Chapter 18

We arrived at the ruins after crossing the forest a few hours away from Kalind Village. The ruined stone gate and the overgrown ground exuded the atmosphere of a place from an ancient legend. Luan quietly surveyed the ruins while holding a spirit in his arms.

“Is this the place where the Hero and the Saintess fought in the past?” Claire asked skeptically, scanning the ruins. “Doesn’t look like much.”

“Appearances can be deceiving,” Zion said, gripping his shield tightly. “Anyway, stay alert. If this is the Demon Beasts’ base, we could be attacked at any moment.”

I nodded and sensed the energy around me. It was strange. The traces of Demon Beasts were clear, but that wasn’t all. There was a familiar yet unfamiliar Holy Energy intertwined. ‘Is this… Holy Power?’

“Ellie unnie, this place feels really important,” Linda said, shivering. “It feels so heavy and… strange.”

Luan also took the spirit out of his arms and said, “The spirit is uneasy too. There’s definitely something here.”

At that moment, a woman’s voice echoed from inside the ruins. The voice was clear and firm, but tinged with loneliness.

“Who dares to set foot in these ruins?”

Everyone tensed and turned their gaze toward the source of the voice. There stood a woman. She wore a white robe and a small tiara that seemed to symbolize the Saintess. Above all, her clear golden eyes seemed to pierce through us.

“Who are you?” Zion raised his shield, taking a defensive stance.

The woman lifted her head and calmly replied, “I am the Saintess. My name is Selena.”

For a moment, my heart sank. ‘Selena? The first Saintess?’

Claire chuckled. “What? Claiming to be the Saintess? Isn’t that a bit much? We already have a Saintess in our party.”

Linda added, “Right? Isn’t there only one Saintess per era?”

Selena smiled and said, “That’s correct. There is only one Saintess per era. But I’m curious why the Saintess you’re traveling with exudes an energy similar to my Holy Power.”

I tried to stay calm and took a step forward. “If you’re the real Saintess, why are you alone in a place like this?”

Selena looked at me and answered, “I am guarding these ruins. To ensure no one dares to defile the legacy that holds his and my memories.”

“That’s a bit funny,” Claire sneered. “The first Saintess? There’s no way you’ve lived that long, and Selena is a common name, isn’t it?”

Ignoring Claire, Selena looked at Zion and said, “Whether I’m the Saintess or not doesn’t matter. What’s important is the Saintess who has come here.”

“The Saintess?” Zion asked, confused.

Selena looked at Zion, then pointed at me with a gesture. “That child. You’re hiding Holy Energy. I wish to speak with the modern Saintess. Come closer, you.”

“Wait!” Zion stepped in front of me. “We can’t just let anyone take our party member. We don’t even know your intentions.”

Selena frowned at his reaction. “You dare block the path of the Saintess? That’s unbecoming of a priest.”

At her words, Zion’s eyes widened, and he couldn’t continue. I lightly patted his back. “It’s okay, Zion.”

Then, I slowly removed my hood and faced her. “Yes! I am the Saintess.”

Selena’s gaze wavered for a moment. She stared at me silently, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Uh…? Ellie…?” she muttered in a trembling voice.

Her golden eyes pierced through me. “It’s… it’s me… Selena… Where have you been all this time…?”

As soon as her words were spoken, everyone seemed to hold their breath. Her eyes were filled with confusion, joy, and a long-awaited longing. I was flustered by her reaction, but my body trembled with the预感 that some great secret was about to be revealed.

“Ellie?” I asked back, and she knelt before me, bowing her head.

“Please… tell me you’re Ellie. If you’ve finally returned… then you can save me from these ruins…” Her voice was filled with desperation.

As I hesitated over what to say, a tear fell from her eye. ‘What on earth is going on?’

.

.

.

Selena stared at me quietly and slowly stood up. Her expression was a mix of confusion and anticipation. She took a step closer and reached out her hand.

“Ellie… no, if you’re the first Hero, you must remember. What we were guarding here.”

I tried to hide my confusion and said, “The first Hero? What are you talking about? I’m… not the person you think I am.”

But Selena shook her head and spoke firmly. “No, it’s you. This Holy Power… and your gaze, they’re all the same. You’re definitely Ellie.”

Claire cut in, sounding incredulous. “What, the first Hero? Who do you think our Ellie is? What nonsense are you spouting?”

Linda also added, “Right, the first Hero lived hundreds of years ago. Isn’t our Ellie unnie just sharing the same name? How could she be that person?”

But Selena didn’t back down. She slowly walked to the center of the ruins and pointed at a stone slab buried beneath the rubble. “Here. The oath you left is engraved here. The day you promised to fight alongside me…”

I looked down at the stone slab she pointed to. There, something was inscribed in an ancient language. Though I couldn’t read the characters, I strangely felt like I understood their meaning. ‘To fight together, for the peace of this world.’

“This is…” I muttered unconsciously. A strange sense of déjà vu swept through the depths of my mind. ‘I don’t remember this, so why…?’

Selena watched my reaction…

She looked and spoke with confidence. “Look. You may have lost your memory, but your oath remains here.”

Zion, standing beside her, asked with a serious expression, “Then, if Ellie is the first Hero… where has she been all this time?”

Selena shook her head quietly and continued, “I don’t know either. After you disappeared, the Holy Power left in this ruin and me gradually weakened. And eventually, Demon Beasts began to inhabit this place.”

I tensed up at her words and asked, “What does this ruin have to do with the Demon Beasts?”

“After you vanished, this place could no longer remain a sacred site. A space devoid of Holy Power easily attracts the energy of Demon Beasts,” she said, turning her head to look around. “And now, the Demon Beast residing here isn’t just any ordinary one. It’s the Seed of Destruction.”

“The Seed of Destruction?” Claire narrowed her eyes and asked again, “What’s that?”

“It’s a very ancient curse,” Selena said in a heavy voice. “A primordial force designed to return this world to destruction from the very beginning. The first Hero and I sealed it together, but the seed was never completely eradicated.”

Linda raised her hand and asked, “Wait, but why has it reappeared now? Didn’t you seal it?”

“That might be…” Selena hesitated for a moment and looked at me. “Perhaps because of your return.”

“What?” I asked with a shocked expression. “Why would my return cause something like this?”

“You were like a key maintaining the balance of this world,” Selena answered with a serious face. “When you disappeared, the balance was disrupted, and now that you’ve returned, the balance is trying to readjust.”

Her words were too complex and heavy for me to understand. I shook my head and said, “I’m just someone summoned to this world. The first Hero or the balance of the world has nothing to do with me.”

But Selena firmly replied, “No matter what life you’ve lived, at this moment, you are standing here. And that alone means you’ve already been chosen.”

As soon as Selena finished speaking, the ruins suddenly began to tremble. A sound like a massive force surging from beneath the ground was heard. Everyone struggled to keep their balance, and Claire shouted in surprise.

“What’s this? An earthquake?!”

Linda clung tightly to her spirit and yelled, “No! Something… something is awakening!”

Selena hurried toward the center of the ruins. She pointed at the black energy spreading from the ground and said, “The Seed of Destruction is awakening! We’re too late…”

At that moment, the black energy surged up and transformed into a massive sphere. The sphere pulsated like a living creature and floated before our eyes. Inside, a sinister red light swirled, surrounded by strange patterns.

“That’s the Seed of Destruction!” Selena shouted. “The curse itself that will lead this world to ruin!”

I swallowed hard as I looked at the black sphere. Its power felt like it was pulling me in. ‘Is this what I have to do…?’

Zion raised his shield and said, “We have to stop it! We need to destroy it before it fully awakens!”

“No!” Selena shouted. “The Seed of Destruction isn’t something you can simply destroy with an attack! It’s a force that disrupts the balance of the world… If you handle it wrong, it will bring an even greater catastrophe!”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Claire said, sounding frustrated. “Are we just supposed to stand by and watch?”

I pondered Selena’s words as I stared at the black sphere. Her words echoed in my head. ‘You are like a key maintaining the balance of the world.’

And at that moment, the black sphere suddenly burst, and a massive vortex of energy tried to engulf us.

“It’s dangerous!” Zion tried to protect us with his shield, but the energy was too powerful. Everyone fell to the ground, and I almost collapsed too.

But I felt a strange pull within the approaching energy. The black sphere seemed to be calling me. Without realizing it, I took a step forward.

“Ellie!” Zion shouted in surprise. “What are you doing?!”

“Please stop!” Selena also shouted. “You can’t get close to it! It will consume you!”

But strangely, I felt no fear. It was as if something inside me was being drawn in. I reached out my hand and approached the black sphere.

“Ellie!!!” Claire and Linda’s shouts reached me, but I couldn’t stop. ‘This is what I have to do…’

The moment my hand touched the black sphere, a tremendous force seemed to be sucked into me. The sphere began to swirl and absorb into my hand, and an intense pain and heat surged through my body.

“Ellie!!!” Zion tried to run to me, but the black energy blocked him.

I twisted my body and swallowed the black sphere. The sphere seemed to try to consume me, but at the same time, I felt something awakening within me.

At that moment, the surrounding energy completely vanished. Everything became still, and I knelt down, gasping for breath. A faint black pattern glowed on my palm.

“Ellie…” Selena said in a shocked voice. “Did you… swallow the Seed of Destruction?”