Chapter 40 ( Part 12)
The smoke of the fallen war-beast lingered, curling like black serpents before vanishing into the cracks of the stone floor. The silence that followed felt heavier than the battle itself like the labyrinth was holding its breath.
Rihan exhaled sharply, dragging his sword's tip along the ground. "If that was just a guard dog… what the hell are we walking toward?"
Namea's hands trembled as she traced glowing symbols reappearing on the cracked pillars. Her voice wavered. "The labyrinth… it reacts to blood, to battle. Each time we survive, it reveals more."
The Whispering Murals
Blue fire seeped through the walls again, reshaping the murals. This time, the images were clearer:
A king crowned with flame. Soldiers kneeling before him. A lion carved into the stone, its eyes burning like embers.
Serina frowned. "That lion symbol… we saw something like it earlier, didn't we?"
"Yes," Rihan muttered. "On the floor above. I thought it was just decoration."
But as they stared, the lion's stone eyes flickered with faint golden light. A whisper drifted through the chamber, neither male nor female, but impossibly ancient:
"Kashyapa… king of stone… betrayed, buried, devoured by shadow…"
The name hung in the air like a curse.
Ceya's brow furrowed. "King Kashyapa… I've heard that name in the old stories. The Lion King of Sigiriya. But… what does he have to do with this place?"
The Extera chuckled faintly from its distant throne. The sound scraped against their bones.
"The Lion King built his fortress to defy death. Yet death always finds its way. I merely… claimed what remained."
A Forbidden Discovery
As the group pressed deeper into the hall, Alok felt his pendant tug toward the murals. The chains quivered as if recognizing something within the inscriptions.
He placed his hand on the wall. At his touch, the stone peeled back like paper, revealing a hidden chamber behind the murals.
Inside, rows of ancient weapons lay rusted, fused into the walls by time. But at the very center stood a broken throne, carved in the likeness of a lion's head.
Rihan stepped forward cautiously. "This… this is where Kashyapa ruled. Or what's left of it."
Ceya shivered. "No. It's… different. This feels more like a grave."
The moment her words left her mouth, the lion throne's eyes flared to life, glowing with golden fire. The ground shook violently, dust raining from the ceiling.
The Trigger
Rihan, without realizing, stepped on a carved sigil at the foot of the throne. The stone beneath his boot depressed with a heavy click.
The entire labyrinth groaned, shifting. Murals twisted, the very air thickening as an illusion shattered.
The walls peeled away, and for a brief, blinding moment
the labyrinth became something else.
Not dark stone. Not chains.
But Sigiriya itself. Towering, golden, majestic like the fortress-palace had been reborn in its prime.
The air tasted fresher, filled with the scent of ancient flowers and smoke from unseen braziers. The illusions of shadow soldiers flickered along the edges of the vision, restrained for now.
Everyone froze in stunned silence.
"Sigiriya…" Alok whispered. "The real face of this labyrinth."
The Extera's voice thundered across the chamber, colder than ever:
"You walk in a dead king's memory. But remember what is buried in memory… does not rest."
The Ominous Stirring
The golden vision rippled like water. The illusions of servants, warriors, and courtiers began to stir ghostly echoes of Kashyapa's reign.
Some bowed before the throne.
Others turned their hollow eyes toward Alok and his friends.
And then, the whispers came again:
"Bearer of chains… why do you trespass in the Lion King's grave?"
The ghostly courtiers began to march, their outlines hardening, their bodies shifting into half-formed soldiers something between memory and Sectrep.
Alok's chest tightened. The pendant burned hotter than ever.
This labyrinth… it's not just Extera's domain. It's Kashyapa's tomb… and something even darker tied to my father's secret.