: The Voice of the Past

Chapter One: The Voice of the Past

Valen was a peaceful village hidden between endless forests and ancient hills. Life there was simple. Farmers worked their fields, merchants sold their goods in the market, and blacksmiths filled the air with the sound of hammer striking steel.

For most people, Valen was just another quiet village.

For fourteen-year-old Kael, it was a place filled with mysteries waiting to be uncovered.

Ever since he could remember, Kael had dreamed of becoming an explorer. While other children played games in the village square, he spent his days searching abandoned caves, forgotten ruins, and old stone paths that everyone else ignored.

His closest friend, Ryan, was always by his side.

Unlike Kael, Ryan wasn’t obsessed with ancient mysteries. He preferred simple adventures and often questioned whether chasing old legends was worth the danger.

Still, he never let Kael explore alone.

“If one day you disappear inside a cave,” Ryan often joked, “someone has to come back and tell the story.”

Kael only laughed.

“And that someone will be you.”

The two boys had explored almost every corner around Valen. They knew the rivers, the hills, and every hidden trail through the forest.

Yet Kael always believed there was something everyone had missed.

Something older.

Something forgotten.

That morning, while following an almost invisible path deep inside the woods, Kael suddenly stopped.

“There,” he whispered.

Ryan looked around.

“What?”

Kael pointed toward a narrow opening hidden behind thick vines.

“A cave.”

Ryan sighed.

“Another cave?”

Kael smiled.

“Not just any cave.”

He carefully pushed the vines aside, revealing a dark entrance covered with ancient cracks.

“No one’s been here in years.”

Ryan folded his arms.

“That’s exactly what worries me.”

Kael stepped inside without hesitation.

The air was cold and still. Dust floated through the faint light entering from the entrance.

The cave wasn’t large, but strange markings covered its walls.

Kael knelt beside one of them.

“They’re not natural.”

Ryan looked closer.

“You’ve never seen symbols like these before?”

Kael slowly shook his head.

“No...”

Minutes later, after searching deeper inside the cave, Kael noticed something half-buried beneath loose stones.

His heart began to race.

He carefully cleared away the dirt.

Hidden underneath was a smooth black stone no larger than his hand.

A single mysterious symbol had been carved into its center.

It didn’t resemble any language Kael had ever seen.

Ryan leaned forward.

“What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know.”

Kael reached out and gently touched the symbol.

The moment his fingers brushed the stone...

A strange warmth spread through his hand.

The cave became completely silent.

For just a heartbeat...

It felt as though the artifact had recognized him.

Kael quickly pulled his hand away.

Ryan frowned.

“What happened?”

Kael stared at the stone.

“I... I don’t know.”

But deep inside, he felt something impossible.

The symbol looked unfamiliar.

Yet somehow...

It also felt like a forgotten memory.

Kael carefully placed the artifact inside his bag.

“Let’s go home.”

Ryan looked surprised.

“That’s it?”

Kael nodded.

“I think...”

He glanced one last time at the darkness behind them.

“...we just found something that was never meant to be discovered.”

The Forgotten Gate

Chapter One: The Voice of the Past (Continued)

Arin continued walking through the unknown land, holding the ancient artifact tightly in his hand.

Every step he took felt like he was entering deeper into a forgotten chapter of history. The air itself felt different. It was filled with a strange energy, as if the world around him was alive and watching him.

He looked back.

The gate was still open behind him.

For a moment, he thought about returning home. His village, his family, his old life — everything he knew was on the other side.

But something inside him told him that he could not leave.

The artifact had chosen him.

And the secrets of this world were connected to him.

As he walked through the ancient forest, he noticed signs of a civilization that had disappeared thousands of years ago. Huge stone roads crossed the land, leading toward forgotten cities. Statues of unknown kings stood among the trees, covered by plants and time.

Each statue carried the same symbol.

The symbol of the gate.

After hours of walking, Arin reached a massive valley surrounded by mountains. In the center stood the remains of an ancient city.

The city was unlike anything he had ever imagined.

Its buildings were made from a strange golden stone that reflected the sunlight. Towers reached high into the sky, and enormous bridges connected structures that seemed impossible to build.

But the city was empty.

No voices.

No people.

Only silence.

Arin entered the city carefully.

On the walls, he found paintings showing different civilizations living together. Warriors from the north, builders from the deserts, explorers from the oceans, and people who controlled mysterious technologies.

They were all connected by one purpose.

Protecting the world from the same enemy.

As Arin touched one of the paintings, another vision appeared.

This time, he saw a group of ancient kings standing inside a hidden chamber.

One of them spoke:

“The enemy cannot be destroyed. His power is too great. We can only divide his strength and hide it beyond the reach of mankind.”

Another king asked:

“But what happens if someone finds the gate?”

The first king looked toward the future.

“Then the chosen one must decide whether to save this world... or destroy it.”

The vision disappeared.

Arin stepped back.

The words remained in his mind.

The chosen one.

Was that referring to him?

Before he could think further, he heard a sound.

Footsteps.

Someone was approaching.

Arin turned quickly.

A figure appeared between the ancient buildings.

A young woman carrying a strange weapon stood there, watching him carefully.

“Who are you?” she asked.

Arin did not answer immediately.

“I could ask you the same question.”

The woman looked at the artifact in his hand.

Her expression changed.

“Where did you find that?”

“In the temple beyond the gate.”

Her eyes widened.

“The gate opened?”

Arin nodded.

The woman lowered her weapon.

“My name is Lyra. I have been searching for that gate my entire life.”

“Why?”

“Because my civilization has been waiting for the person who can open it.”

Arin looked at her with confusion.

“Your civilization?”

Lyra looked toward the abandoned city.

“This place was once the meeting point of all ancient kingdoms. When the great war happened, every civilization returned to their own worlds. They protected their own artifacts and waited for the day when the gate would open again.”

“Why would they wait for me?”

Lyra was silent.

Then she answered:

“Because the artifact did not choose you. It recognized you.”

Those words made Arin uncomfortable.

“What is the difference?”

“The artifact chooses a person based on their strength. But recognition means something else.”

“What?”

Lyra looked at him seriously.

“It means the artifact remembers you.”

Arin felt a cold feeling inside him.

“That is impossible.”

“Many things in this world are impossible until they happen.”

Before Arin could respond, the ground began shaking.

The ancient city trembled.

Dust fell from the buildings.

Lyra immediately looked toward the mountains.

“No...”

“What is happening?”

She grabbed her weapon.

“We are not alone.”

From the darkness between the mountains, a massive shadow moved.

Something ancient was awakening.

The air became heavy.

The same voice that Arin heard before returned.

“The forgotten one has arrived.”

Arin looked around.

“Who said that?”

Lyra looked at him.

“You heard it too?”

“Yes.”

Her face became serious.

“Then the legends were true.”

“What legends?”

Lyra looked toward the darkness.

“The legend of the king who was never defeated.”

The mountains shook again.

Far away, deep beneath the earth, something opened its eyes.

For thousands of years, it had waited.

It remembered the war.

It remembered the kings who betrayed it.

And it remembered the person who would eventually open the gate.

The evil king smiled.

“Finally...”

“The world has brought me my key.”

Back in the ancient city, Arin felt a strange connection to the darkness.

A feeling he could not explain.

Fear.

But also something else.

A feeling that the enemy knew him.

Lyra noticed his expression.

“What are you feeling?”

Arin looked at the artifact.

“I don’t know.”

Then the artifact began glowing again.

New symbols appeared.

This time, Arin could understand them immediately.

“Find the ten ancient paths.”

“Collect the forgotten memories.”

“Discover the truth before the darkness returns.”

Arin looked at Lyra.

“Ten paths?”

She nodded slowly.

“The ten civilizations.”

“Ten civilizations?”

“Yes. Each one holds an artifact. Each artifact contains a piece of the ancient power that sealed the evil king.”

Arin looked at the endless world before him.

A world full of mysteries.

A world full of danger.

A world that had been waiting for him.

“Then I have to find them.”

Lyra studied him.

“You understand what you are saying?”

“No.”

Arin looked toward the mountains.

“But I know I cannot ignore it.”

For the first time in thousands of years, the forgotten gate had opened.

The ancient civilizations were beginning to awaken.

The lost artifacts were calling.

And the person who could either save the world or bring back its greatest enemy had started his journey.

The journey of the forgotten one.