Aden's breath came in ragged bursts, his body soaked in the blood of those who had fallen before him. The temple corridors were now a battlefield, walls painted in crimson, the scent of death thick in the air. But despite the carnage, the fight was far from over.
The temple had adapted.
The architecture shifted, corridors narrowing and expanding at will. The once solid floor beneath his feet felt alive, warping as if rejecting his presence. A pit opened beneath him without warning—Aden barely twisted in time, his fingers catching the edge as spears shot upward from the darkness below. He pulled himself up just in time to dodge the slamming stone doors behind him.
> "It's trying to kill me," he muttered, wiping sweat from his brow. "No. It's trying to break me."
Then he heard them.
A new force approached—different from the panicked cultists he had been tearing through. Their movements were deliberate, their steps measured. Aden's instincts flared. These weren't mindless zealots. These were warriors.
From the far end of the corridor, five figures emerged, clad in dark armor with masks of their own—each one adorned with golden engravings that pulsed with an eerie glow. Their weapons were pristine, untouched by the decay of time. Aden recognized the formation immediately.
> Gladiators.
They moved like seasoned killers, shields raised, short swords at the ready, their formation unbroken. These weren't like the desperate fighters he had been cutting down—these were the temple's elite.
Aden adjusted his stance. His instincts whispered that these warriors were different. Stronger. Smarter.
> "Good," he muttered. "Let's see how much this mask really wants to turn me into a hunter."
---
The first clash was brutal. The lead gladiator lunged, shield crashing forward to break Aden's stance. He barely dodged, twisting to the side, but another warrior was already moving in—dagger flashing toward his ribs.
Aden countered, grabbing the attacker's wrist and twisting violently. A sickening snap echoed through the corridor as the man crumpled. But there was no time to recover. A blade slashed toward his throat.
He ducked. Felt the cold kiss of metal graze his skin.
Instinct took over.
He moved without thinking, without hesitation—slipping past the warriors' coordinated attacks with a grace that was not entirely his own. The mask's influence surged, sharpening his senses, twisting his movements into something more than human. He struck back with inhuman precision, his blade finding weak points in their armor, his strikes lethal and unrelenting.
For the first time since he had entered the temple, Aden felt like he was fighting equals. And it thrilled him.
---
The gladiators fought without fear. Even as their numbers dwindled, they held their formation, pressing Aden back, forcing him into tighter spaces where their shields could control the flow of battle.
Then, the temple shifted again.
The walls rumbled, and a deep, guttural sound filled the air. Sigils flared across the ceiling, ancient symbols burning with renewed energy. The floor beneath them cracked and split open, releasing a wave of black mist that slithered toward Aden like grasping fingers.
His instincts screamed at him to move.
He leaped back just as the mist surged forward, consuming one of the remaining gladiators. The man's scream was cut short as his body convulsed, his mask cracking before he disintegrated into nothingness.
> "The temple is done playing," Aden realized. "It wants me gone."
The remaining gladiators hesitated for the first time. Even they weren't prepared for the temple's wrath. But hesitation was all Aden needed.
He struck like a predator unleashed.
---
Blood stained the floor. The last warrior crumbled at his feet, his mask shattering with a final, hollow gasp. Aden's own breath was ragged, his vision blurred at the edges. The mask's power still pulsed through him, but it was taking its toll.
He looked ahead.
Beyond the battlefield, the temple's heart awaited. And he knew—whatever lay ahead was far worse than what he had just faced.
> "Come on then," he whispered to the temple itself. "Let's finish this."
The path forward rumbled in response, the temple acknowledging his challenge.
The end was near.