The earth golem's golden eyes glowed like molten suns, staring down at the two intruders who had slipped into its hidden domain. The cold wind from the cave—unnatural, sharp, heavy—pressed on Ren's skin like icy hands.
He could barely breathe.
He could barely think.
But he stood in front of Lyra anyway, shielding her with his body.
Her ankle was swollen, trembling in pain. She tried to put weight on it, but a jolt of agony forced a cry from her lips.
"Ren… I'm sorry… I slowed us down—"
"You didn't," he said firmly without looking back.His voice shook, but his resolve didn't."You're hurt. That's all."
Lyra's breath caught.
Even now… he was thinking of her.
But the golem closed in, its footsteps smashing deep depressions into the icy ground.
BOOM… BOOM… BOOM…
Each step echoed through their bones.
Ren clenched his fists. His heart hammered in a frantic rhythm, but he forced mana into his limbs.
[Hand-to-Hand Combat Style (Tier 1) — Activated]
He exhaled, grounding his stance.
The golem raised its massive arm.
Ren moved first.
He sprinted through the freezing air, his body cutting through the cold as he threw a perfectly executed punch into the golem's leg.
THUMP—!
The impact vibrated his bones.
But the golem didn't budge.Not even a hairline crack.
It was like striking a mountain made of iron.
Ren's eyes widened with horror.
His breath clouded from the cold as the golem slowly lowered its arm toward him.
"No—"
It wasn't fast.
But it didn't need to be.
The giant's arm came down with the weight of boulders, the air itself splitting around the impact.
Lyra screamed, voice breaking into the cold air."REN!"
Ren crossed his forearms in a futile defense.
BOOOOOOOM!!!
The blow was a world-ending hammer.
Ren's body was crushed into the ice, an explosion of frost bursting outwards. His ears rang. His bones groaned. His vision dissolved into white static.
He felt something crack inside his chest.
His breath was ripped away.
His consciousness wavered—
—and broke.
Ren went limp, collapsing like a rag doll.
"NO!"Lyra's scream tore out of her throat raw and frantic.
She crawled toward him, dragging her injured leg, tears streaming down her cheeks from pain and terror.
Her shaking hand reached Ren's face—his eyes were closed, breath shallow, body still.
He wasn't dead.
But he wasn't waking up either.
She bit down hard on her lip, blood dripping down her chin.
"This… bastard."
She reached for her bow with trembling fingers, nocked an arrow, and pulled the string back until it creaked under the strain.
"I won't… let you take him."
Her hands shook, but her aim remained steady.
She fired.
The arrow streaked through the icy air—
TING!
—and shattered on the golem's face without leaving a mark.
Lyra's blood ran cold.
"Wh—what…?"
The earth golem didn't flinch.
It simply turned toward her.
Its stone hand rose, shadow falling over her tiny frame.
Lyra's breath caught.
She lifted her bow to block—
"Get aw—!"
CRAAAASH!
The impact shattered her bow in two and sent her tumbling across the ground. Pain seared up her back. Her vision flickered.
Her fingers twitched helplessly against the ice.
"Re…n…"
Her voice broke as darkness swallowed her.
The storm outside howled like a predator, but inside the cave only one sound echoed:
grrrrrrrrk…
grnnnnnkk…
The grinding of stone.
The golem bent down, its massive hand closing around Ren's motionless body. It dragged him backward without effort, leaving a long trail in the frost where his limbs scraped across the ground.
Lyra was next.Her limp form was scooped up like a discarded doll.
Blood from her lip dripped into the snow.
Ren's fingers twitched faintly—but his consciousness was far away.
The golem turned its back on the world outside.
And stepped deeper into the cave.
The cave wasn't natural.
The walls pulsed faintly with golden minerals, veins of mana glimmering like the roots of some ancient beast.The deeper the golem walked, the colder the air became, as though each step descended further into the earth's marrow.
The ice sheet behind them groaned once—
—and sealed shut with a thunderous CRACK.
The world outside disappeared.
Only darkness remained.
Only the golem's molten cracks cast faint light, illuminating Ren and Lyra's unconscious forms as they were dragged into the depths.
No one knew where this path led.
No one had ever returned from this mountain cave.
And now, two more had been claimed by it.
Ren's consciousness floated in a heavy, suffocating darkness.
A deep thrum pulsed around him—ancient, slow, like the heartbeat of the earth itself.A smell of cold stone, wet minerals, and something faintly metallic filled the air.
He groaned softly.
His fingers twitched.
His eyes fluttered open.
Ren lay on a carved stone platform, smooth and cold, surrounded by faintly glowing crystal veins running along the walls. The cavern was massive—more like an underground temple than a cave. Pillars of natural stone spiraled upward, merging into a ceiling lost in shadow.
A soft, warm glow flickered beside him.
Ren turned his head—and relief crashed through him.
Lyra.
She lay on a bed of woven moss and glowing herbs, her ankle carefully wrapped in treated cloth.She was breathing steadily, her chest rising and falling in calm rhythm.
Someone… had treated her.
Ren's heart clenched.
"Thank god…"
But then he froze.
Because standing silently near the wall—
—was the Earth Golem.
Motionless.
Waiting.
Guarding.
Its molten eyes were dim, not hostile.
As if the fight earlier… never happened.
Ren swallowed hard but didn't move.
His ribs still hurt like hell, though they weren't broken anymore.
Someone healed me too.
But who?
Beside Ren's resting platform sat a small stone pedestal.
On it was an old, cracked leather-bound book.
Dusty, brittle, but preserved carefully.
He reached out slowly.
The golem didn't react.
Ren picked up the book—and his eyes widened in shock the moment he opened it.
Japanese.
Written entirely in Japanese.
His heart stuttered.
He stared at the characters—handwritten, familiar, undeniably from Earth.
"…What… the hell…?"
The first page was messy, ink blotted, as if the writer was desperate:
[もしこれを読んでいる人がいるなら,あなたも転生者だ.]
(If you are reading this, then you too are a reincarnator.)
Ren's breath caught.
Hands trembling, he turned the page.
[ 私は二百年前,この世界に転生した.名前は…もう意味がない ](I reincarnated into this world two hundred years ago. My name… no longer matters.)
Ren's pulse hammered.
Two hundred years ago…Another person from Earth…Someone who lived and died long before he arrived.
[ 私はこの大地の迷宮に隠れ,最後の力で"彼"を創った ](I hid myself in this earth labyrinth and used my final strength to create him.)
Ren looked up slowly at the earth golem standing like a silent sentinel.
Created…?
By a reincarnator?
He read on.
[ これは私の最高傑作.スキル[ゴーレム創造（最大レベル）]で作った守護者だ ](He is my masterpiece. A guardian forged using my max-level skill: Golem Creation.)
Ren's heart skipped.
That was a terrifying skill.
Max level.
And the golem was still standing here after 200 years.
He turned to the next page.
It was short.
Almost like the writer had been rushing.
[ このスキルは次の転生者にのみ開かれる ](This skill will open only to the next reincarnator.)
[ 継承は奥の部屋に残した ](I left the inheritance in the room beyond.)
[ どうか…間違えないでくれ ](Please… do not make the same mistakes I did.)
The last line was smeared, as if written with shaking hands.
Ren closed the diary slowly, mind reeling.
Another reincarnator.
A hidden inheritance.
And a skill—Golem Creation (MAX)—left behind specifically for someone like him.
But why?
What mistake had the previous reincarnator made…?
Ren stood shakily, his body still sore.
He looked once more at Lyra.She was safe.Her ankle was wrapped expertly—likely by the golem following old commands.
Ren exhaled softly.
"I'll be back, Lyra… I promise."
He picked up the diary and turned toward a second passageway at the far end of the cavern—dark, narrow, its entrance marked with old runes glowing faintly.
The golem didn't stop him.
Maybe… it was waiting for him to go.
Ren swallowed, tightened his grip on the book, and stepped forward.
Each step felt heavier.The air felt older.
He reached the threshold of the ancient room.
The inheritance of a reincarnator waited inside.
And Ren took his first step into the unknown—
—just as Lyra slept behind him, unaware of the secret that was about to change Ren forever.