I Just Wanted a Peaceful Life… So Why Do Heroes Worship Me?

The alarm sigils flared just after dusk.

No sounds, no explosion — just a ripple in the air, like the world itself hiccuped. Every rune carved into the boundary stones blinked red once, then snapped back to normal as if nothing had happened.

But Rei felt it.

Deep.

Like pressure behind his ribs.

He dropped the spade mid-dig and looked toward the outer trees. Zephyr lifted his massive head from the orchard slope and growled low, ears pressed back.

Something had gotten in.

Not by climbing.

Not by flying.

From below.

—

Within moments, the sanctuary responded.

Vines tightened along pathways.

The wind stilled.

Moss lit up faintly around the orchard in a perfect, glowing ring.

It wasn't attacking.

Not yet.

But it was waiting.

Ready.

Ellyn burst from the archive room. "Was that a false trigger?"

"No," Rei said, already reaching for his old gear — things he hadn't touched in weeks. "Something's beneath us."

Lynna appeared next, twin daggers sheathed at her back. "A tunneling beast?"

"Unlikely," Auron said, rushing up with his detection talisman. "Whatever it is… it's sentient. This thing is avoiding wards intentionally."

Rei didn't wait.

He walked to the center of the field, knelt, and pressed a hand to the dirt.

The sanctuary shifted.

Responded.

And beneath his palm, the soil opened — not violently, but with permission.

A spiral staircase revealed itself. Stone. Old.

And not made by Rei.

He stood slowly.

Then glanced back. "Stay here."

"Absolutely not," Lynna said.

"Definitely not," Ferren added, holding a pitchfork upside down.

Zephyr growled.

And Rei sighed.

"Fine."

He descended.

They followed.

—

The passage spiraled down for what felt like hours — stone slick with age, moss glowing in faint pulses that matched their breath. There were no carvings, no dust.

Only roots.

Thick. Watching. Some alive, some petrified in place.

And at the bottom — a gate.

It looked like bone. But moved like muscle.

Ellyn stepped forward, eyes wide. "This… this isn't part of the sanctuary, is it?"

Rei stared.

Then shook his head.

"No."

"But it's under it."

"Yes."

Ferren poked it with a stick.

It quivered.

The gate opened.

Because of course it did.

—

Beyond it was a corridor filled with bioluminescent fog and the sound of clicking.

Tiny claws on stone.

Lynna cursed softly. "That's not ominous at all."

Auron summoned a ward shield.

Fluff barked once and immediately hid behind Zephyr.

They moved forward — slow, cautious — through a forest of underground roots that arched overhead like ribs.

The clicking grew louder.

Until they saw it.

It wasn't one creature.

It was dozens.

Insectoid. Furred. With too many legs and eyes that reflected their own torchlight.

But what made them pause… was the sigils carved into their shells.

Not etched.

Branded.

Rei narrowed his eyes.

"These things were summoned."

Ferren blinked. "But by who?"

Auron raised his talisman. "Whoever it was, they're not far. Energy signature's fresh."

—

That's when the swarm attacked.

No warning.

Just a flash of movement and claws everywhere.

Auron's shield flared, barely holding the first wave. Lynna leapt over the front line, daggers slashing in elegant arcs, green blood splattering the stone. Ferren swung wildly and managed to knock out two by accident.

Rei didn't move.

He just exhaled.

And the roots answered.

Thorns burst from the walls, impaling three of the larger bugs instantly. The ground split, swallowing another whole. The air shimmered — and a dome of moss grew up around them, absorbing acid and fangs like armor.

Zephyr roared.

Fluff bit something's tail and refused to let go.

Ellyn chanted a freezing sigil, trapping half the swarm in a glowing ice web.

It was chaotic.

Messy.

And then…

It stopped.

Because the corridor ahead… was empty.

Except for a man.

—

He stood calmly, robed in traveler's gear marked with unfamiliar symbols.

And his eyes — both completely black — locked onto Rei like a man meeting an old rival.

"You shouldn't be here," the stranger said.

"You brought creatures into my sanctuary," Rei replied coldly. "I am here."

The man tilted his head. "No. I didn't bring them. I released them."

Rei narrowed his eyes. "From what?"

The man pointed behind him.

To a stone doorway, sealed with thirteen layered glyphs.

"I found this tomb buried beneath your roots. Your sanctuary grew over it. Hid it. Trapped it. You didn't even know."

The glyphs flickered.

The air trembled.

And one rune broke.

A pulse of magic slammed outward, knocking everyone back a step.

Rei stepped forward.

Lynna grabbed his arm. "Don't."

"Someone has to."

—

Rei reached the glyph wall and pressed his hand to the seal.

And the sanctuary responded.

Roots reached down from the ceiling.

Wrapped around the broken glyph.

And rebuilt it.

The man staggered.

"What—? It listens to you?"

Rei turned, voice calm and cold.

"It's mine."

He stepped forward.

The man raised a blade — black crystal, glowing red.

Too slow.

Rei moved.

In a blink.

One strike.

Not strength.

Precision.

The man dropped.

Alive. But broken.

The sanctuary pulsed again.

And the swarm… fled.

Like something old had just returned.

—

Back above ground, the sky was still.

The sigils glowed steady again.

The peace had returned.

Ferren collapsed on the grass. "Okay. Underground nightmare bugs? We add that to the 'Things I Never Want Again' list."

Lynna nodded, panting. "Right under 'ancient tombs that breathe'."

Auron looked at Rei. "You knew how to seal that glyph. Instinctively."

Rei didn't answer.

He was staring at his own hand.

And the way the moss was now curling up his arm like a living tattoo.

The sanctuary wasn't just reacting anymore.

It was bonding.

Choosing.

And Rei…

wasn't sure if that was a gift or a warning.