Kael's footsteps echoed loudly as he and Selene stepped into the vast underground chamber. It was silent, too silent. The kind that wrapped around you and squeezed the breath from your lungs. High stone arches rose above them, etched with faded symbols that pulsed faintly with an eerie blue glow.
Selene crouched down, brushing her fingers against the cracked floor. "This is it," she whispered. "The core of the ruins. Where the god is said to sleep."
Kael's heart thudded. Every part of him screamed to turn back, but something deeper pulled him forward. "Then why does it feel like we're being watched?" he muttered.
Selene didn't answer. Instead, she moved ahead, lighting a small crystal lamp. Its glow revealed the chamber's center, a massive stone seal, circular and cracked, with claw marks tearing across it.
"Those don't look ancient," Kael said, narrowing his eyes.
"They're not," Selene replied. "Something has already tried to break the seal."
Kael's breath caught. "Do you think it succeeded?"
"I don't know," she said. "But we're not alone."
The sound came suddenly. A scraping. Then a rumble. The floor shuddered, and the seal trembled. Dust fell from the ceiling.
Kael drew his blade. "What did we just wake up?"
A voice echoed through the chamber. Deep. Hollow. Ancient.
"Who dares trespass upon my slumber?"
Selene grabbed Kael's arm. "That's not the god. That's a fragment, something left behind to guard the seal."
A shadow slithered from the cracks, taking the form of a towering figure cloaked in tattered robes. Its face was a mask of shifting bone, and its eyes were hollow voids.
"You are not worthy," it snarled. "Your blood is not bound. Your name is not remembered."
Kael stepped forward. "I'm not here to take. I'm here to stop whatever's trying to break free."
The guardian raised a skeletal hand. Blue flames surged from the seal, swirling around Kael. He staggered but held his ground.
"You carry her mark," the figure hissed. "The lost priestess…"
Selene's face went pale. "It knows."
Before Kael could speak, the flames stopped. The guardian stared at him silently for a long moment… then lowered its hand.
"Then prove your worth. Step into the Echoing Gate. Face what she faced."
The seal cracked open further, revealing a spiral staircase descending into blackness.
Kael turned to Selene. "Are you coming?"
"I've already been there once," she said, voice trembling. "But I'll go again."
Together, they stepped forward into the unknown.