For a long while, neither Atheline nor Lilith spoke.
The breakthrough had left the underground chamber in complete silence. The orb that had floated peacefully in the center of the room for countless ages had disappeared completely, leaving behind only empty air.
The pale light that had illuminated the chamber seemed dimmer now, as though the cave itself had noticed the loss of the artifact it had guarded for untold generations.
Atheline slowly exhaled, although every part of his body still felt warm from the immense surge of Aether, the violent pain had finally subsided.
He flexed his fingers one by one, his movements felt incredibly light.
Even the simple act of clenching his fist caused invisible currents of Aether to gather naturally around it before dispersing once more.
He had never felt such complete control over his own power, it was as though every element within his body had finally become part of him instead of something he merely commanded.
Lilith observed him quietly before allowing herself a small smile.
"It seems your body has completely stabilized."
Atheline nodded.
"I was expecting lingering pain."
He rolled one shoulder before stretching both arms.
"But there isn’t any, in fact..." he laughed softly. "I feel better than I ever have."
Lilith wasn’t surprised.
"The increase wasn’t forced, it was more like something that had been waiting for permission."
Atheline thought back to the invisible seals breaking one after another inside his core.
She was right, nothing about the breakthrough had felt artificial. It had felt as though ancient chains had simply been removed.
He glanced toward the place where the orb had once floated. Whatever it had been, hadn’t granted him power but returned something to him. That realization lingered in the back of his mind.
Unfortunately, ialso raised countless new questions. Questions neither of them could answer.
For now.
Lilith finally looked toward the tunnel leading back through the cave.
"We should return."
Atheline nodded.
"We’ve already been underground longer than we intended."
She gave a small amused smile.
"The others will probably assume we’ve gotten ourselves lost."
He chuckled.
"Knowing Lyria... She’ll probably be worried."
Together they began making their way back through the ancient passage, their footsteps echoing softly against the stone.
The cave seemed quieter than before, yet, not entirely. After walking for several minutes, Atheline slowed.
"You hear them too?"
Lilith nodded.
"The whispers."
They had expected them to disappear after the orb vanished; instead... The faint murmurs still drifted through the tunnels.
Neither hostile nor welcoming, simply, present.
Atheline frowned.
"So they weren’t coming from the orb."
"It seems not." Lilith’s eyes swept across the tunnel. "They’re part of the cave itself."
That somehow made the place feel even older, as though the whispers had seeped into the stone over countless millennia.
Neither of them tried listening too carefully, they had already learned enough about this place to know that ancient ruins rarely revealed all their secrets at once.
As they continued walking, the tunnels gradually widened. The faint glow of crystalline minerals embedded within the walls provided enough light to navigate comfortably.
Atheline absentmindedly brushed his fingertips against the rough stone, then stopped.
His expression changed.
Lilith immediately noticed.
"What is it?"
He didn’t answer immediately; instead, he leaned closer to the cave wall. His newly heightened perception had detected something unusual, something he had overlooked while entering the cave.
He placed his hand gently against the rock and a pulse of Aether answered.
His eyebrows rose.
"This..."
Lilith walked over. She followed his gaze toward a narrow vein of pale silver crystal running through the stone. The crystals were beautiful and tiny, almost hidden among ordinary rock, yet they radiated an unmistakable energy.
She reached out and touched one. The familiar cool sensation spread across her fingertips. Her eyes widened slightly.
"...Moon Stone."
Atheline looked surprised.
"So you felt it too."
Lilith nodded.
"There is no mistake."
She examined the vein more closely.
"It really is Moon Stone, i had completely forgotten about them."
For a few moments they simply stared.
The Demonic Continent possessed very few naturally occurring Moon Stones due to its unique environment. Finding even a small deposit was considered extraordinarily fortunate.
Yet here, hidden beneath a forgotten sanctuary, a vein stretched several meters through the cave wall.
Atheline let out a low whistle.
"No wonder they were so valuable."
Lilith slowly nodded.
"If word of this reached the outside world..."
She didn’t finish the sentence, she didn’t need to. Since they had already experienced it once. It would cause an uproar.
They continued walking, only a short distance later... Lilith suddenly stopped.
She stared toward another section of the tunnel, embedded high within the ceiling were crystals of a completely different color.
Golden and sarm. Softly glowing despite the complete absence of sunlight.
Her expression immediately became one of disbelief.
"...Impossible."
Atheline followed her gaze.
"What?"
She silently pointed upward.
He looked, then his own eyes widened.
"...Solar Stones?"
The golden crystals shimmered gently overhead like fragments of captured dawn. Unlike the cool radiance of the Moon Stones, these emitted faint warmth.
Pure Solar Aether flowed from them in tiny waves.
Lilith remained motionless.
"This doesn’t make sense."
Atheline slowly nodded.
"No, it doesn’t."
Solar Stones were even more difficult to form than Moon Stones. They required continuous exposure to dense Solar Aether over incomprehensible lengths of time.
Usually, they were discovered near volcanic peaks constantly bathed in sunlight or within ancient temples dedicated to solar deities.
Never, deep beneath the earth. Certainly not inside a cave where sunlight had likely never reached.
Lilith walked beneath the glowing crystals, her gaze carefully studing them.
"They’re natural."
Atheline activated his senses, the answer remained the same. These weren’t artificial treasures, the cave itself had produced them.
He slowly looked around.
Only now did he notice that the tunnel walls contained countless tiny traces of both lunar and solar Aether intertwined together.
It wasn’t enough to notice normally, but now, after reaching Peak Mystic, he could perceive them clearly.
His breathing slowed.
"I think..."
Lilith looked toward him.
"This entire cave, has been saturated by ancient Aether."
She considered his words carefully, then nodded.
"It would explain everything; the battle you witnessed, the orb and the barrier. If Sovereigns truly fought here..."
She glanced toward the golden crystals once more.
"...then perhaps the laws of nature themselves changed."
Atheline smiled faintly.
"What once required sunlight... no longer does."
Lilith ran her fingers lightly across the cave wall.
"The lingering Aether may have nurtured these minerals for thousands of years. It would explain why both types formed together."
Normally, that should have been impossible. Solar and Lunar energies naturally opposed one another, tet inside this cave, they coexisted peacefully.
Just as Atheline had seen countless elements coexist within the Supreme Sovereign’s single arrow.
The thought made him pause. Perhaps, even these stones were another remnant of that ancient age.
Neither of them spoke for several moments, finally, Atheline broke the silence.
"We’re not mining them."
Lilith smiled.
"I was about to say the same."
He laughed softly.
"I know exactly what you’re thinking. If we begin now, we’ll spend days digging."
She nodded.
"And we’ll probably damage something important."
More importantly, this cave was no ordinary mine; it was a historical site. Every chamber they had discovered had revealed another piece of history that the modern world had forgotten.
Destroying that in exchange for wealth would be shortsighted.
"We’ll come back."
Lilith looked once more at the shimmering veins of Moon Stone and the glowing Sun Stones overhead.
"When we’ve finished uncovering this place’s secrets and after we’ve prepared properly."
Atheline agreed immediately. There was no need to rush since the cave had hidden these treasures for thousands of years. A few more days wouldn’t make any difference.
With that silent understanding between them, they continued walking deeper through the ancient tunnels, leaving the untouched veins of Moon Stone and Sun Stone exactly where they had rested since before the Cataclysm.
.
.
.
Neither of them hurried.
Having already experienced one life-changing discovery, they approached every corridor with even greater caution.
Ancient ruins had a habit of revealing their greatest secrets only after patience had been rewarded. Eventually, the familiar chamber appeared before them.
Dozens upon dozens of preserved mummies stood silently in orderly rows exactly as they had before.
Lilith slowed her pace.
"We’re back."
Atheline nodded quietly, yet before either of them stepped fully into the chamber, something caught his eye.
He stopped abruptly.
"...Lilith."
She immediately noticed his expression.
"What is it?"
He slowly raised one hand, pointing beyond the rows of preserved bodies.
"The door."
Lilith followed his finger, her eyes widening slightly. The enormous stone door they had found tightly sealed during their first visit... now stood open.
Neither of them spoke, since they clearly remembered examining it. It hadn’t responded to force, nor to Aether, nor to any mechanism they could find.
It had simply refused to open, and now, without a single crack or sign of damage, it stood partially ajar.
A narrow passage stretched into darkness beyond it.