The corridor was almost dark, and the cold stone walls echo the footsteps of Leon and Elise.
His eyes glisten in the gloom as he scans the place like a hunter looking for a trace of his prey.
Leon said in a faint voice:
– "No trace... no smell... no strange energy. It's like the place hasn't been set foot in years."
Elise clasped her arms and said sarcastically:
"I told you, my husband, they left a while ago."
But Leon did not smile, he looked around nervously, as if he hears something that she does not hear:
– "Strange... despite all this emptiness, there is still danger creeping into my chest."
Elise raised her eyebrow:
- "Do you think it's a matrix?""
– "No... I don't think so. Arrays need to have their constructors around soon to remain efficient."
- "Then maybe another explosive."
Leon nodded:
– "Watch your step. Any wrong Stone may ignite hell here."
Elise smiled lightly:
– "Whew... I'm afraid you worry about a professional killer too much."
He didn't answer them. Inside he was reassured: if there really was a matrix, he would have felt the presence of its creator a long time ago.
His sensing was never wrong, and the blood he carries made him trust this ability more than any other evidence.
But what he didn't know... that this time is different.
The matrix that awaits him is not designed to follow the rules that he knows.
Adam set her up to be an exception, working alone with no need for a constructor next to her.
And the secret behind it was not something that would have occurred to Leon... at least not now.
After minutes of anticipation, Leon stood in front of a very ordinary wooden door. No decoration, no lock, just a door like any door.
He stretched out his hand towards him, but suddenly stopped, turned to his wife and said with rare seriousness:
- "Elise... anything you will see behind this door, you may not be able to absorb. I'm warning you for the last time... do you really want to know the secret that all elite families are afraid of"
Elise's features trembled. What could make Leon – strict, cold-talk like that
But she laughed lightly, trying to hide her anxiety:
– "If you know this secret and are still fine... then I, too, will be fine."
Leon opened the door.
The room seemed empty. No secrets, no monsters, no power. Just clean walls.
Elise shouted angrily:
-" Are you kidding me?"!"
Leon laughed, a loud laugh broke the silence of the corridor:
– "Hahahaha... no, my little fool, you are always hasty. Look.look."
Close the door, then open it again.
This time, they did not see ordinary walls.
A different space opened up for them.
A spacious room filled with advanced technological machines to an extent that terrifies. Screens move without touching, luminous crystals rotate around their axes, energy is current in the air as a network of light threads.
The scene was closer to a science fiction world from a distant future, and not to the mansion of a noble family of this time.
Elise widened her eyes:
- "No way... how... how did this happen?"!"
Leon said quietly:
– "There are three ways to open this secret room:
First: be one of the authorized persons.
Second: to know the passcode associated with The Matrix.
Third: to be the king of the rune himself."
- "The king of the rune?""
He nodded:
– "Yes. Every elite family that survived the second family War has something like this. Thousands of years ago, after those wars, these matrices were built to preserve things that should not be touched. This is not a room in the palace... we are now inside a crack of chaos."
Elise gasped:
-" Are you kidding?" The cracks of chaos are unstable! This place is للغاية very stable, more like a tight eggshell. Then... I have never in my life heard of a human being who has reached the level of a Rune King."
Leon looked at her seriously:
"You'll know why when we go deeper."
Leon advanced with steady steps, and Elise was behind him.
And suddenly I stopped.
Her eyes froze, and their pupils widened as if they swallowed the entire darkness.
Her lips trembled soundlessly, and her face turned white as if the blood had dried from her veins.
She whispered tremulously, her voice barely coming out:
- "Eh... is this an illusion... or is it real?""
Leon turned, followed her gaze, and then his voice enveloped an indisputable heaviness:
- "No. This is one hundred percent true."
The air around them changed, it became too heavy to inhale.
The solid stone walls seemed to be narrowing, as if the void itself was bending in front of what lay there.
Elise didn't move.
Her knees trembled, her breath cracked in her chest, and her mind shrank like a panicked child.
What was in front of her was not designed for a human mind to comprehend... a nightmare too big to translate into words.
Something beyond description.
Something worthy only of being the greatest horror born to shatter all of humanity.
Leon put his hand on her shoulder, proving her trembling:
- "Hold on. Don't let him swallow you."
But she knew deep down... that just seeing him was enough to swallow her already.
After a long time of explaining and arguing, Elise calmed down a little. Her breath was choppy at first, and then she started to come back slower, deeper... as if convincing herself that what she saw was nothing but an illusion.
She raised her eyes to Leon, and her voice came out croaking:
- "Leon... have you seen any trace of an intruder here?""
He answered firmly, shaking his head:
- "No."
- "Then let's go out... I'm exhausted."
He contemplated her for a moment, and then silently agreed. But his heart kept screaming inside him: Danger... Danger is very close.
They left the room.
Their footsteps echoed down the long corridor, but neither dared to speak. The air was heavier than the rock, as if they were carrying an invisible mountain on their shoulders.
Finally, Leon broke the silence with a faint but sharp voice:
– "I didn't expect this from you, Elise. I never thought that a spoiled child would become so terrifying."
His words pierced her heart like a knife. Her body froze for a moment, but she didn't react.
Inside her, the fear is still gnawing at her mercilessly.
Moments of silence passed, before she said slowly, as if looking for refuge in her words:
- "I'm fine, Leon... only when I see Adam, I feel that I'm regaining my energy. I think I'm... gonna sleep in his room tonight."
Leon gasped in surprise, stopped walking.
This was not her usual response. He knew her well: if he had said something similar at another time, she would have revolted, got angry and made fun of him. But now She was quiet... suspicious.
He said hesitantly, trying to hide his anxiety:
- "Do you mean that Adam has become... gives you more security than me?""
She laughed with a cold lightness, a tone he had never heard before:
– "Oh... are you jealous, dear, of your son?""
- –No, Of course not."He raised his head cohesively, but inside he was not stable. "I just think it's better for Adam to enjoy his privacy. And if you're still scared... I'm here, anytime."
She smiled a small smile, as if it did not belong to her face:
– "Huh... you're right."
Then she followed her path with calm steps... too calm.
As for Leon, he felt for the first time that the Elise he knew had left something behind in that dark room, something that was no longer with her now.
The passage was swallowing the sounds of their footsteps, but the light banter between them made the Cold Stone less harsh.
Elise laughed as she recalled the academy battles, and Leon half-smiled as he relived the days of youth. For a moment, it seemed as if they had thrown off the weight of the previous trauma, as if only the past could give some peace.
They approached the door leading outside. Elise extended her hand lightly as she said:
– "It was fun... although it's a pity that we didn't fight anyone."
Leon laughed softly:
- "You're right. When's the last time we fought together?'"
– "I believe in the last Test at the Union Academy."
– "Yes... those days are unforgettable."
She smiled as she pushed the door, but her smile disappeared at the same moment.
A thin slit opened... and from it rushed a suffocating heavy air, the smell of burnt iron and rotting blood, made Elise take a half step back and cover her nose.
Then the door finally opened.
There is no palace anymore.
The spacious hall from which they entered hours ago is now nothing but burnt ruins.
The majestic walls were demolished, the furniture was reduced to ashes, and the luxurious carpets were soaked in dark streams of blood flowing across the floor.
The bodies…
Dozens of them are scattered around every corner. Some were headless, some had no limbs, and others had their remains hung on the walls as stuffed dolls.
The faces are distorted, their features are transformed into eternal screams.
Even the air was pulsing with death, as if the palace itself had become a creature feeding on blood.
Elise put her hand to her mouth, her eyes widen , as if her mind refuses to absorb that this place is the same one they entered a short time ago. Her steps involuntarily faltered, her body trembled like a child in front of a living nightmare.
Leon didn't speak.
But his fist tightly closed on his , his veins protruded on his arm, his eyes slowly moved through the shadows. It wasn't just the devastation that weighed on his chest, but that vague feeling... that something was still here. Watching. He relishes the sight of their shock.
Leon's eyes met Elise's.
They didn't exchange a word.
But their looks alone were enough to tell:
> "What happened here?""