Aden's body ached, but he didn't stop moving.
He had barely escaped the Watchers, and if the temple had taught him anything, it was that there was always another trap waiting.
The corridor ahead was long and narrow, the air thick with dust. The eerie blue glow from the last chamber had faded, leaving him with only the dim light of old torches flickering along the walls.
Aden paused, rubbing his arms to shake off the lingering chill from the Watchers' gaze. They had let him go. That was the part that unsettled him the most. They could have crushed him, but instead, they just... watched.
Why?
He exhaled, shaking the thought away. Focus.
Ahead, the corridor split into three paths.
Aden narrowed his eyes. A choice.
His fingers traced the worn stone walls, scanning for clues. The temple had been built long before the system collapsed, and its trials weren't just about strength—they tested wit and instinct.
Each path was different:
The left path was completely dark. No torches, no signs of life. Just a long, yawning tunnel into blackness.
The middle path had bones. Old, dry skeletons littered the floor, as if something had dragged bodies in but never let them out.
The right path had a faint, rhythmic sound—tap. tap. tap. Like something moving just out of sight.
Aden clicked his tongue. "Yeah. None of these scream 'safe passage.'"
He considered his options.
Left: Blind walk into nothingness.
Middle: Proven death zone.
Right: Something waiting for me.
"… Right it is."
Aden adjusted his backpack and stepped forward.
The tapping sound grew louder.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The air felt charged, like the static before a storm. Every step forward made his instincts scream at him to turn back, but Aden had long since learned that fear was a luxury he couldn't afford.
Then he saw it.
A figure stood at the far end of the corridor.
Not a Watcher.
Not a statue.
It was a man.
Aden froze. His breath caught in his throat.
The figure's face was hidden beneath a hood, but the way he stood—motionless, perfectly still—sent an unnatural chill through Aden's bones.
Then the man spoke.
"You should not be here."
Aden's heart pounded. He tightened his grip on his knife. "Yeah? Funny. I was about to say the same thing to you."