One piece: Without a system, I have to survive!

I clenched my fists.

"What do you mean... I'm not supposed to be here?"

The Elder stared at me, his eyes dark and knowing.

"The Watchers do not hunt without reason." His voice was calm, almost too calm. "They are the keepers of balance."

I frowned. "Balance?"

The jungle around us felt wrong. The air was too still, the shadows stretching unnaturally.

Shira stepped beside me, gripping her dagger tightly.

"I don't like this," she muttered. "They disappeared too easily."

I agreed.

The Watchers weren't just defeated—they retreated.

Why?

I turned back to the Elder.

"You knew they wouldn't kill us."

He didn't deny it.

"They were testing you."

A shiver ran down my spine.

Testing us?

For what?

A Secret Buried in the Past

The Elder took a slow step forward.

And I felt it.

A pulse.

Not of magic.

Not of energy.

But of something deeper.

Something ancient.

Something alive.

I tensed.

"You feel it now," the Elder said.

Shira's breath hitched. "What... is that?"

The Elder finally turned to face us fully.

Then, he spoke words that sent ice through my veins.

"This place is a graveyard of the forgotten."

I swallowed hard.

"Forgotten?"

The Elder's expression was unreadable.

"Memories. Histories. People."

He gestured toward me.

"Even you."

I took a step back, my heart pounding.

"No. That's impossible."

Was this some kind of mind game?

Some trick?

I still remembered who I was.

Didn't I?

Didn't I?

A cold dread crept over me.

I clenched my jaw.

"I don't believe you."

The Elder simply nodded.

"You will."

The Choice Ahead

I shook my head.

No.

I wouldn't let him get into my head.

"We're wasting time," I muttered. "The tomb is destroyed, but there has to be something left. Some kind of clue."

Shira nodded. "He's right. We can't leave empty-handed."

The Elder sighed.

"You still do not understand."

He gestured to the ruins behind us.

"There is no treasure here. No hidden relic."

I frowned.

"Then why were the Watchers guarding it?"

The Elder's gaze darkened.

"Because of you."

The words struck me harder than I expected.

Because of me?

My stomach twisted.

Shira turned to me, her expression uncertain.

"What does he mean?" she asked.

I didn't answer.

Because I didn't know.

I had come here looking for answers—

But now, I had even more questions.

And something told me...

I might not like the truth.