The chamber's hum lingered, a faint pulse in the stillness, as Kael'thyr's hologram looped its solemn tale.
Arthev stood silent, eyes distant, his mind a whirlpool of half-formed thoughts. The Syltharim's words echoed—ambition, a force, nature's wrath, seven artifacts sealed away. It was a puzzle with too many edges missing, and the beast he'd fought gnawed at the center of it.
"Kid, turn that guy off already," Shukaku's voice grumbled in his head, sharp with impatience. "He's just gonna keep yapping the same thing. My head's had enough rock-gargle for one day."
Arthev blinked, snapping out of his reverie. "Yeah, you're right." He crouched by the cylindrical device, fingers brushing the glowing glyph. The hologram flickered out, Kael'thyr's image dissolving into silence. But the quiet didn't still his mind—it churned faster, piecing together fragments.
"That beast… it's been bugging me."
"Scale-face?" Shukaku snorted. "What about it? Big, mean, and ugly—end of story."
"No," Arthev said, voice low, gaze drifting to the rubble where it had fallen. "It appeared out of nowhere. Attacked the second I got close to this—" He tapped the box-like structure beside him.
"It wasn't hunting me. It was… protecting this. Like a guard."
"Protecting?" Shukaku's tone shifted, curious. "You saying it wasn't just some wild thing looking for a snack?"
"Exactly," Arthev replied, standing as his thoughts raced. "Kael'thyr said their security measures were 'unyielding craft'—programmed machines, right? That fits the tech he described. But that beast had soul power—level 93, you said. Something's off." He paced, Shinragan flickering briefly as he traced the pattern.
"What if… this was before the soul master era? Millions of years back, maybe. Their security was tech—advanced, lifeless machines. Then soul power came later, after their fall."
"Slow down, Stunned Face," Shukaku said, skeptical.
"You're jumping all over the place. What's soul power got to do with it?"
Arthev stopped, staring at the box. "Think about it. That force they glimpsed—everywhere, untouchable—maybe it was soul power, before it had a name. They couldn't control it, nature fought back, and they collapsed. The world recovered, time passed—millions of years, probably. Then soul power emerged fully, seeping into everything. Even their tech." His voice grew taut, a thread of realization pulling tight.
"What if that beast was their security measure, fused with soul power over eons? Programmed to protect this vault, it absorbed soul power, cultivated it, grew into something alive—level 93 strong. That's why it used everything it had against us."
"Huh," Shukaku rumbled, mulling it over. "So you're saying it's like… a machine turned soldier? Sitting here for millions of years, soaking up power 'til it could flatten a mountain?"
"Makes sense," Arthev said, nodding slowly. "It moved like it had a purpose—single-minded, no hesitation. A program with a will. And when you beat it, it didn't bleed—just scattered into energy. That's not flesh. That's soul power, built up over time."
"Okay, smart guy," Shukaku said, a grin in its tone. "You've got it all figured out. So what now? Gonna hunt down those other sealed artifacts? Seven vaults, seven prizes—sounds like a fun road trip."
Arthev's gaze hardened, his mind sinking deeper. "Collect them?" He fell silent, weighing it.
...
"No," he said finally, voice firm. "Not yet."
"No?" Shukaku sounded surprised. "Why not? You've got the pendant-key-thing, and I'm here to smash stuff. What's the holdup?"
Arthev exhaled, glancing at the mud-crusted pendant in his hand. "First—this isn't in my memories. Douluo Dalu, my past life—none of this Syltharim stuff came up. No clans, no Spirit Hall, nobody knows about this. That's an edge, but it's also a risk. Second—I'm eight, Shukaku. Eight years old. I'm level 14 now, sure, but that beast nearly killed me. I'm theorizing there's more—other 'guardian beasts,' like I'm calling them."
"Guardian beasts?" Shukaku echoed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Not typical beasts," Arthev explained, voice steady. "They're not alive like spirit beasts—just protectors, programmed to guard what's sealed. That one was level 93. The others? Could be just as strong—or stronger."
"Stronger?" Shukaku laughed, brash and loud. "Kid, you've got me! I'm level 94—I can squash anything that pops up. Why worry?"
Arthev shook his head, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. "I can't rely on you forever, tanuki. You're a trump card, not a crutch. I need to get stronger myself—strong enough to handle these things without you bailing me out. Logical, right?"
"Logical, sure," Shukaku grumbled. "But boring. Fine, suit yourself—grow up, get buff, whatever. So what's the plan now? Sit here and think some more?"
"Plan's to leave," Arthev said, turning to scan the chamber. "Get back, regroup, figure out—" He froze, eyes widening.
"Wait. No entry. No exit. I forgot."
"Ha!" Shukaku's laugh boomed in his head. "Stunned Face strikes again! Trapped like a rat in a fancy cage. What now, genius?"
Arthev's smirk faded, replaced by a flicker of unease. "How do I get out? This place is sealed tight." He paced again, mind racing.
"We're still in the same spot, right? The pendant teleported me here, but—"
"Same spot, yeah," Shukaku cut in, tone smug. "No worries, kid—I've got senses you wouldn't believe. We're still where that ruin was. Only difference? We're underground. Way underground—like, 10 to 12 kilometers down."
Arthev stopped dead, stunned. "Ten to twelve… kilometers?" His voice dropped to a whisper. "That's insane. In my old world, humans barely dug that deep—12 kilometers was the limit. But this tech…" He glanced at the device, its circuits still faintly glowing. "An ancient civilization pulling this off? It's possible."
"Great, you're impressed," Shukaku said dryly. "Now how do we not die down here? Got any bright ideas?"
Arthev pulled the pendant from his pocket, holding it up. "This got me in. Maybe it gets me out." He activated his Shinragan, crimson spinning as he examined it. The mud obscured its shape, but faint runes pulsed beneath—intricate, alien.
"There's power here—dormant, but active enough to teleport. If I can trigger it…"He focused, soul power trickling into the pendant. It hummed, then flared blue, the same light that brought him here.
The chamber blurred, space twisting around him—and in a blink, he was gone, the ruins swallowing his absence.