Aedric's breath was steady, but his pulse quickened as he stared at the motionless figure ahead. The rotting corpse stood just beyond the lantern's reach, its hollow eyes reflecting the dim light. The scent of decay was thick in the air, clinging to the damp tunnel walls.
Seris crouched beside him, her daggers poised in a reverse grip, her breathing slow and measured. Behind them, Tessa pressed herself against the wall, her trembling fingers gripping the edges of her cloak.
The silence stretched.
Then the corpse moved.
Its head tilted unnaturally, a sickening crack echoing through the narrow passage. A low, gurgling sound crawled from its throat, neither human nor beast.
Aedric tightened his grip on his sword. "It's aware of us."
Seris didn't take her eyes off the creature. "Not just aware." She shifted her stance slightly. "It's waiting."
Tessa let out a shaky breath. "For what?"
Aedric didn't have an answer.
The undead creature didn't lunge, didn't advance. It simply stood there, as though it were listening—waiting for something unseen to command it.
Aedric's instincts screamed at him. Something was wrong.
Seris shifted, flicking her dagger slightly to draw its attention. The creature's gaze snapped to her with an unnatural speed. The moment was brief, but Aedric caught it—the way its body twitched, like a puppet waiting for its strings to be pulled.
His jaw tightened. "It's not acting on its own."
Seris glanced at him. "Meaning?"
Aedric took a slow step forward, sword raised. "Something is controlling it."
A beat of silence.
Then, without warning, the creature's mouth split open in a silent scream, and the tunnel erupted with movement.
From the darkness beyond, more figures lurched forward. Half-rotted bodies, some missing limbs, others with sunken, vacant eyes. The catacombs weren't abandoned.
They were infested.
"Run!" Aedric shouted.
Seris didn't hesitate. She grabbed Tessa's arm, yanking her forward as the first undead lunged. Aedric swung his sword in a wide arc, slicing cleanly through its decayed throat. The creature barely staggered before its limbs jerked unnaturally, as if something unseen forced it to keep moving.
Seris ducked low, slashing at the legs of another. It crumbled, but its bony fingers still clawed at the dirt, dragging itself forward.
"They don't stop," Seris growled.
Aedric swung again, severing the arms of another as they retreated down the passage. "Then we don't give them a chance to grab us."
The tunnels twisted ahead, their only escape deeper into the unknown. Aedric didn't like it, but they had no choice.
Tessa gasped behind him. "There—up ahead!"
A faint opening in the stone, barely visible through the dim lantern light. Aedric didn't hesitate. "Go!"
Seris pulled Tessa through first, and Aedric turned just in time to block another lunge from an undead, its claw-like fingers swiping dangerously close. He slammed the hilt of his sword into its skull, forcing it back just long enough for him to dive into the passageway after them.
Seris was already shoving a broken piece of wood against the entrance, blocking it as best she could. The creatures clawed at the other side, their rasping breath filling the tunnel.
Aedric's own breaths were heavy. He wiped the sweat from his brow. "That was too close."
Tessa was still shaking. "What… what were those things?"
Seris leaned against the wall, catching her breath. "I don't know. But they weren't just mindless corpses. Something was making them move."
Aedric exhaled. "And it knows we're here."
Silence settled between them.
The tunnel they had escaped into was different—older. The air was colder, and the walls bore markings too faded to read. Strange symbols were etched into the stone, barely visible in the lantern's glow.
Tessa hugged herself. "This place feels wrong."
Seris studied the markings, her expression unreadable. "It's ancient. And if these tunnels have been untouched for so long, there's probably a reason."
Aedric didn't like it, but he knew staying wasn't an option. "We need to keep moving."
Seris nodded. "Agreed."
With one last glance at the blocked passage behind them, they pressed forward—deeper into the darkness.
---
They walked in silence, their footsteps muffled by the thick layer of dust coating the stone floor. The air was damp, the scent of rot gradually fading into something older—something stale, like a crypt sealed for centuries.
Tessa clung to her cloak as she walked. "Are we sure this leads anywhere?"
"No," Aedric admitted. "But we can't go back."
Seris trailed a gloved hand along the wall, tracing the carvings with her fingers. "These symbols… they aren't just markings. They look like seals."
Aedric frowned. "Seals?"
Seris nodded. "Ritualistic ones."
Tessa's eyes widened. "You mean like magic?"
"Something like that." Seris exhaled. "They're old, though. Too faded to be active."
Aedric glanced ahead. The tunnel stretched forward into the unknown, and yet, despite the silence, he couldn't shake the feeling that they weren't alone.
Then he heard it—a whisper.
It was faint, barely more than a breath of sound against the stone. But it was there.
Seris stopped walking, her gaze snapping to Aedric. "You heard it too."
Aedric nodded. "Something's here."
Tessa swallowed hard. "I don't see anything."
Aedric tightened his grip on his sword. "That doesn't mean it's not watching us."
They pressed on, every step measured, every breath controlled. The whispers faded in and out, sometimes closer, sometimes distant. It wasn't speech, not exactly—it was as if the very walls were exhaling secrets.
Then the tunnel opened into a vast chamber.
Aedric lifted his lantern higher, revealing an enormous underground hall. Towering stone pillars stretched toward a ceiling lost in shadows. At the center of the room stood an altar, its surface covered in dust and old, dried stains.
Seris took a slow step forward. "This place… it's not just a ruin. It's a burial site."
Tessa hugged herself. "A burial site for what?"
Aedric didn't answer.
Because now, in the dim light, he could finally see them.
Figures—silent, unmoving—lined the edges of the chamber. Their bodies were wrapped in old, tattered robes, their faces hidden beneath deep hoods.
Not statues. Not corpses.
They were waiting.
And as Aedric took another step forward, the air in the room shifted.
A deep, echoing voice whispered through the chamber.
"You do not belong here."