The ruins were silent.
Too silent.
Xu Tian stepped carefully across the broken stone floor, his eyes scanning every corner. Dust and snow had settled inside, covering most of the ground.
Nothing moved.
But the feeling was still there.
Stronger now.
He tightened his hold on the children.
"…Stay quiet," he said softly.
Not that they would answer.
The girl continued watching everything around her. The boy rested weakly against him, barely moving.
Xu Tian moved deeper inside.
The walls were old, covered in faded carvings. Some were broken, others worn down by time.
He paused near one of them.
Lines.
Symbols.
He didn't understand them.
But something about them felt familiar.
"…Strange."
He reached out and touched the wall.
The moment his fingers brushed against the surface, that same warmth spread through his body again.
Stronger than before.
Xu Tian's eyes narrowed.
"…It's reacting."
He pulled his hand back slowly.
The warmth didn't disappear completely this time.
It stayed.
Faint, but steady.
Xu Tian looked down at his hand.
"…So it's connected to this place."
He turned and continued forward.
The deeper he went, the stronger the feeling became.
Not painful.
But heavy.
Like something pressing against him.
Xu Tian slowed his steps.
"…There's something here."
Ahead, the ruins opened into a wider space.
A chamber.
Most of it had collapsed, but part of it remained intact.
In the center, something stood.
Xu Tian stopped.
A stone platform.
Cracked, but still standing.
And on top of it-
Something small.
Xu Tian approached slowly.
Each step made the feeling inside him grow stronger.
When he reached the platform, he looked down.
A piece of metal.
No.
Not metal.
Something else.
Dark.
Smooth.
Cold.
Xu Tian hesitated.
Then he reached out.
The moment he touched it, everything changed.
A sharp sensation ran through his body.
Not pain.
Something deeper.
His vision blurred for a moment.
Then cleared.
Xu Tian pulled his hand back slightly.
"…What was that?"
The object remained still.
But the feeling inside him had changed.
Stronger.
Clearer.
More controlled.
Xu Tian looked at it again.
"…You're not normal either."
For a moment, he considered leaving it.
But that thought disappeared quickly.
This place.
This feeling.
Everything pointed to it.
Xu Tian picked it up.
The moment he did, the pressure in the air shifted.
The room felt heavier.
Xu Tian's body tensed.
"…Of course."
Something had changed.
Not just inside him.
Around him.
A low sound echoed through the ruins.
Not from outside.
From deeper within.
Xu Tian's eyes sharpened.
"…So I'm not alone."
He tightened his grip on the object.
Then adjusted the children in his arms.
His stance steadied.
The silence didn't return.
Instead, something began to move.
And this time-
It was coming from inside the ruins.