Aden had barely taken five steps into the new passage when the temperature dropped. A chill crawled up his spine, and for a moment, he felt exposed, like unseen eyes were locked onto him.
He stopped walking. Listened.
The silence was unnatural—no wind, no shifting stone, not even the usual distant echoes of the temple. Just... nothing.
Aden tightened his grip on his knife. "Alright. Either I've gone deaf, or something's very wrong."
His words vanished into the void. No echo.
Aden's stomach twisted. This wasn't normal.
Then, without warning, the torches along the walls flared to life—not with warm fire, but with an eerie, blue light. Shadows stretched across the chamber ahead, twisting unnaturally.
Aden tensed.
There were figures.
Lining the sides of the room were statues, each taller than a man, carved from black stone. Their features were worn by time, but their eyes… their eyes glowed.
Aden swallowed. Watchers.
He had read about these things before—ancient sentinels, constructs from the days when the system still ruled the world. Some believed they had once been warriors, others thought they were judges.
One thing was certain. They were never just statues.
Aden took a slow step forward. Nothing happened.
Another step. Still nothing.
On the third step, all their heads turned toward him.
Aden froze. "Yeah. Saw that coming."
The statues didn't move further, but their glowing eyes followed him. He could feel the weight of their gaze, pressing against his skin like a physical force.
Aden forced himself to keep walking.
The passage ahead was clear. If he just—
Crunch.
His foot landed on something brittle. A shard of bone.
The room shuddered.
The statues' eyes flared brighter, and a deep, grinding sound echoed through the chamber.
Aden didn't hesitate. He ran.
Stone cracked behind him. The first Watcher moved.
Aden ducked, narrowly avoiding a massive stone hand that swung through the air where his head had been. He hit the ground, rolled, and bolted toward the exit—
More grinding. More movement.
They were all waking up.
Aden cursed under his breath. "Yeah, okay, new plan—sprint first, think later."
The door at the far end of the chamber was closing.
Too fast.
Aden pushed himself harder, his legs burning as the exit shrank before him. Behind him, heavy footsteps thundered, the Watchers moving with unnatural speed.
Just a little further—
The gap was barely wide enough.
Aden dove through, hitting the stone floor hard as the door slammed shut behind him.
Silence.
His chest heaved, his heartbeat a drum in his ears. Slowly, he turned his head—
The Watchers stood motionless behind the sealed entrance, their glowing eyes still fixed on him.
Aden exhaled. "Well. That's another childhood fear unlocked."
He lay there for a moment before groaning and forcing himself up.
Survived.
Barely.