The old theater.
The underground tremors grew stronger and stronger.
The cracks on the walls continued to expand.
Dust fell from overhead.
The building, which had been abandoned for many years, seemed to be waking up once more.
Everyone's eyes were focused underground—more precisely, on the Door that was currently opening.
Eli stood at the entrance, his expression more solemn than ever before.
The dozen or so people behind him were all dressed in matching black attire.
On the other side, the masked man standing in the center of the stage was equally tense.
Matthew watched this scene, already understanding in his heart that tonight was not a simple meeting. Rather, it was a clash ten years in the making.
“Who on earth are you people?” Aidan gripped his longsword tightly and looked at Eli.
Eli did not answer. His gaze remained fixed on the Blood-Veined Rapier in Matthew's hand.
“How much of it have you restored?” Eli asked.
Matthew did not answer, but said instead, “You seem to care about it more than anyone else.”
Eli fell silent for a moment. “Because I've seen the consequences of what it causes. And I've also seen the people it protected.”
Matthew's eyes flickered slightly.
The people it protected?
This was completely different from the previous rumors.
Before, everyone had said that the Blood-Veined Rapier would devour its holder and drive them mad.
But now, Eli was saying that it had protected people.
“Ten years ago,” Matthew said slowly, “what exactly happened?”
Eli looked toward the ground. “Ten years ago, there was a group of people here. They discovered an ancient ruin, and inside that ruin, there was a Door. They believed that a power transcending human limits was hidden behind the Door, so they tried to open it.”
He paused here. “But they didn't know that the Door did not lead to treasure, but rather to the outside of the seal.”
The air fell silent.
“Outside the seal?” Aidan frowned.
Eli nodded. “The world is huge. It is so huge that there are many things humans do not know. Some existences are forgotten not because they are weak, but because... they cannot be remembered.”
Matthew remained silent.
These words made him think of many things.
This world had magic, ruins, and power that far surpassed ordinary people. Thus, it was not strange for it to hide things that could not be understood.
“What about the sword?” Matthew asked.
Eli looked at the Blood-Veined Rapier. “It is not a key. At least, it wasn't at the very beginning. It was the weapon of the Gatekeeper.”
Eli paused. “The first holder was a Paladin.”
Matthew raised his eyebrows slightly. “A Paladin?”
“His name,” Eli said slowly, “was Alvin.”
This name caused the nearby masked man to react for the first time.
“Impossible,” the masked man said in a deep voice. “Alvin is already dead.”
Eli looked at him. “Yes, he is dead. But he did not die behind the Door. He died at your hands.”
The atmosphere instantly shifted.
Matthew looked at the masked man.
Finally, a contradiction had appeared.
“You know each other?” Matthew asked.
No one answered, but the answer was already obvious. They had once belonged to different sides of the same event.
The masked man said coldly, “Do not believe him. Everything he says is to stop us.”
Eli smiled slightly. “Stop you? If you had listened to warnings ten years ago, Alvin wouldn't have died, and those people wouldn't have lost control.”
Boom!
Another loud rumble echoed from deep underground.
This time, it was even stronger than before.
A crack appeared in the center of the stage.
Everyone retreated simultaneously.
From within the crack, a dark red light shone through, looking exactly like the glow of the Blood-Veined Rapier.
Matthew looked down and found that the blade was vibrating.
But this time, there was no bloodlust or madness. Instead, it was a form of... warning.
【Detected seal anomaly】
【Seal Strength: 43%】
【Decreasing】
Matthew's expression changed.
Forty-three percent. What did that mean?
“What happens if the seal completely disappears?” Matthew asked.
Eli did not hide it. “The Door will open.”
“And then?”
Eli looked at him. “The things inside will come out.”
“What is it?”
Eli fell silent.
After a long time, he said, “I don't know. Because those who saw it never returned.”
Matthew's eyes darkened slightly.
I don't know. Once again, he didn't know.
But this time, Matthew did not find it absurd. Because in this world, there truly were too many unknowns.
Right then, a sound suddenly came from deep underground.
It was not a human voice, but sounded more like some kind of low breathing.
Everyone's expression shifted.
That sound actually caused their spirits to vibrate slightly.
Aidan clutched his head. “What is this?”
Matthew felt it too, but it was much milder than what Aidan was experiencing.
This was because the Blood-Veined Rapier was currently protecting him.
【Triggered: Sword of Sealing】
【Spiritual interference reduced】
Matthew finally understood.
This was the true meaning of the Blood-Veined Rapier's existence.
It was not to grant power, but to allow the holder to stand here and face things that ordinary people could not face.
Underground, a crack slowly widened.
In the darkness, an eye seemed to slowly open.
Everyone held their breath.
In the next second, an elderly voice echoed from deep underground.
“Alvin...”
“You have finally returned...”
Everyone's expressions changed drastically.
Because that voice was not calling Matthew, nor was it calling any living person.
Rather, it was calling...
The first owner of the Blood-Veined Rapier, Alvin.
Matthew looked down.
The sword in his hand suddenly lit up.
An unfamiliar image surfaced once more.
But this time, it was not the past, but a person's memory.
A man clad in silver armor was holding this sword.
He looked at the abyss before him and spoke his final words.
“If one day this sword appears again, it means I have failed.”
The image vanished.
Matthew snapped his eyes open.
He finally understood.
What he had obtained was not just a relic, but an unfinished mission.
And now, in the royal capital ten years later, this mission had fallen into his hands.
Inside the old theater, no one spoke.
Because everything that had just occurred had already exceeded their original expectations.
The voice from underground, the opening eye, and the memory that had appeared from the Blood-Veined Rapier proved one thing.
Ten years ago was not the end. It had only been a failed seal.
And now, the seal was loosening once more.
“Everyone, withdraw from here,” Eli suddenly said. His voice was deep, and he did not hesitate.
The masked man sneered. “Withdraw? You know we have waited ten years. Now that the Door is right before us, you want us to leave?”
Eli looked at him. “You have absolutely no idea what you want to open. You are merely repeating the mistake from ten years ago.”
The masked man's voice was icy. “A mistake? Humans are always stagnant because of fear. If they had succeeded ten years ago, this world would have already changed.”
Matthew stood between the two sides, listening to their argument. In his heart, he had a rough understanding of the situation.
These two factions actually represented two different ideologies.
One side believed that power existed behind the Door and that it should be opened.
The other side knew the danger behind the Door and wanted to keep it sealed.
But there was one very strange point.
No matter which side it was, neither seemed to have truly seen what was behind the Door.
They both merely believed in their own judgments.
And the person who truly knew the answer was probably...
Alvin.
Or rather, the person who had left the Blood-Veined Rapier behind.
Boom!
The ground shook once more.
This time, the entire old theater began to collapse.
The walls cracked, and stones fell continuously.
“There's no time to argue,” Matthew spoke up.
Everyone looked at him.
“If we continue to stand here, we'll all be buried under the rubble before the Door even opens.”
A brief silence ensued.
Eli was the first to move. “Enter the underground.”
The masked man frowned. “Are you mad?”
Eli looked at the crack. “The seal is collapsing. The only thing we can do now is find the core and restabilize it.”
Matthew looked underground, and then glanced at the Blood-Veined Rapier.
His panel emerged.
【Detected target】
【Sealing Core】
【Distance: Unknown】
Sure enough, the Blood-Veined Rapier was guiding the way.
“Let's go,” Matthew said.
They entered the underground passage.
As the stone door opened, a path that had been hidden for ten years appeared before everyone.
The walls were covered in ancient writing.
Aidan held the magic lamp and shone it around. “This writing... I can't understand it at all.”
Matthew stepped closer, his panel flashing slightly.
【Detected unknown ancient writing】
【Analyzing...】
A moment later, some information appeared.
【Gatekeeper Records】
【First: The Door must not be opened】
【Second: The key must not exist in its complete form】
【Third: If the key reappears, it represents the weakening of the seal】
Matthew stopped.
The third record.
If the key reappeared, it represented the weakening of the seal.
These words made his heart sink.
Could it be that the reappearance of the Blood-Veined Rapier was itself a sign?
It was not because he had found the sword, but because the seal had begun to need it.
Continuing deeper, the passage grew wider and wider.
Murals began to appear on the walls.
The first mural depicted a massive black shadow standing beneath the sky.
The second depicted countless people kneeling in worship.
The third depicted a sword wielder standing before it.
Matthew stopped. “Is this Alvin?”
Eli nodded. “It should be.”
Aidan looked at the mural. “One person facing that kind of thing? Did he win?”
Eli fell silent, and then said, “He made it sleep. But he did not kill it.”
Continuing downward, the group finally arrived at a massive underground hall.
In the center was a circular altar.
On the altar stood a broken stone pillar.
And in the center of the stone pillar was a sword-shaped slot.
Everyone stopped.
Because that shape was completely identical to the Blood-Veined Rapier.
Matthew slowly approached.
The sword in his hand began to react.
Buzz—
A light shone.
His panel appeared.
【Detected Sealing Core】
【Activate Gatekeeper Authority?】
Matthew did not make a choice immediately.
Because the masked man beside him suddenly spoke.
“Don't.”
Everyone looked at him.
This was the first time he had actively stopped something.
“Why?” Matthew asked.
The masked man fell silent, and then said, “Because once activated, you will become the new Gatekeeper.”
The air fell still.
Matthew looked at him. “What do you mean?”
The masked man looked at the Blood-Veined Rapier. “Alvin isn't dead. He merely... left himself inside the sword.”
Matthew's pupils contracted slightly. “What did you say?”
The masked man's voice was deep. “The Blood-Veined Rapier was not his weapon. It was his cage.”
Instantly, the entire hall fell into a dead silence.
Matthew looked down at the sword in his hand, feeling for the first time that its weight did not come from its material, but from what it carried within.
A person's life.
A person's will.
A mission that had lasted for ten years.
Right then, the altar suddenly lit up.
A voice came from the sword—elderly, weary, yet incredibly clear.
“Finally...”
“Someone has come.”
Everyone's expressions shifted.
Matthew gripped the hilt tightly. “Who are you?”
After a brief silence, the voice replied.
“I am Alvin.”
“The first Gatekeeper.”
“And also...”
“The last failure.”
In the next moment, the entire underground hall began to shake violently.
And Alvin's voice rang out once more.
“Listen closely. There is not much time left.”
“The thing behind the Door has already awakened.”
“But the truly dangerous thing is not it.”
Matthew frowned. “Then what is it?”
Alvin fell silent.
After a long while, he spoke an answer that caught everyone completely off guard.
“It is the person who opens the Door.”
Inside the underground hall, Alvin's words were like a massive boulder crashing into everyone's hearts.
The dangerous thing was not what lay behind the Door, but the person who opened it.
These words plunged everyone into silence.
The masked man was the first to react. “You're lying.” His voice was icy. “What failed ten years ago was the seal, not us. If you hadn't hesitated back then, the Door would have already been opened.”
The voice inside the sword carried no anger, only calm. “You are still like this. Ten years have passed, and you still believe you are searching for power. Yet you have never considered that the power you see is only what it wants you to see.”
The masked man's body shuddered slightly.
Matthew noticed it. The other party knew some things, but not all.
“Explain clearly,” Matthew spoke up. “What exactly happened?”
Alvin inside the sword fell silent for a moment.
Subsequently, a faint phantom appeared in the center of the hall.
It was a man clad in silver armor. His figure was very faint, as if it would vanish at any moment, but his eyes were still sharp.
“Ten years ago,” Alvin said, “an ancient ruin was discovered here. The owner of the ruin left behind a power—a power capable of changing the very essence of life.”
The masked man's eyes shifted. “Indeed.”
Alvin looked at him. “You only heard that single sentence, which is why you believed it to be a treasure. But you do not know why that power was sealed.”
Alvin raised his hand, and the murals on the hall walls began to change.
The originally blurry patterns gradually became clear.
The first mural showed countless people researching a type of black crystal.
The second showed them absorbing the power within the crystal.
The third showed the people beginning to change.
“It can increase strength, extend lifespan, and even break through racial limitations,” Alvin said.
“But the price is...” He paused. “...gradually losing oneself.”
Aidan's expression changed. “Like the influence of the Blood-Veined Rapier?”
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