The echo of that voice hadn't truly left.
Even as Kieran followed Elias deeper into the passage, shadows whispered just outside the reach of his senses—barely audible, like forgotten thoughts clawing for attention.
[Abyssal Resonance Active]
[Environmental Echoes Detected: Observation… Ongoing]
"Something's watching us," Kieran said under his breath.
Elias nodded without surprise. "It's been watching since you touched the pillar. You woke something up."
"Something… like what?"
Instead of answering, Elias paused and threw a small, glowing stone into the darkness ahead. The moment it passed the tunnel's midpoint, it shattered against an invisible wall—one that rippled like water but absorbed sound like a vacuum.
Kieran's system flared.
[Hostile Barrier Identified: "Mirror Veil"]
[Warning: Traversing may trigger latent fears]
"So we're trapped?" Kieran asked.
"No," Elias said. "We're invited."
Then, without hesitation, he stepped through.
Kieran followed—and instantly, the world bled color. Everything became monochrome, the air thick with silence. No noise, no footfalls, not even the hum of the system.
And then—eyes.
Dozens of them, embedded in the walls. Not metaphorical eyes—real ones. Blinking. Watching.
[System Override Attempt Detected]
[Firewall Holding. User Vulnerability: Emotional Memory Access]
Suddenly, Kieran wasn't in the tunnel.
He stood in his childhood bedroom. His father's voice echoed in the hall—angry, distant, drunk. A memory he hadn't relived in years.
He backed up into cold stone. "This isn't real—"
"Correct," came a voice—his own, distorted. A mirror-version of him stepped from the shadows, gaunt and flickering.
"You pretend to fight. But inside? You're still waiting for someone to save you."
Kieran clenched his fists. "Not anymore."
He lunged—and the illusion shattered like glass.
Reality snapped back. He stood alone in the gray corridor, breathing hard. Elias was already ahead, unaffected.
"How do you ignore it?" Kieran called out.
"I don't," Elias replied. "I've just buried worse."
[Abyssal Resonance: Resistance Threshold Increased]
Behind them, the Mirror Veil pulsed shut.
And ahead—the tunnel opened into a new domain. One filled with distant murmurs, flickering torches, and half-buried structures… a settlement?
Elias muttered, "Looks like the others survived after all."
Kieran narrowed his eyes. "Others?"
Elias didn't answer.
But the Abyss did.