The house at the summit was small so small that barely one can live there, its stones weathered by a thousand winters.
Sheep grazed in the emerald field, their wool glowing gold in the afternoon light.
On a worn bench, a man sat-ancient, stooped, his beard a waterfall of white, his eyes sharp as mountain air. He watched Nova and Scarlet approach, a faint smile creasing his face.
Nova felt the weight of the journey settle on his shoulders. The climb had been brutal, but the true test was still ahead. Scarlet squeezed his hand, and together they crossed the field, the grass soft beneath their boots.
The old man stood as they neared. His back was bent, but his presence filled the space around him.
"You've come for the game," he said, his voice a rasp like wind through dry leaves.
"I am Erki. I am the last shepherd of this mountain, and the last to win Lilith's game."
Nova bowed his head in respect.
"We need to know the rules. We need to survive."
Erki's eyes flickered with memories-pain and pride, loss and triumph. He gestured for them to sit on the grass, and as the sheep wandered close, he began to speak.
"Lilith's game is not for the faint of heart. The den is a labyrinth of nightmares. Once you enter, you cannot use your powers. No help from outside. If you die there, you die for good."
Nova's heart clenched. The system's power had been his shield, his sword.
To go without it was to be naked before the storm.
Erki's voice dropped, heavy with sorrow.
"I went in with five friends. We thought ourselves clever, brave. We were fools."
The wind picked up, and the old man's eyes grew distant, haunted by ghosts only he could see.
"The first to die was Jorund. He was strong, always first to laugh. We met a thing that wore his mother's face, calling to him from the shadows. He ran to her, sobbing, and it wrapped him in its arms. I saw his body shrivel, the life sucked from him in seconds. When it let go, he was nothing but a husk-skin stretched tight over bone, mouth open in a silent scream."
Scarlet shivered, her hand trembling in Nova's.
"The second was Sigrid. She was fierce, a hunter. We thought we could trust her judgment. But the den is full of shifters-monsters in human skin. One of them took my face, my voice. Sigrid hesitated only a moment before she struck, but it was enough. The creature's claws tore her open, her blood steaming on the cold stone. She died believing she'd saved me. I never forgave myself."
Nova's breath was shallow, the horror settling into his bones.
"The third was little Frey. He was just a boy, quick and clever. There are boulder-throwers in the dark-giants made of stone. We heard the rumble, saw the shadow. Frey ran, but not fast enough. The boulder hit him square, and I heard every bone in his body shatter. When we reached him, he was gone-crushed into the earth, nothing left but red and dust."
Erki's voice faltered, but he pressed on.
"The fourth was Astrid. She was the bravest of us all. We were starving, desperate. She found a stream, clear and cold. She drank, and I saw her eyes go wide. The water was poison-her skin blistered, her lips turned blue. She died in my arms, her last words a plea for forgiveness."
Nova's mind reeled. Each death was a nightmare, a lesson in terror.
"The last was Bjorn, my oldest friend. He fought to the end, wielding a broken sword. But the den is alive-it knows your fears. It sent a swarm of insects, flesh-eaters. They covered him, biting, burrowing. He screamed until he could scream no more. When the swarm passed, there was nothing left but bones."
The silence that followed was absolute. Only the wind and the soft bleating of sheep filled the void.
Erki's eyes met Nova's, full of a pain that would never fade.
"I survived because I ran. I hid. I did not fight. I found the heart of Lilith and I won the game. But I lost everything else."
Scarlet wiped her eyes, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Why do you help us?"
Erki smiled, a sad, gentle thing.
"Because hope is rare. Because maybe, if you win, you'll find something I never did."
They stayed with Erki for days, training as the moon grew fat and silver. Nova learned to move in silence, to trust his senses, to fight without magic.
Scarlet practiced her healing, her hands glowing with gentle light, her will unbreakable. They sparred in the fields, ran through the woods, learned to read the mountain's signs.
At night, Erki told them more-about the monsters, the tricks of the den, the ways to survive when all seemed lost. He showed them scars, old wounds that never healed, and taught them to listen for the lies the darkness whispered.
Nova and Scarlet grew closer in those days. They shared stories, secrets, dreams. In the quiet, their love deepened, a bond forged in fear and hope. Sometimes, when the stars were bright, they would lie in the grass, Scarlet's head on Nova's chest, his arms around her, and dream of a life beyond the mountain.
The night before the full moon, Nova stood at the edge of the field, staring at the sky. The wind was cold, the world silent. He felt the weight of what was to come-a trial that would test not just his strength, but his soul.
Scarlet joined him, her hand slipping into his.
"We're ready," she whispered.
"Together."
Nova nodded, his heart full of fear and love.
As the first light of dawn touched the world, a chime echoed in Nova's mind.
The system's voice, cold and bright:
[New Skill Activated: ???]
The words burned in his vision, a promise and a warning. The game was about to begin.