Chapter 7
The underground chamber continued shaking.
Dust started falling from the old stone ceiling.
Victor looked around in shock.
"This shouldn't be happening yet," he said angrily.
Ran and Mariya also felt the strange vibration under their feet.
The ancient map on the stone table suddenly began glowing faintly.
Everyone in the room noticed it.
One of the hunters stepped back nervously.
"Boss… the map is glowing."
Victor quickly walked to the table.
His eyes widened.
The symbols on the map were slowly lighting up one by one.
Blue light spread across the ancient lines of the city.
Ran stared at the map.
"It's reacting to something."
Mariya whispered,
"Or… someone."
Suddenly the light from the map became brighter.
A beam of blue energy shot upward from the table.
It touched the ceiling of the chamber.
The entire room filled with glowing blue light.
The hunters looked scared.
One of them shouted,
"This place is cursed!"
Victor tried to stay calm.
"No… this is the power."
But at that moment something strange happened.
The light from the map suddenly moved toward Ran and Mariya.
Both of them felt a strange energy around them.
Mariya gasped.
"Ran… do you feel that?"
Ran nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"It feels like the energy is… calling us."
Victor's expression suddenly changed.
He looked at them with surprise and anger.
"Impossible…"
The ancient power was not reacting to him.
It was reacting to Ran and Mariya.
A New Power
The blue light from the ancient map continued moving toward Ran and Mariya.
The entire chamber was glowing.
Ran felt a strange warmth in his hands.
It was not painful.
Instead, it felt powerful… and alive.
Mariya also felt the same energy.
Her heartbeat became faster.
"Ran… something is happening to us."
Ran looked at his hands.
A faint blue glow was slowly appearing around them.
"I can feel it," he said quietly.
"It's like this energy knows us."
Victor watched them with anger.
"This power belongs to me!" he shouted.
He pointed at the hunters.
"Stop them!"
Two hunters quickly ran toward Ran and Mariya.
But just as they came close…
The blue light around Ran suddenly became stronger.
A wave of energy burst from his hands.
WHOOSH!
The hunters were pushed backward and fell to the ground.
Everyone in the chamber was shocked.
Mariya looked at Ran in surprise.
"Did… you do that?"
Ran looked confused.
"I… I didn't try to."
Victor's face became dark with anger.
"This is impossible."
He looked at the glowing map again.
The symbols were shining brighter now.
Victor realized something.
The ancient power had chosen its protectors.
And those protectors were Ran and Mariya
The Secret Door Opens
The underground chamber was filled with blue light.
Ran and Mariya were still surrounded by the glowing energy.
Victor looked furious.
"This cannot be happening!" he shouted.
He quickly pulled out a small gun.
"If the power will not obey me… then no one will have it!"
Mariya stepped back in fear.
"Ran… be careful!"
Victor aimed the gun at them.
But just before he could fire—
The ancient map on the stone table started glowing even brighter.
The symbols began spinning slowly.
Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound echoed in the chamber.
RRRRRRR…
The floor started shaking.
Everyone looked down in shock.
A large circle on the floor began to move.
It was a hidden mechanism.
The stone floor slowly split open.
A secret door was opening.
Cold wind rushed out from the dark hole below.
Ran and Mariya looked inside.
It was a deep underground passage leading even further down.
Victor stared at it with excitement.
"So… this is the real entrance."
But the shaking became stronger.
The floor near Ran and Mariya suddenly cracked.
Before they could react—
CRACK!
The ground under their feet broke.
"Ran!" Mariya screamed.
Both of them lost balance.
And in the next moment—
They fell into the dark underground passage.
Victor rushed forward and looked down.
But it was too dark to see anything.
He clenched his fists.
"Run if you want," he said coldly.
"You cannot escape the power of this city."