Alpha approached the massive statue, but his gaze wasn't fixed on it… rather, on the walls.
Engravings. Symbols. Coiled circles, intersecting lines, shapes resembling creatures… or perhaps resembling his old thoughts.
He reached out and touched one of the symbols, feeling the roughness of the stone, but nothing happened. No visions, no memories, nothing.
*(Alpha - whispering to himself):*
"It's as if they're trying to say something… but they speak a language that died before consciousness was born."
He stood silently for a moment, staring at the wall, as if trying to decipher a complex silence.
*(Internal monologue):*
"Why do these symbols resemble the lines you see after crying? Why do I feel like they're watching me, not explaining to me? Is this writing? A trace? Or a wound on the skin of this place?"
He moved slowly through the hall, the only sounds being his footsteps and a faint pulse coming from nowhere. He wanted to scream, but even a scream felt pointless.
He didn't want to know the meaning… he just wanted the feeling of being under a microscope to stop.
Then, without warning, he heard the sound of a falling stone at the end of the corridor. He turned quickly.
The place had changed. It had narrowed.
A new passage had opened behind the statue—a passage no wider than two meters. No room to dodge, no jumping, no turning.
*(Alpha - exhaling):*
"Lovely… a new trap. Narrow enough for a stylish kill."
He entered the passage, caution preceding his steps. His footsteps echoed, and the silence around him seemed to wait, biding its time to strike.
And indeed… the creatures appeared.
Three of them, their bodies like petrified clay, their eyes carved into cracked skulls. They made no sound—they simply lunged all at once.
Alpha ducked to avoid the first strike, but collided with the wall. No room to maneuver—the walls were so close they seemed to want to strangle him.
He punched one of them, but its body absorbed the blow like sand absorbing rain.
*(Alpha - muttering):*
"Fantastic… even the laws of physics are suffocating here."
He lifted his leg and kicked the second creature in the chest. It didn't fall, but it staggered back slightly. Every movement felt like it was being performed in an airless room.
*(Internal monologue):*
"No escape… only confrontation. The narrowness doesn't prevent fighting—it just teaches economy."
He waited until one got closer, then grabbed a stone shard from the ground and drove it into the creature's neck. It reeled back, making a muffled sound like a gurgle.
The second tried to attack from behind, but Alpha spun quickly and punched its temple. The sound wasn't of breaking bone—more like cracking clay.
The third hesitated.
*(Alpha - smiling coldly):*
"Hesitation? Do you think? Or do you just savor the scent of fear?"
With a sharp motion, he charged the last one, slamming it into the wall until its skull shattered. Then he paused to catch his breath.
He took a step back, raised his head toward the wall, and noticed something…
Those engravings.
Still watching him. Unchanged. Unlit. Explaining nothing.
*(Alpha - murmuring):*
"Meaningless engravings… or perhaps meaningful, but I'm no longer worthy of understanding."
He remained standing there, his breaths slowing, his hand against the wall.
*(Internal whisper):*
"Sometimes, ignorance is a comfort… but here, it's a blade without an edge."
He turned his face away and continued walking down the dark passage, while the engravings behind him remained silent… watching without speaking.