Chapter 253: Chapter 253: You’re telling me we’ve been living above an entire underground graveyard?
Swanly looked at the green glow one final time.
"You stopped me from doing something stupid."
The fairy’s wings fluttered.
For a moment, it looked almost pleased.
Then it immediately lifted its chin.
AS YOUR SYSTEM, PREVENTING YOUR UNTIMELY DEATH IS ONE OF MY MANY RESPONSIBILITIES.
Swanly snorted.
"Of course."
She turned away.
Then stopped.
"Hm?"
Something had caught her attention.
Along the tunnel walls, beyond the pale roots surrounding the Heart, were several enormous openings.
Not natural openings.
They were too evenly shaped.
Some had been sealed with black stone. Others were hidden behind thick layers of roots that had hardened over thousands of years.
Swanly tilted her head.
"System?"
YES, HOST?
"Were those there before?"
The fairy followed her gaze.
A small golden light appeared.
SCANNING.
Swanly walked toward the nearest sealed opening.
Something enormous was carved into its surface.
She couldn’t make out the whole shape, but it resembled a creature curled around itself.
Farther down was another sealed chamber.
Then another.
Swanly’s fox ears slowly rose.
"Wait."
She looked around.
"There are so many."
The System’s scanning light spread across the surrounding walls.
Then downward.
Deep beneath the floor.
A map appeared.
Swanly stared.
One golden point.
Then another.
Five.
Ten.
More appeared beyond the edges of the map.
Her mouth fell open.
"What the fuck?"
MULTIPLE DORMANT BIOLOGICAL SIGNATURES DETECTED.
Swanly slowly looked at the fairy.
"Multiple?"
YES.
"As in more than one creature?"
CORRECT.
The map expanded.
Deep underground were enormous sealed spaces connected by ancient passages.
Some were directly beneath Ironwood.
Others stretched toward the surrounding forest.
And inside them?
Something was sleeping.
Many things.
Swanly felt goosebumps crawl across her skin.
"You’re telling me we’ve been living above an entire underground graveyard?"
NOT A GRAVEYARD, HOST.
A new warning appeared.
DORMANCY CHAMBERS.
Swanly swallowed.
THE ORGANISMS INSIDE ARE NOT CONFIRMED DEAD. SEVERAL DISPLAY EXTREMELY LOW BUT ACTIVE LIFE SIGNALS.
"Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me."
The fairy continued.
THEIR BIOLOGICAL SIGNATURES ARE DIFFERENT. THESE MAY BE SEPARATE ANCIENT CREATIONS WITH DIFFERENT FUNCTIONS.
Swanly stared toward the sealed chambers.
"So the thing beneath Ironwood isn’t the only monster sleeping here?"
NO.
"How many are there?"
UNKNOWN. THE CHAMBERS EXTEND BEYOND MY CURRENT SCANNING RANGE.
Swanly slowly rubbed her face.
"Wonderful."
Then she remembered the hands.
The Warders.
The Hollowmaws.
All because someone had loosened an ancient foundation while trying to interfere with the boundary.
Her expression changed.
"System."
YES?
"What happens if someone disturbs another entrance?"
The fairy became unusually quiet.
Then a red warning appeared.
THE ANCIENT DEFENSE NETWORK HAS MULTIPLE LAYERS.
UNAUTHORIZED DISTURBANCE OF ITS ANCHORS, SEALED PASSAGES, OR HEART ACCESS ROUTES MAY ACTIVATE ADDITIONAL DEFENSIVE ORGANISMS.
Swanly’s stomach dropped.
"Additional?"
YES. THE WARDERS WERE ONLY ONE DEFENSIVE LAYER.
She stared.
The System continued.
FURTHER DISTURBANCES COULD AWAKEN OTHER GUARDIANS. SEVERE DAMAGE MAY ALSO BREAK THE SEALS OF DORMANT CREATIONS NOT ORIGINALLY INTENDED FOR DEFENSE.
Swanly looked back toward the beautiful green glow.
"So someone could accidentally wake those things?"
YES.
"And they could come up?"
POSSIBLE.
She thought of the hundreds of people living peacefully above them.
The children.
The homes.
The gardens.
Her five babies.
All sleeping above ancient creatures whose names nobody even knew.
Swanly exhaled shakily.
"I’m going to have to tell Soren."
I STRONGLY RECOMMEND IT.
She looked at the sealed chambers one last time.
None moved.
None made a sound.
Somehow, that made them even more frightening.
"Great. We survived one nightmare, and there are more sleeping under our feet."
She shook her head.
"Nope. I’m not dealing with this tonight."
A RARE MOMENT OF GOOD JUDGMENT, HOST.
Swanly rolled her eyes.
"Shut up."
She turned toward the exit.
"Come on. My babies are waiting."
The System floated beside her.
AND YOUR TWO EXTREMELY ANGRY MATES.
Swanly winced.
"Oh, God."
Kael.
Soren.
She had pushed Kael through a collapsing wall, left both males behind, and disappeared underground alone.
Swanly slowly covered her face.
"They’re going to kill me."
THAT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE OF SAVING YOU.
"You don’t understand."
She began walking.
"Kael is going to look at me with those sad eyes."
The fairy followed.
"And Soren..."
She groaned.
"Soren is going to be unbearable."
HE USUALLY IS.
Swanly stopped.
Looked at the fairy.
Then burst out laughing.
It hurt her ribs.
"Don’t let him hear you say that."
They continued through the ancient passage.
For once, nothing attacked.
No Hollowmaws crawled from the walls.
No pale hands reached for her ankles.
The underground tunnels were quiet.
Almost peaceful.
Swanly did not trust the silence entirely, but she appreciated it.
Eventually, she reached the old maintenance passage.
The System highlighted the route toward the surface.
ROOT-SEAL STABLE. FEEDING SHAFT CLOSED. NO ACTIVE HOLLOWMAW SIGNALS DETECTED WITHIN THE SEALED SECTION.
Swanly exhaled.
"Good."
She followed the upward path until she reached the old stone hatch.
The System released its locking mechanism.
Swanly pushed.
Fresh air struck her face.
She nearly cried.
"Oh, thank God."
She climbed out.
Aboveground.
Finally.
The night air was cool against her blood-stained skin.
Trees surrounded the old exit near the forest edge of Ironwood. Broken branches and scattered leaves covered the ground, but this part of the forest was strangely quiet.
Swanly turned to the hatch.
"Seal it."
CONFIRMED.
The stone cover slid back into place.
Ancient locking pins clicked beneath it.
Golden light briefly traced the seams before fading.
ACCESS SECURED.
FIRST ROT HEART: CONTAINED.
DEEP ANALYSIS CONTINUING.
Swanly nodded.
Then stood quietly for a moment.
She was exhausted.
Her legs hurt.
Her clothes were practically ruined.
Her hair smelled terrible.
And she desperately wanted to hold her children.
But as she looked toward the nearby forest, something caught her attention.
The trees were unusually still.
Not a leaf moved.
Swanly frowned.
Her fox ears turned forward.
She looked between the trunks.
Then toward the shadows beneath the branches.
Something about the silence felt strange.
She took one step.
WHOOSH!
"AH!"
Something sharp flew past her shoulder.
Pain flashed across her skin.
Swanly stumbled sideways.
THUNK!
An arrow buried itself deep in the tree behind her.
The shaft trembled violently.
Swanly froze.
For one second, she simply stared at it.
Then she touched her shoulder.
Her fingers came away with a thin streak of blood.
Not deep.
A scratch.
But close enough.
Far too fucking close.
Her ears flattened.
Her white tail puffed.
"Fuck!"
She spun around.
Her eyes swept across the dark forest.
"WHO THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"