)
Effect:
Repels weak chaotic entities.
Duration: 10 seconds.
TEN SECONDS.
That was all he had.
Kael gritted his teeth. "Ten seconds to run?"
Lucas shook his head.
"We'll never outrun him once it ends."
Kael swore. "Then what—?!"
Lucas stepped forward.
Heart pounding.
Legs shaking.
Voice low.
"We fight."
Kael gasped softly.
Lucas continued.
"He's injured. The disk hurt him. This is our only chance."
Kael's fists lit with faint reddish mana—
Barely enough to make sparks.
"Fine," he spat. "Then let's beat him before he beats us."
Lucas nodded.
His limbs trembled.
His breath burned.
But he activated Body Reinforcement again.
[Body Reinforcement — Temporary Activation]
Duration: 5 seconds
Stats boosted slightly.
The cultist steadied himself as the disk's light began to dim.
His grin widened, twisted and insane.
"YOUR LIGHT… WILL BE MINE!"
Lucas exhaled sharply.
"Kael—now!"
Kael roared and charged.
Lucas followed.
Both boys knew the truth:
If they failed—
they would die in this alley,
and the world would never know why.