The night was colder than usual.
The White Spirit Flower glowed softly in the center of the base like a tiny moon, scattering luminous dust across the clearing.Ren tried to sleep… but something in his chest kept him awake.
The forest whispered.The treetops trembled.And the flower's light seemed to call to him.
Ren rose quietly.
Lyra slept near the cabin entrance, clutching her bow.Draven was facedown, snoring softly.Borin slept leaning against his hammer, as if even in dreams he stood guard.
Ren smiled… sadly."They trust me so much."
Then the air shifted.
The wind stopped.The insects fell silent.The leaves froze in place.
Ren felt his staff vibrate.
Then tremble.
Then pulse, like it held a beating heart.
— "…I know," he whispered. "You want me to go."
🌘 The Path Opens
Ren walked deeper into the forest.
No sound.No movement.As if the world itself had paused.
He wasn't afraid.Something inside him knew this was inevitable.
He stepped between the trees until he reached a circular clearing—one he had never seen before.
Five stone pillars rose in warped shapes, covered in moss and ancient runes.At the center, a crack in the ground breathed faint light.
Ren's staff vibrated harder.
— "This… wasn't here before."
A voice echoed—not in the air, but inside him.
"It was always here. You simply could not see."
Ren froze.
His skin prickled.
He gripped his staff tightly.
— "Who's there?"
The light from the crack brightened.The runes on the pillars awakened.The air thickened, alive.
And then, he saw it.
👁️ The Eyes of the Cycle
The light rising from the crack shaped itself into a giant eye made of pure energy.
Not human.Not beast.Not spirit.
It was an eye of the world.
Ancient.Deep.Impossible.
Ren felt his soul tremble.His body felt small—too small to be noticed by something like this.
"Bearer of the Sleeping Eye…"
The voice echoed as if it came from everywhere at once.
Ren clenched his staff.— "I don't know what you mean."
"You do. In your soul, you know."
The runes glowed brighter.
Ren's staff responded, projecting the emblem of the Immortal Guild into the air.
The Eye pulsed.
"The Guild is young. But the world has awakened to you."
Ren gathered his breath.— "Why did the shadow attack me?"
Silence.Then:
"Because you lit a flame where none existed.""And flame calls what hides."
Ren felt weight sink onto his shoulders.
— "We only want to train… survive… grow."— "We never asked to awaken anything."
The Eye replied with calm cruelty:
"The cycle does not answer to desire.""The cycle simply continues."
The ground trembled.
Ren stepped back—but didn't flee.
The Eye studied him.Measured him.Judged him.
"Bearer… you are a seed."
Ren swallowed.— "A seed of what?"
The Eye darkened, glowing colder and deeper.
"Of change."
Ren stopped breathing.Stopped blinking.
He just listened.
"You will open paths.""Forge bonds.""Break chains."
Then the Eye dimmed further.
"But every change requires a price."
Ren felt something tighten in his chest.
— "What price?"
The Eye answered with three words that froze his blood:
"Loss.""Pain.""And choice."
The clearing shook violently.
Ren dropped to his knees.
His heart pounded like a war drum.
"The Guild walks toward glory…""…and toward mourning."
Ren's teeth clenched.
— "I won't… lose anyone."
The Eye stared at him—
—and smiled, in a way that was not human.
"They all say that."
The light receded.The runes dimmed.The Eye dissolved.
The clearing returned to simple forest.
Ren stayed there, shaking, trying to breathe.
The first tear fell before he realized it.
He wiped his face.Stood.
And walked back toward the base…knowing he would never be the same again.
📜 [Status Window – Immortal Guild]
Event Recorded: First Contact with the CycleClassification: Confidential – Only the Leader perceivedEntity: "The Eye of the Cycle" (Unknown)
Effects Gained:
Spiritual Sight (Lv.1): Ren can sense anomalies before they appear
Weight of the Cycle: ???
Spiritual Synergy +5
Side Effects:
Increased mental strain
Possible nightmares
Partial awakening of spiritual consciousness
Guild Status: Being observed by an unknown force