Chapter 32: (Part 04)
The chamber fell silent after the last Sectrep collapsed, its body dissolving into black smoke. Alok's chest heaved, but his eyes never left the wall.
The symbols carved into the stone pulsed faintly like living veins, glowing blue, then shifting as though unseen hands rewrote them. The words rearranged into new lines:
""Chains of shadow… forged in flame… sealed in blood… only the bearer may pass.""
Rihan squinted. "It's not just a warning it's… a puzzle. A key."
Alok's jaw tightened. "Or a reminder of what waits deeper inside." He brushed the wall with his fingers. For a fleeting second, he felt warmth like someone pressed back from the other side.
The soldiers muttered nervously. "This place is cursed," one spat.
Alok turned, chains circling faintly around his wrists. "No. It's a message. Maybe from my father." His voice trembled at the thought.
The Trap Awakens
A deep rumble shook the chamber. Dust rained from the ceiling, the ground splitting with a roar. The floor crumbled into jagged pieces, leaving only thin walkways suspended over a bottomless pit.
"Hold formation!" Rihan shouted.
Soldiers scrambled, locking shields to steady themselves. Two slipped Alok's chains shot out, catching them before the abyss swallowed them whole.
But the trap wasn't done. From the cracks, shrieks erupted.
Sectreps crawled out, larger than before. Their bodies were armored with obsidian plates, claws scraping sparks across the stone. Dozens of red eyes glowed in the dark as they swarmed the broken platforms.
The soldiers braced, spears lowered.
Alok's pendant flared suddenly, a violent pulse of light. Strange runes shimmered across the walkways, revealing faint safe paths. But at the same time, the light drew the Sectreps closer like moths to flame.
"Damn it," Rihan growled. "It's guiding us… and warning them!"
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The Battle on the Platforms
The labyrinth became chaos.
Steel clashed against claws. Shields splintered. The soldiers fought bravely, pushing Sectreps off the edges into the abyss, but for every creature that fell, another climbed out.
One soldier screamed as a Sectrep's tail impaled him. His blood sprayed across the glowing runes, making them flare brighter.
Alok roared, chains bursting from his arms like serpents, wrapping around two Sectreps and tearing them apart. Sparks of black essence scattered into the air.
"Stay together!" he shouted, pulling his men back onto the glowing path.
But the path shifted. Runes flickered, then extended toward a distant door half sealed by ancient stone.
Rihan wiped blood from his cheek. "That's it! The way forward!"
Alok's eyes narrowed. "Then we carve a way through."
The Whispers
As they pushed forward, whispers rose from the abyss. Cold, echoing voices neither Sectrep nor human.
"Bearer of chains… blood of the forgotten… you cannot escape…"
Alok froze. His chest burned where the pendant rested. For a heartbeat, he felt his father's voice within the whispers calling, warning, pleading.
His fists trembled. "Father… are you here?"
But the whispers twisted into cruel laughter.
The Sectreps lunged again. The moment was gone.
Toward the Hidden Door
Step by step, Alok and his soldiers fought across the shifting platforms, blood painting the glowing runes beneath their boots. Every loss, every scream only made the labyrinth hungrier.
Finally, with a final strike of his chains, Alok cleared the last Sectrep. The chamber fell into silence once more.
The sealed door stood before them engraved with chains, flame, and a strange circular symbol that matched the crack in Alok's pendant.
The pendant throbbed violently, as though eager to connect.
Rihan whispered, almost reverent: "It wants you to open it."
Alok clenched his fists, staring at the door. He felt the weight of the labyrinth pressing down, of his father's mystery, of the whispers still echoing.
"If this is the next step to the truth…" Alok muttered, "then we open it. No matter the cost."
The door shuddered in response, runes flickering alive.
And deep within the labyrinth, the Extera stirred.