The village awoke under a dim sky, thick clouds crawling over the horizon like a beast stalking its prey. Elric stood alone near the outskirts, barefoot on damp earth, his gaze fixed on the border trees where whispers were louder than usual. Even the winds held their breath. Something was coming.
His summoning tattoos pulsed faintly under his sleeves, responding to the unease in the air. After a few days of peace, the tension had returned like a stone in his boot. He crouched, resting a hand on the fur of Rolo, his loyal sheepdog-turned-pack-guardian. The beast growled lowly, ears up, tail still.
"Another test? Or a message?" Elric murmured.
Behind him, his grandfather's voice cracked through the tension. "It's too quiet, boy. Either the gods are watching, or something's already slipped through."
Elric turned to him, the old man leaning lazily against a fencepost, chewing on a wild stalk, eyes sharper than ever. "Old bandit instinct, Grandpa?"
"Something like that. I've seen this stillness before. The day the Black Wolves raided the eastern border. They come when you're too comfortable."
That evening, Elric joined his family for dinner. Mira and Lysa—his two little sisters—bickered over a fried root, while his mother chided gently, and his father looked up only to smile faintly. Grandfather, of course, stole the last piece when no one was looking. Elric just laughed.
But the laughter ended when a villager arrived at their door. Bleeding. Shaking.
"The mines... they're moving. The stone... the stone screamed."
---
Chapter 13: The Whispering Depths
The council hall, lit only by flickering firestones, buzzed with tension. Elders and young warriors packed the space, murmurs thick like fog. Elric sat with Grandpa in the rear, arms crossed, waiting.
An old miner spoke first. "We dug deeper last week—into the Vein of Echoes. Found bones. Not fossil bones. Fresh. Armor pieces too. And... the sound."
Elric's eyes narrowed. Grandpa met his gaze, and nodded once.
"Sounds like the Undead World left something behind," the old man muttered.
The village chief ordered an emergency patrol. Elric, against his mother's protests, volunteered.
"If I'm to protect this place... I need to see what we're up against."
---
The mine was colder than usual. Moisture dripped from unseen crevices. Rolo sniffed the entrance and whined.
They descended slowly. Ten steps in, the torches flickered blue. At twenty, the ground began to hum. Then the whisper came.
"Protector... Pretender... Return..."
The tunnel shook. Bones burst from the walls—half-formed skeletons in old armor. Undead. Ancient. Trapped.
The patrol panicked. Two fled. One screamed before vanishing into the shadows. Elric stepped forward.
"Come forth," he said, raising his hand. A faint green rune lit under his palm.
Summoning Skill Activated: Soul Bind — Lesser Revenant
A fallen beast's soul from an earlier hunt responded, forming beside him: a hound of shadow with burning eyes. It leapt into battle.
Rolo howled, and Elric joined the fray.
He wasn't ready.
But he fought anyway.
---
They returned at dawn, battered but victorious. The undead were sealed temporarily with a summoning circle Elric etched from instinct—some fragment of the Shepherd Class reacting.
Grandpa clapped him on the shoulder. "You're more than a summoner now, boy. You're a warden."
The mine was sealed. But the whispers lingered.
And something... had watched.
---