The Secret of the Caged Bird Seal (Asking for Monthly Votes!)

Drip...

Drip...

The crisp sound of water droplets echoed endlessly through the cave hidden behind the waterfall. A drenched black figure moved through it, heading deeper into the cave.

The black figure looked rather strange, like a mechanical puppet—stiff and poorly coordinated. Every so often, faint creaks and squeaks of mechanical friction came from his body as he moved.

Yet this did not hinder him. He swiftly made his way through the damp cave, allowing droplets falling from the stalactites overhead to strike the brim of his cloak's hood one by one.

After an unknown amount of time, the black figure finally reached the deepest part of the cave.

Before him stood an ancient stone door.

The stone door was remarkably tall. No inscriptions or symbols had been carved upon it; only a stunningly beautiful eye, as though it contained the stars themselves, had been engraved there.

"An eye?!"

Staring at the mesmerizing eye relief, the black figure stood frozen for a long while before stepping forward to examine it.

However, the eye relief on the stone door did not seem particularly extraordinary. After studying it for quite some time without learning anything, the black figure took a map from the storage pouch at his waist. He carefully checked it against the markings on the map and muttered, "This should be the place, but what exactly is hidden behind this door?"

Suppressing his doubts, the black figure followed the map's instructions and found the mechanism that opened the stone door.

Rumble...

As the black figure activated the mechanism, a deep sound immediately came from the stone door.

Then, drawn by some unknown force, the towering, heavy ancient stone door slowly opened before him.

Judging from the marks left by time upon it, the black figure could tell that the stone