Location: Kilimani, Outskirts of Tavara
The morning sky was painted with hues of molten gold and charcoal gray as Damien's convoy maneuvered through the winding roads leading to the old Kane estate on the outskirts of Kilimani. The land was quiet—too quiet. The kind of silence that held secrets.
Damien sat inside the armored SUV, flanked by two of his most trusted operatives. Nora followed behind in a second vehicle, her eyes scanning the terrain. She could feel it in her bones—something ancient was buried here, something that had long been erased from public memory.
"This land," Damien began, his voice low, "was once a battleground. Before Ravenhold… before all this. My father sealed away a truth that could burn down nations."
His assistant nodded, typing commands into a digital console. "The coordinates you gave us… they match the unmarked zone on the satellite scans. But there's no visible structure."
"There wouldn't be," Damien replied. "It's not something that can be seen. It's felt."
As the convoy came to a halt, a small team disembarked, forming a protective perimeter. Damien stepped onto the cracked soil. The scent of damp earth and rust lingered in the air. A memory flashed before his eyes—he was ten, standing here beside his father during a full moon, watching as a strange symbol was etched into the dirt with a blade carved from obsidian.
He pressed his palm into the same spot.
The earth trembled.
Behind him, Nora exited her vehicle, drawn to the center as if by instinct. "What is this place?"
Damien looked at her, conflicted. "It's where everything began. And possibly… where it could all end."
A circular section of ground lit up, forming glowing symbols in languages older than the nation itself. The seal was waking.
Suddenly, a jarring sound tore through the air—a high-frequency pulse that dropped birds from the sky. Damien staggered, grabbing his earpiece.
"Signal interference!" Peter's voice came through distorted. "We're being jammed—"
A low rumble echoed beneath them, and the ground cracked open, revealing a spiral staircase descending into darkness.
Without hesitation, Damien drew his gun. "Stay on high alert. We're going in."
He and Nora exchanged a glance, one that held decades of trust and unspoken emotion.
They descended together, their steps lit only by the blue glow of the seal behind them.
What waited below wasn't just history.
It was a weapon.
Or a curse.
And Damien had just broken the lock.