Chapter 690 The Mystery Ghost

A faint surge of energy moved through Liam’s body.

His wings suddenly burst from his back.

The enormous Celestial Wings unfolded behind him in a rush, their feathers catching the light as they spread to their full length. Irina’s hair fluttered from the force of the movement, and before she could say anything, Liam flapped his wings once.

His body rose from the ground.

The next flap carried him several meters higher.

Liam continued ascending until he reached approximately the same height where they had watched the butterfly vanish. He stopped in midair, hovering effortlessly before the mountain. Irina remained below, watching him with a mixture of amusement and curiosity as Liam extended one hand toward the stone wall.

His palm touched the mountain.

For an instant, nothing happened.

Then his hand continued forward.

It passed straight through the stone.

Liam’s eyes widened slightly.

There was no resistance.

No rock.

No solid surface.

Nothing.

His arm disappeared into what appeared to be an ordinary section of the mountain as though the stone were nothing more than mist.

Liam’s lips slowly curled upward.

"Wow," he murmured, pulling his hand back and looking at it. "I was right."

He descended toward the ground, his wings folding behind him before retracting into his body. His boots touched the grass lightly, and he turned toward Irina, who was already waiting for him with her arms crossed.

"I don’t think we’re facing a ghost at all," Liam said.

Irina raised an eyebrow. "Then what would explain everything happening?"

Liam smiled.

"We’re just facing a human with a ridiculous cloaking treasure."

Irina stared at him for a moment before looking back toward the mountain.

Then a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"Well," she said, "let’s find out."

Before Liam could respond, Irina suddenly stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him.

Liam blinked.

He immediately returned the embrace, his arms settling around her as naturally as breathing. With one smooth motion, he lifted her from the ground.

Irina’s feet left the earth.

Liam’s wings unfolded once more.

He began rising.

As they climbed, Liam leaned slightly toward her, his face near her hair. He took a slow breath, and his expression softened.

"You smell so good," he said.

Irina looked at him suspiciously.

"They have perfumes here?"

"No, it’s my hair, idiot."

He took another sniff.

"It’s your skin. I can sniff."

Irina immediately began laughing.

"Stop sniffing my neck. It tickles."

"I wanna sniff them forever."

"Liam, we’re here already."

"Oh."

Liam finally looked up.

His attention shifted beyond her shoulder, and his eyes narrowed.

They had reached the section of the mountain where the butterfly had vanished.

Liam slowly stopped ascending.

For a moment, he hovered there with Irina held securely against him.

Then he moved forward.

Straight into the mountain.

The moment they crossed the illusion, Liam instinctively tightened his arms around Irina’s body. He had no idea what waited beyond the hidden entrance, and despite his confidence, there was no reason to assume that whoever had created such an elaborate concealment would simply leave the entrance unguarded.

The world around them changed.

For one brief second, everything became white.

A strange binding light surrounded them, bright enough to obscure their vision completely. Liam felt an unusual sensation pass through his body, almost like moving through a thin layer of energy. His Aether Sense reacted immediately, detecting magical fluctuations surrounding them, but the phenomenon lasted only a moment.

Then the light disappeared.

Their vision slowly returned.

Liam looked ahead.

He blinked.

Irina looked around.

She blinked too.

For several seconds, neither of them said anything.

The best description Liam could come up with was simple.

It looked like a cave.

But it was not an ordinary cave.

The walls were naturally formed stone, yet the interior had clearly been modified by someone. There were flat sections of rock that had been shaped into shelves, a small wooden table near one wall, several containers arranged neatly beside it, and what appeared to be a stove built directly into the stone.

A cooking pot sat on top of it.

There were even pieces of dried herbs hanging from a wooden rack.

Someone lived here.

Not recently.

Someone had been living here for quite some time.

Liam slowly turned his head.

"So this is what was hidden behind the mountain."

Irina stepped forward, looking around with increasing fascination.

"Wow," she said. "You’re right. Someone really lives here."

Liam walked deeper into the cave, his eyes scanning every detail.

There was no dust covering the objects.

The firewood was neatly stacked.

The cooking utensils were clean.

There were blankets folded beside one wall.

A small bed had been made from wooden planks and covered with several layers of cloth.

Someone had built a life here.

A secret life.

And somehow, that person had managed to hide an entire dwelling inside a mountain without anyone in Elaris knowing.

Liam’s expression became serious.

"So whoever is behind this isn’t just hiding."

Irina glanced toward him.

"They’re living."

"Exactly."

He moved toward the stove and crouched beside it. He touched the surface.

Still warm.

His eyes narrowed.

"Someone was here recently."

Irina looked toward the cave entrance.

"Then where are they?"

Liam slowly stood.

"Probably watching us."

His words made Irina turn immediately.

She scanned the cave.

Nothing moved.

There was no sound except the faint movement of air through the hidden entrance.

Irina’s eyes narrowed.

"If they’re here, they’ll regret letting us inside."

Liam smiled faintly.

"Let’s not scare them away yet."

Irina gave him a look.

"You really enjoy this. I should have known you’re teasing me"

"A little."

They continued searching.

The cave was larger than it had first appeared. A narrow passage extended deeper into the mountain, but Liam could not immediately see where it led. Several shelves had been carved into the stone, holding strange bottles, pieces of cloth, dried plants, and small objects whose purpose he could not immediately identify.

There were no books.

No weapons lying openly around.

No obvious magical artifacts.

That almost made the place more suspicious.

Whoever lived here knew how to keep their secrets.

Irina suddenly stopped.

"Liam."

Her voice had changed.

He turned toward her.

She was standing beside a large wooden box positioned near the back wall.

"Liam, come check this out."

He walked over.

The box was unusually large, almost the size of a chest designed to hold armor or equipment. Its surface was covered with strange markings, though none were immediately threatening.

Liam crouched in front of it.

"Interesting."

He examined the lock.

It wasn’t locked.

That made him more cautious rather than less.

"Why would someone leave this open?"

Irina shrugged.

"Maybe they didn’t expect anyone to find the cave."

"Or they want whoever finds it to see what’s inside."

Irina looked at him.

"You’re making everything sound suspicious."

"Because everything is suspicious."

She rolled her eyes.

Liam placed his hands on the lid.

Then he lifted it.

The hinges creaked softly.

Inside was a thick piece of cloth.

Something was wrapped inside it.

Liam stared at the bundle.

Irina leaned closer.

"What is that?"

"I don’t know."

He carefully reached inside and lifted the wrapped object out of the box.

It was heavier than it looked.

The moment his fingers touched the cloth, Liam felt something strange.

Cold.

Not ordinary cold.

This was the kind of cold that seemed to seep directly into his skin.

His expression changed.

"Irina."

"I feel it."

Together, they watched as Liam slowly unwrapped the cloth.

The first piece of blue material appeared.

Then more.

Liam continued pulling the cloth away.

His eyes widened.

Irina’s expression changed completely.

Neither of them spoke.

What lay beneath the cloth was not a simple cloak.

It was a complete suit.

A full-body garment designed to cover everything from the feet to the head. The material was deep blue, smooth and strangely reflective, almost like fabric made from frozen water. It had no exposed sections.

No hands.

No feet.

No neck.

No face.

The entire body was covered.

And attached to the suit was a complete mask.

A seamless headpiece that would cover the wearer’s entire face and leave not even a strip of skin visible.

It reminded Liam of something from his world.

Something almost like a superhero suit.

Except there was nothing heroic about the feeling coming from it.

The cold radiating from the garment was ridiculous.

Liam could see a thin layer of frost forming on the wooden box beneath it.

Irina slowly extended one finger and touched the material.

She immediately pulled her hand back.

"That’s freezing."

Liam’s eyes narrowed as he studied the suit.

His Aether Sense surged.

Something was inside the material.

Not alive.

But powerful.

There was an abnormal energy signature woven through every part of it, almost as if the garment itself had been designed to distort perception and hide its wearer from the outside world.

Liam remembered the invisible presence they had sensed.

The strange wind.

The figure that had watched them.

The icy entity.

The way it had vanished.

His gaze moved slowly from the suit to Irina.

Then back to the suit.

Everything clicked.

The cave.

The illusion.

The invisible entrance.

The cold.

The mysterious figure.

The entity that had appeared to be made from ice.

The impossible movement.

Liam slowly reached down and touched the blue material again.

This time he did not pull away.

His expression became strangely calm.

"I think we just found our mystery ghost."

Irina stared at the suit.

Then she looked toward the hidden entrance.

For the first time since they had arrived in Elaris, the mystery surrounding the village felt like it was finally beginning to take shape.

They had not found a ghost.

They had found something someone had been using.

And whoever had been wearing that suit had been hiding inside this mountain all along.