The wooden sparrow glided silently through the air.
It had no wings that flapped.
No strings.
No visible magic.
Yet it flew with purpose.
Straight toward Noah.
It slowed as it reached the chapel courtyard.
Then...
It landed gently on Noah’s open palm.
The tiny carving felt warm.
Almost alive.
Everyone watched in silence.
Eric was the first to speak.
"...It’s just a piece of wood..."
The moment he finished...
The sparrow turned its tiny head.
And looked directly at him.
Eric immediately took two steps back.
"...I take it back."
The little bird hopped onto Noah’s shoulder.
It chirped once.
A soft, almost melancholic sound.
Then turned its head toward the newly revealed stone path.
Waiting.
Father Benedict stared at it in disbelief.
"I never thought I’d see one move."
Chief Elias frowned.
"You’ve seen these before?"
The priest nodded slowly.
"In old drawings."
"But never..."
"...with my own eyes."
Noah extended his hand.
The sparrow hopped back onto his palm.
Instead of flying toward the shrine...
It pecked lightly against the rusted iron key beneath his shirt.
Tap.
Once.
Twice.
Then it became still.
Ragnar’s voice echoed quietly.
"Interesting..."
Noah mentally responded.
"You know what it is?"
A brief silence.
Then...
"No."
"But I know what it isn’t."
"What isn’t it?"
"It isn’t your enemy."
The words lingered in Noah’s mind.
Father Benedict broke the silence.
"There is an old belief."
"When the forest chooses to guide..."
"...it sends a bird."
Chief Elias looked surprised.
"I thought that was only a legend."
"So did I."
The sparrow suddenly leaped into the air again.
It circled the chapel once.
Then flew toward the hidden path.
After several meters...
It stopped.
Hovering.
Waiting.
As if checking whether they were following.
Noah looked at his squad.
"We move."
Eric nodded immediately.
Luna adjusted her daggers.
Damien rested a hand on his sword.
Sophia tightened her grip on her staff.
Chief Elias stepped forward.
"I’ll come with you."
Noah gently shook his head.
"You should stay."
"The village needs its chief."
Elias hesitated.
Then slowly nodded.
"...Bring everyone back."
Noah remembered Professor Ingrid’s lesson.
A leader’s first duty... is to return.
"I will."
Father Benedict handed Noah a small leather pouch.
"What’s this?"
"Salt."
Eric blinked.
"...Salt?"
The priest smiled faintly.
"You’ll understand if you need it."
No further explanation came.
Noah accepted it anyway.
The five students stepped onto the hidden path.
Immediately...
The air changed.
The cheerful sounds of the village disappeared.
Even though Eldermere was only a few hundred meters behind them...
It suddenly felt impossibly far away.
The sparrow continued leading them deeper into Graypine Forest.
Its pace was slow.
Almost considerate.
As though it wanted to make sure they could keep up.
After nearly an hour of walking...
The path ended.
Before them stood an enormous stone archway.
It was ancient.
Far older than the shrine.
Its surface was covered in faded carvings.
Some depicted birds.
Others showed seven figures standing beneath a sky full of stars.
The seventh figure carried...
A key.
Damien traced one of the carvings with his eyes.
"This place..."
"...predates the academy."
Sophia quietly added,
"Maybe even the kingdoms."
Noah stepped closer.
The sparrow landed atop the arch.
It chirped three times.
Chirp.
Chirp.
Chirp.
The stone arch responded.
Ancient runes glowed with a pale silver light.
Dust poured from the cracks.
Slowly...
A massive stone door hidden beneath vines slid open.
RUMBLE...
Cold air drifted out.
Not the stale air of an abandoned ruin.
Fresh.
As though someone had opened the door only yesterday.
Beyond the entrance stretched a long corridor lit by floating blue lights.
No torches.
No windows.
Only silence.
Eric swallowed.
"So..."
"We’re really doing this."
Luna smiled faintly.
"We came all this way."
Noah looked once at each member of Squad Seven.
No fear.
No hesitation.
Only trust.
He nodded.
"Stay together."
"No one wanders off alone."
The others answered in unison.
"Right."
As they crossed the threshold...
The stone door behind them slowly began to close.
Not with violence.
But with certainty.
BOOM.
The echo rolled through the ancient passage.
Ahead...
The wooden sparrow continued flying.
Somewhere in the darkness...
Something stirred.
Not because intruders had entered.
But because...
It had been waiting for them.
The stone door closed behind them.
BOOM...
The sound rolled through the corridor until it disappeared into the depths ahead.
Silence followed.
A silence so complete...
It almost felt alive.
The floating blue lights illuminated the passage.
They weren’t torches.
Nor crystals.
They drifted lazily through the air like tiny stars.
Whenever one passed close to Noah...
The rusted iron key grew slightly warmer.
Eric looked around nervously.
"I don’t like places where the lights float by themselves."
Luna glanced sideways.
"You don’t like most places."
"...Fair point."
The wooden sparrow continued ahead.
Its small body glowed faintly in the darkness.
Every few meters...
It paused.
Waiting for Squad Seven.
The corridor eventually widened.
An enormous circular chamber stretched before them.
Its ceiling disappeared into darkness.
Dozens of towering stone pillars supported the ancient structure.
Each pillar was covered in faded carvings.
Sophia stepped closer to one.
"They’re people..."
The carving depicted a woman placing flowers upon a bridge.
Another showed a young boy carving a small wooden sparrow.
Another...
Showed children playing beneath enormous pine trees.
Eric smiled.
"So this place tells a story."
Damien slowly shook his head.
"No."
"It’s recording history."
Noah moved toward another pillar.
His fingers brushed the stone.
The carving changed.
Not physically.
But in his mind.
For a single heartbeat...
He saw the forest as it had once been.
Bright.
Alive.
Children laughing.
Merchants crossing the old bridge.
Families celebrating beneath lanterns.
Graypine Forest...
Had once been a place of joy.
The vision disappeared.
Noah quietly stepped back.
"...These aren’t decorations."
"They’re memories."
The wooden sparrow chirped softly.
As though agreeing.
At the center of the chamber stood seven statues arranged in a perfect circle.
Each statue faced inward.
Each wore different armor.
Different robes.
Different crowns.
Six held magnificent weapons.
A sword.
A spear.
A bow.
A staff.
A great axe.
A pair of twin blades.
The seventh...
Held nothing.
Only an open hand.
Eric frowned.
"...Where’s the key?"
Noah noticed it immediately.
"The key isn’t carved."
Instead...
The seventh statue’s hand had a shallow indentation.
Exactly the size of Noah’s rusted iron key.
Damien looked toward him.
"Should we?"
Noah didn’t answer immediately.
Instead...
He examined the floor.
Dust.
No footprints.
No signs of recent activity.
Ragnar’s voice echoed calmly.
"Observe before acting."
Noah smiled faintly.
"I was planning to."
He circled the statues.
One full lap.
Nothing.
On the second lap...
He noticed something.
Every statue except the seventh faced inward.
The seventh...
Faced slightly toward the entrance.
Almost...
As if welcoming those who arrived.
Sophia suddenly whispered,
"...Noah."
She pointed upward.
Above the statues...
Tiny blue lights were gathering together.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
They formed words.
Ancient words.
Yet somehow...
Everyone understood them.
Only those who remember... may proceed.
The words dissolved into light.
Before anyone could react...
The chamber trembled.
RUMBLE...
Stone scraped against stone.
From behind one of the pillars...
Footsteps echoed.
Slow.
Heavy.
Measured.
A figure emerged from the shadows.
Not a monster.
Not a spirit.
A knight.
Over two meters tall.
Its armor was carved entirely from pale gray stone.
Ancient moss grew across its shoulders.
Its face was hidden behind a featureless helmet.
In both hands...
It carried a massive stone greatsword.
The knight stopped.
It looked at Squad Seven.
Then...
It slowly drove its sword into the ground.
BOOM!
The entire chamber shook.
A deep voice echoed from within the helmet.
Not hostile.
Not welcoming.
Simply ancient.
State... your purpose.
Eric instinctively tightened his grip on his spear.
Luna lowered into a fighting stance.
Damien rested his hand on his sword.
Sophia gathered mana.
Noah raised one hand.
Stopping them.
He took a single step forward.
The knight did not move.
It simply waited.
Patiently.
As though it had been asking the same question...
For centuries.