"Say, Jianyu," Hei Shisan absently tossed a rock.
As it hurtled through the air, Han Jianyu, whose eyes were closed, made a movement with his left hand. His fingers, which were ever in the shape of a sword seal, sliced the rock cleanly in two.
Gwen whistled and clapped; Mars scoffed. Another of the knights, a young man called Boff, cheered and exclaimed, "How does he do it!?"
"What is it, Hei Shisan?" Han Jianyu returned his left hand to his chest, where he always kept it. His sword was lower, gripped by the sheath. "You're not going to ask me another stupid question, are you?"
Hei Shisan coughed, a wry smile and humorless laugh escaping him. "Not at all. This is a serious enquiry. I swear!"
Han Jianyu nodded, and Hei Shisan cleared his throat.
"How do you wipe your ass- Eek!"
Hei Shisan ducked under a sharp blade arc that actually came from Han Jianyu's fingers.
Jin Huang and Shen Wuyou did their best to, but could not stifle their laughter. Hei Shisan nervously laughed as he slowly stood; Lu Chen and Cho Yanshi laughed as well.
Shaking her head, Qin Shuyue rolled her eyes. Han Jianyu was silent, but they were sure he was smiling.
Lin giggled, but he gasped and suddenly glanced in a particular direction. The others were already looking by the time he did so.
The land had grown quieter.
The wind still whispered through the tall grasses, and the distant cry of unseen birds still echoed across the rolling hills, but there was a weight that had not been there before.
As though the world itself were holding its breath.
Jin Huang and Han Jianyu had been amomg the first to notice.
"This place…" Qin Shuyue murmured from behind them, one hand resting lightly on Lin's upper back. "The natural flow of energy here is... different."
Different was a gentle word for it.
The deeper they traveled, the more the air thickened with an ancient and overwhelming presence. Something older than anything they had ever felt. Something… solemn.
Like a memory that refused to fade. An existence in such a form that they could not place it. It was, to put it bluntly, something beyond their understanding.
Jin Huang fell into thought, feeling a faint tickling in the back of his mind.
He walked at the front, as he had for most of their journey through Albion's strange and verdant lands.
The others followed in a loose formation behind him- Hei Shisan's lazy gait, Lu Chen's sharp gaze flickering from shadow to shadow, Cho Yanshi's quiet vigilance, Qin Shuyue's measured steps with Lin close by, and Shen Wuyou's ever-curious eyes taking in the unfamiliar terrain.
Han Jianyu was isolated, but near, his eyes still closed as he felt everything around him.
Above them, the sky stretched wide and pale. Below, the earth began to change.
Grass gave way to stone, both carved out of natural and man-made material.
At first, it was subtle. A single stone half-buried in the soil. Then another. Then dozens.
Weathered and ancient.
Each one was etched with markings so worn they had become little more than scars upon the rock.
At either side of the group, the tombs came into view. Large tombs, built into the rock, names etched atop their sealed entrances.
Near to each were moss-covered sculptures of faces, most so worn and old that it was hard to even see the stone.
As they walked, they passed by dozens of them. None said a word.
It went without saying that they had entered the Valley of Kings.
The valley opened further before them in a vast, sloping descent- a natural basin cradled by jagged ridgelines that rose like the broken teeth of some ancient beast.
Within it… an ocean of stone.
Even more of those sculptures stretched as far as the eye could see, some standing tall, others lost and forgotten behind dusty verdant veils.
Between them, the narrow path wound like a vein, leading ever inward toward the heart of the valley.
And there, at the very center, the least ancient looking tomb of all.
There were no crumbling remains, nor was the sculpture moss-covered or a mess of shattered bones. It seemed well-kept and maintained.
Several towering stone pillars were arranged in a vast circular formation in front of the tomb.
Although a few had collapsed, with their broken halves lying like fallen giants, enough remained standing to form a solemn ring around the first step leading up to the sealed entrance.
It was there that the air grew heaviest.
"That's it," Lin whispered, his excitement cowed. "That's the tomb of the Last King of Albion."
Looking at the sculpture of his face, a number of them felt a wave of reverence come over them.
Looking around, it became evident that they were not alone.
"It seems we're the last to arrive," Gwen said.
They had known they wouldn't be alone, of course, but had not expected there to already be so many people.
The call of the sword trial had, indeed, spread far and wide. Also, many of Albion' sword-wielding fanatics knew of the place where the legacy of Albion's final king lay waiting.
However, there was practically no one that didn't know of the sword that could choose its master. Of its power beyond comprehension.
Such stories were like fire in dry grass: Impossible to contain.
Now, the proof stood before them. Groups had already gathered along the outer edges of the pillar-ring.
Knights clad in weathered armor, their cloaks bearing faded crests that spoke of long, fractured lineages.
Adventurers with mismatched gear and hungry eyes were in their groups, as well as lone wanderers, their auras restrained but not hidden, watching everything with quiet calculation.
At their sides, or on their backs, or held firmly in their hands...
Swords. So many swords.
Longswords, greatswords, slender blades, curved edges, even weapons that barely resembled swords at all- yet all of them carried one common thread.
Their aura. The unmistakable aura of one who lived and breathed the sword.
The moment Jin Huang and company stepped properly into the area, dozens of gazes shifted.
They saw him, measured, dismissed or marked him- perhaps all three.
Han Jianyu veered closer to them, his eyes narrow slits, his voice low. "They're all true sword cultivators- or whatever the term is here."
"Their lives are their swords, " Lu Chen nodded.
Hei Shisan let out a soft chuckle. "How fitting. In a graveyard full of kings, every dog here thinks he might leave as one."
"Careful," Gwen snickered. "Some of these 'dogs' bite."
Mars glared at Hei Shisan, but was silent.
Boff laughed, as did a number of his companions in Gwen's group.
Jin Huang said nothing. His gaze remained fixed ahead, on the staircase leading up from the center of the pillars.
He felt that peculiar aura oozing out from behind the slab of stone sealing the entrance.
It was not just a presence, and it called to him, beckoning him with that same sensation he had felt ever since they first arrived.
Something was waiting.
As the group moved forward, the murmurs of the gathered crowd ebbed and flowed like a restless tide.
"Another group…"
"… latecomers…"
"They're dressed oddly, aren't they?"
"… that one in front…"
Jin Huang ignored them, as did the others.
Step by step, they passed between pillars and stood at the bottom of the stairs. This only served to further incite the whispers.
Up close, the pillars loomed like ancient sentinels, their surfaces carved with lines that spiraled and twisted in patterns that hurt the eyes if stared at too long.
Looking up at the tomb's entrance, embedded in the black stone itself, was something… unexpected.
A single object stood upright, as though someone had thrust it into the stone and simply left it there.
It was a wooden staff, rough and unadorned.
Yet, the moment their eyes fell upon it, something stirred. The staff glowed bright blue, and sent out a strong pulse.
Lu Chen inhaled sharply. "Did you feel-"
"Yes," Cho Yanshi said, her hand instinctively moving to shield those closest to her.
Everyone felt it. Heads turned and eyes narrowed as speculations arose. There had been no change, yet, following that last group's arrival...
The air tightened, and Jin Huang took a step forward. Then another.
The staff did not react again, it just continued to glow.
Even so, that feeling only intensified. Everyone could feel something now, in the air. A sensation of something waking from a long, long sleep.
"Jin Huang," Qin Shuyue called softly.
He didn't stop. For a brief moment- just an instant- he felt it again. That strange, distant familiarity.
Like standing before something he should remember… but didn't.
He took the last step up to the staff and the tomb's entrance.
Then... the moment Jin Huang came within reach—
A deep, resonant hum rolled through the valley.
The pillars trembled, the ground shuddered.
Before anyone could react, that bright blue aura intensified, blinding, radiant- absolute.
It surged outward from the staff in a perfect sphere, sweeping across the stairs, the pillars, the gathered warriors-
The entire valley.
Space bent, sound vanished, and right when all present braced for a life-ending crescendo...
Silence. Total and complete.
When the light faded, no one remained. No voices called out, nor did any footsteps echo.
Only the tomb remained, and those who had entered it would soon find themselves alone.