The tunnel widened without warning, spilling them into a cavern so vast that the ceiling disappeared into darkness. Rivers of glowing essence crisscrossed the floor like veins, pulsing in rhythm with something deeper—like the slow beat of a heart buried beneath the stone.
Eris felt it immediately. Each pulse tugged at the light inside him, pulling as though trying to drag him down into the glowing rivers.
Selene raised her staff high, her light brushing the chamber walls. The stone was etched with carvings—spirals of symbols, repeating over and over, painted in dried blood.
"They're prayers," she whispered. "But not to gods. To something older."
Jonas spat on the ground. "Wonderful. First ghosts, now cult graffiti."
Mara crouched near one of the rivers, eyes narrowing. "Not graffiti. Look closer—these markings are fresh."
Everyone stiffened.
Before anyone could answer, the whispers rose again—stronger than before. This time they weren't only inside their heads. They echoed through the cavern itself, reverberating like a thousand voices chanting from within the stone.
"Descendant. Descendant. Come. Complete us."
From the glowing rivers, forms began to rise—far larger than the echoes before. These weren't just fragments of essence. They were armored, skeletal figures, their bodies plated with obsidian and molten veins running through their joints. Their empty eye sockets burned like furnaces.
Liora gripped her bow. "They're guardians."
Selene's face tightened. "No. Worse. They're remnants of the First War. Souls bound into armor to serve forever."
The largest of the guardians stepped forward, dragging a colossal blade that screeched against the stone. When it spoke, its voice was layered with countless others.
"Eris. Last of the Seven. You carry what was denied to us. By right, it belongs here—in the Heart."
Eris's silver glow flared, instinctively answering the guardian's call. His chest felt like it was tearing open, the essence trying to leap from him to join the rivers below.
Liora darted forward, clutching his arm. "Fight it, Eris! You're not theirs!"
The guardian raised its blade, pointing it directly at him.
"Then we shall carve it from your flesh."
The cavern shook as the guardians advanced, their molten bodies radiating unbearable heat.
Mara's blades flashed into her hands, and Jonas cocked his rifle.
Selene took a deep breath, planting her staff. "This is no ordinary battle. To survive this… we will need to fight as one."
The first guardian roared, and the chamber erupted into chaos.