Chapter 26: Village Below the Mist XIV

Chapter 26: 26: Village Below the Mist XIV --- He zipped back out the temple like a firecracker, flew through the village with no regard for silence, and divebombed straight into John’s window. Inside, John was sleeping peacefully, buried under a thin blanket with one leg poking out and the expression of someone finally getting real sleep. Fizz landed directly on his chest and licked his face with a loud slurp. John yelped and shot upright, arms flailing. "Fizz, what the hell." "Good morning, my funny looking chosen one." "It is not morning." John replied with an angry face. "It is in my heart. Wake up!" John wiped his face with a groan. "You licked me again." "I had to activate the Hero Protocol. You were dreaming about soup." "I like soup." "Yes, and now we’re going underground. Come on." Fizz grabbed John’s collar with both teeth and started pulling. John groaned again but sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Fine. What is it this time." "Secret temple door. Magic stairs. Glowing chamber. Probably curses." "Fizz, please tell me this isn’t another prank like the cooking from yesterday." "No, this one is real. And no mushrooms this time." John dressed quickly, threw on his boots, and followed the excited red orange fluff toward the temple. When he saw the open altar and the swirling mist descending down the revealed steps, his doubt vanished. "You actually found something." "I always find something." "That does not mean it should be found." Together, they descended the stone staircase, each step glowing with blue veins of ancient energy. The air grew colder but not dead. It felt like something sleeping below the surface, like a pulse waiting to be heard. They reached the chamber, and even John had to pause. It was enormous, a hidden room beneath the village carved perfectly into the mountain bed. The walls were etched with symbols older than language, ash and black dust inlays glowing faintly in the dim blue light. In the center was a crystal obelisk, shaped like a tall angular console. It hovered slightly above a stone dais, with spinning glyphs slowly circling its core. Fizz whistled low. "I call dibs on naming it. How about Sparkle Stick 9000." John ignored him and stepped closer. As he approached, the glyphs rearranged themselves and the air around the obelisk shimmered. The system chimed inside his mind. [System Notification: Unknown Interface Detected. Integrating. Nexus Node Connection Successful. ] John blinked as his vision swam with flickering blue light. Thousands of images, data, blueprints, languages, ancient structures, all swirled together before fading into a single word. "Nexus." Fizz waved a paw in front of John’s face. "You still with me, buddy. You look like you’re understanding the meaning of life." John whispered, "This thing is tied to an old civilization. It’s like a forgotten server buried for centuries." Fizz flew in circles around it, sniffing the spinning glyphs. "Can it make pancakes?" "No, but it might make history." Then suddenly a voice pierced the silence. "What in the stars are you two doing down here?" They both turned fast. Sera stood at the bottom of the stairs, hair wild in the torchlight, spear in hand, golden eyes narrowing as she took in the glowing chamber. Fizz raised a furry paw in greeting. "Hey there, holy girl." John stepped in front of the console. "We didn’t mean to break in. Fizz found a mechanism. I followed to make sure he didn’t explode it." Sera stared at the obelisk, then at the carved walls, then at them. "This room was sealed. Even Elara never mentioned it. How long has it been here." "Centuries. Maybe longer," John said. "I think it’s called a Nexus Node." She approached slowly, her eyes full of questions and warning. "And what does that mean exactly?" "It means it’s connected to something like an old civilization. Maybe there’s a whole network of these. If we find more of this then we will get the knowledge." Fizz flopped onto a stone bench. "And maybe snacks for me. Still holding out hope." Sera didn’t laugh. She stepped close to John, her voice low. "Did you activate anything? Did you have a vision?" "Only enough to interface. Nothing triggered beyond that." Fizz cleared his throat loudly. "Except maybe this." He pressed one of the glowing symbols on the obelisk before anyone could stop him. There was a soft hum. A section of the wall slid open, revealing a narrow shelf lined with dust, ancient scrolls, and a single floating crystal box. John turned sharply. "Fizz, what did you do?" "Opened the treasure chest of destiny. You’re welcome." John stepped to the shelf and lifted the crystal box. [Ding! System Notification: Ancient Module Forge Detected. Compatible upgrade available for Forge Interface.] He smiled in disbelief. "It’s a forge scroll. Maybe I can use it in my forge." Sera didn’t look convinced. "Did you realize you just woke up / found something older than this continent?" "And it gave me blueprints." Fizz whispered dramatically. "The prophecy has begun." Sera glanced between them, then sighed. "You get one night to study this, John. One. Then we tell Elara. She is a paladin of the church." John nodded. "Agreed. But I need to know what this is. If this network is still alive, then we’re not alone." Sera looked him in the eye. "You really believe that, don’t you." "Yes." Fizz spun in the air behind them. "I believe in pancakes." John turned to leave, crystal box in hand. "Come on. Before Fizz activates another ancient doomsday alarm." Fizz held his body high. "I swear. No more buttons. Unless they glow extra bright." John gave him a look. "Fizz." "Okay. Fine." They climbed the stairs back into the quiet temple, mist rolling in like nothing had ever stirred. Behind them, deep in the chamber, the obelisk pulsed again softly, as if breathing. It had woken up sometime, which was imprisoned in this land. In the kingdom of DyingHeart. And it would bring destruction to this world. A few moments later... John sat at his forge well past midnight. The glow of the temple’s discovery still clung to his thoughts like a fog he couldn’t shake. The crystal box rested on the workbench beside him, pulsing softly with a faint blue hue. It was strange. Calming. Dangerous.