Mt. Moon swallowed sound.
Even Nathan's footsteps slow, careful seemed hesitant to echo, as if the walls themselves were listening.
Zorua stayed behind him, silent but watchful. Nidoran stuck close to the left flank, his eyes darting. Squirtle led up front, calm but alert, his shell occasionally brushing the tunnel walls in tight turns.
The torchlight flickered in the stale air. Crystalline minerals sparkled faintly along the walls. Once or twice, Nathan spotted wild Pokémon scurrying just beyond reach a Paras, a pair of Zubat. Low-threat, easily avoided.
But that wasn't what concerned him.
It was the pattern.
The deeper he went, the more unnatural the tunnels seemed.
Too straight.
Too intentional.
Like someone or something had carved these paths long ago.
𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐧:
𝐂𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐡: 𝟑.𝟕 𝐤𝐦
𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥 𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝟑𝟖% (𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞: 𝟕𝟔%)
𝐄𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐫: 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝
𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐎𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞: 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬
𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐎𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝: 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞
Nathan paused at a fork in the tunnels. One path curved upward and veered toward dim torchlight likely a more travelled passage. The other dipped downward into shadow, faintly outlined by the System's scan grid.
He hesitated only a moment.
Then took the lower path.
The air grew colder. Not just cool but dense, dry, and silent.
His torchlight caught a glimmer, then a shape.
A pillar.
Not natural stone, but something ancient and weathered. Carved.
He approached slowly.
It was made of black marble streaked with silver. Faint lines etched down the surface in swirling, spiral patterns. Glyphs of a language he didn't know but the System stirred.
𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝
𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥: 𝐋𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞
𝐀𝐠𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝟕𝟎𝟎+ 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬
𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: 𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐜 | 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: 𝐃𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭
𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐎𝐛𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝: 𝐑𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 (𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐩𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞: 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞)
Nathan's hand hovered just above the pillar.
Zorua stepped forward and sniffed the air near it, her ears pinned back.
Squirtle raised his arms instinctively, guarding the front. Nidoran let out a faint growl.
Something was close.
Then a flicker.
A cold rush swept past them like a shadow. Not a figure. Not a sound.
Just… a feeling.
Nathan turned sharply.
Nothing.
But the System pinged again.
𝐔𝐧𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐄𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐏𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 – 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐥
𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬
𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬: 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 – 𝐈𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐧-𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞.
Nathan's breath caught. "There's someone down here."
He tightened his pack.
"Squirtle, stay sharp. Zorua, shadow blend. Nidoran, with me."
They moved fast now, torchlight low. Footsteps fell in rhythm, careful but steady.
He passed another carved wall, this one cracked. Symbols half-faded. Dust clung to claw marks, some fresh, some ancient.
Then he heard it.
Crunch.
Clack.
Footsteps. Distant, but real.
Then gone.
The path curved and opened into a wide hollow.
And there, etched into the far wall, stood a stone door.
Half-buried. Partially broken. But undeniably constructed.
Nathan stepped closer—and stopped.
Bootprints.
Fresh.
Human.
He crouched and scanned the ground.
Too wide for his own. Slightly deeper. The stride was longer, whoever it was, they'd moved fast, but deliberately.
But why here?
And why stop?
He tapped the door.
It didn't budge. But it hummed beneath his fingers.
Alive. Sealed. Waiting.
𝐑𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐆𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 – 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝
𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 𝐒𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐃𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 (𝐔𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥)
𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: 𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐜/𝐅𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐲 𝐁𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐝 – 𝐏𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤: 𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧-𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐲
𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐀𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝.
Nathan stepped back.
"So this is where the stories came from…" he murmured. "The Clefairy, the light shows, the energy surges... This isn't just a cave."
This was a vault.
Or a tomb.
And someone else had come looking for it.
He marked the coordinates manually in his notebook and opened the System to save the scan data.
Then, for now, he turned back.
They'd need to return here—when they were ready.
As he walked away, the air behind him trembled slightly. Not loudly. Just a faint shift.
Like a whisper behind stone.
Back at the base camp, he uploaded his log privately to a blank file:
"There's something buried under Mt. Moon. Not just fossils or rare Pokémon. A structure. A system-interactive site. And someone else found it first."
He closed the file.
Later that night, as he sat by the fire with his team surrounding him once more, he didn't speak of it.
Not yet.
But he knew the mountain hadn't shown its full face.
And something ahead would.