The weight of Ashur's words still clung to Kael's mind as he and Liora pressed deeper into the ruins.
The stone corridors were narrow, winding, and unnaturally silent.
Only the distant echoes of their footsteps filled the void.
Liora glanced at him. "You're sure it was really Ashur?"
Kael exhaled. "It wasn't just a vision. He spoke to me. He… restrained me."
Liora's expression darkened. "If Ashur is truly lingering here, that means—"
A sound cut her off.
A whisper.
Low, indistinct, curling through the passageways like smoke.
Kael stopped. His grip on his sword tightened. "Did you hear that?"
Liora nodded, raising her hands, magic thrumming at her fingertips.
The whisper grew louder.
The walls shifted.
And suddenly, the path they had walked was gone.
---
A Labyrinth of Shadows
The walls twisted, shifting into an impossible maze.
Liora gasped, stepping back. "The ruins are moving."
Kael scanned their surroundings. What once had been a straightforward corridor was now a network of endless paths, stretching into the dark.
"This is a trap," he muttered.
The whisper returned—closer.
A chill crawled up his spine. They were being watched.
And then—the torches flickered out.
Total darkness.
"Liora—" Kael reached for her, but his hand met only air.
She was gone.
---
Alone in the Abyss
Kael's breathing quickened. The silence pressed against him, suffocating.
Then—a voice.
Soft, almost mocking.
"Lost so easily?"
Kael spun around, his blade flashing in the darkness.
A figure stood before him.
Not Ashur.
This one was different—shrouded in black mist, its face a void.
But Kael felt its presence piercing into his mind.
"You are unworthy," the figure murmured.
The darkness around it rippled.
"Unworthy of what?" Kael demanded.
The figure took a step closer. "Of the truth."
Kael braced himself, every muscle tensed.
The whispers grew deafening.
And then—the figure lunged.