Chapter 127 – The Heart Beneath the Mountain

Chapter 127: Chapter 127 – The Heart Beneath the Mountain

The passage beneath the Waiting City descended far deeper than anyone expected. The walls gradually changed from ordinary stone to smooth white crystal, and faint streams of golden and black energy traveled through them like veins. Seraphina could feel the life within the mountain becoming stronger as they continued, while Azrael sensed a second presence beneath it—something heavier and much more unstable.

"Whatever is below us isn’t part of the city," Azrael said as they reached another set of doors.

Seraphina placed her hand against the surface. "No. The city was built around it."

Caelan studied the doors. "Then whoever created this place knew what was here."

"Or they discovered it afterward," Seraphina replied.

Azrael pushed the doors open.

A massive chamber stretched before them.

At its center floated a dark crystal surrounded by six enormous rings of light. Golden energy flowed into the crystal from one side while black energy entered from the other. The two forces met inside it, where they continuously collided and separated.

Seraphina immediately understood why the people above had been preserved.

"This is the source."

Azrael nodded. "The mountain is suppressing it."

The crystal suddenly pulsed.

The entire chamber shook.

One of the rings cracked.

Caelan raised his spear. "Is that supposed to happen?"

"No," Azrael answered.

Another ring cracked.

Seraphina looked toward the ceiling. "If those rings fail, the energy will reach the city."

"And everyone above will be affected."

Azrael stepped toward the crystal.

The black energy surrounding Astraeus reacted immediately, but Seraphina caught his arm.

"Wait."

He looked at her.

"We don’t know what touching it will do."

Azrael glanced back at the crystal. "Then we’ll learn before we act."

Seraphina nodded.

They approached together.

As they came within several meters, the crystal changed.

Images appeared across its surface.

The underground city.

The people who had built it.

The three pillars.

Then a different scene appeared.

A vast battlefield.

Countless figures fought beneath a sky filled with golden and black energy. The battle was unlike anything the twins had witnessed before. There were no recognizable kingdoms or races, only armies moving between enormous structures that seemed to span entire mountains.

Seraphina stared at the image.

"This happened after the separation."

Azrael watched closely.

A group of people carried fragments of golden and black crystal away from the battlefield.

"They were collecting remnants."

The image shifted again.

The people brought those fragments beneath the mountains and constructed the three pillars around the dark crystal.

A voice emerged from the crystal.

"We could not restore the cycle."

The words echoed throughout the chamber.

"But we could preserve its possibility."

Seraphina stepped closer.

"Who are you?"

The voice didn’t answer.

Instead, another image appeared.

A young man stood before the crystal, surrounded by several others. He placed his hand against it.

The crystal reacted violently.

The young man immediately collapsed.

The others pulled him away.

"We failed."

The memory continued.

"Neither Genesis nor Oblivion can be safely reconstructed from fragments."

Azrael’s expression hardened.

"They were trying to recreate the original forces."

"Yes," Seraphina said. "And they couldn’t."

The crystal suddenly released a powerful pulse.

Azrael and Seraphina both stepped backward.

A System notification appeared before them.

[Azrael’s System]

Foreign Resonance Detected.

Source: Unknown

Oblivion Resonance Compatibility: High

A second notification appeared before Seraphina.

[Seraphina’s System]

Foreign Resonance Detected.

Source: Unknown

Genesis Resonance Compatibility: High

The twins exchanged a glance.

Neither had seen their Systems react to something like this before.

Then the crystal spoke again.

"The fragments have waited."

"Waited for what?" Seraphina asked.

"For their rightful vessels."

The chamber went silent.

Azrael’s eyes narrowed.

"Us?"

The crystal gave no direct answer.

Instead, the six rings began rotating.

Golden energy moved toward Seraphina.

Black energy moved toward Azrael.

The colorless energy in the center moved between them.

Seraphina immediately felt warmth spread through her body.

It wasn’t overwhelming.

It was familiar.

Like standing beneath sunlight after spending a long time in darkness.

Azrael experienced the opposite.

His surroundings seemed to become quieter.

The black energy didn’t feel destructive.

It felt like silence after something had reached its conclusion.

Neither twin resisted.

They allowed the resonance to pass through them.

The crystal began stabilizing.

One of the cracked rings repaired itself.

Then another.

Caelan stared in disbelief.

"They’re stabilizing it."

Seraphina opened her eyes.

"We aren’t giving it power."

Azrael finished her thought.

"It’s recognizing us."

The remaining rings stopped moving.

For several seconds, nothing happened.

Then the colorless symbol appeared above the crystal.

The same symbol they had encountered throughout the mountains.

Choice.

A small fragment separated from the crystal and floated toward the twins.

It stopped between them.

Neither reached for it.

Seraphina looked at Azrael.

"What do you think?"

Azrael studied the fragment.

"It isn’t asking us to take it."

"Then what is it asking?"

The fragment divided into two smaller pieces.

One golden.

One black.

They moved toward the twins.

The golden fragment stopped before Seraphina.

The black fragment stopped before Azrael.

The colorless light remained between them.

Seraphina slowly extended her hand.

The golden fragment entered her palm.

At the same moment, Azrael accepted the black fragment.

Neither experienced a surge of overwhelming power.

Instead, both felt something settle into place.

A connection.

Not an Authority.

Not a new source of strength.

A fragment of understanding.

Seraphina looked at the golden light in her hand.

"This doesn’t belong to me."

Azrael nodded.

"Neither does this."

The crystal’s voice returned.

"They are not weapons."

"They are memories."

The twins looked at each other.

Memories.

That changed everything.

Seraphina closed her fingers around the fragment.

"What memories?"

The crystal began displaying another scene.

Two figures stood beneath a white tree beside a crystal-clear lake.

Azrael froze.

The old master.

He recognized the place immediately.

The same place where he had trained beyond the Thirteenth Gate.

But there was someone else standing beside the old master.

A woman.

Her face remained hidden by the distortion of the memory.

Azrael stared.

He had seen this before.

But this time, the image was clearer.

The woman placed a hand on the shoulder of a much younger Azrael.

The old master stood nearby.

Then the woman turned toward the lake.

Her voice was faint, almost lost beneath the distortion.

"One day, he will remember."

The memory abruptly ended.

Azrael remained completely still.

Seraphina touched his arm.

"Aza."

He looked at her.

"The place from the Tower."

"I know."

"The old master was there."

"I know."

His expression became more serious.

"And so was someone else."

Seraphina nodded.

The crystal began fading.

Before the image disappeared completely, one final sentence echoed through the chamber.

"Your past was never erased."

"It was divided."

The crystal went dark.

For several moments, nobody spoke.

Then the mountain shook violently.

A deep cracking sound echoed from above.

Caelan looked toward the ceiling.

"The rings are failing again."

Azrael turned toward the crystal.

The memory had given them another piece of the truth, but there was no time to investigate it.

The Waiting City was still above them.

Hundreds of people were depending on the three pillars.

Seraphina stepped forward.

"We can talk about the memory later."

Azrael nodded.

"First, we save the city."

They moved toward the six rings.

This time, they understood what had to be done.

The crystal did not need to be destroyed.

It needed to be stabilized.

And the only way to do that was to bring Genesis, Oblivion, and Choice into balance.

Seraphina placed her hand against the golden ring while Azrael reached for the black.

The colorless symbol appeared between them.

Together, they began restoring the Heart of the Mountain.