The four knocks echoed again.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Knock.
Kai stood at the top of the staircase, staring into the darkness below.
Nobody moved.
The warning on the wall remained glowing behind them.
DON'T TRUST THE FOURTH.
Vex broke the silence.
"Fourth what?"
Luca looked around nervously.
"Fourth Guardian?"
Mateo shook his head.
"Maybe fourth player?"
Everyone immediately looked at one another.
The atmosphere changed.
Kai noticed the sudden tension.
The Game had done it again.
It had planted doubt.
"Don't start," Kai said firmly.
Freya frowned.
"Start what?"
"Suspecting each other."
A faint laugh echoed from below.
Kai's expression hardened.
"It wants us to turn against one another."
Vex nodded.
"Then we stay together."
They began descending.
The staircase seemed endless.
The walls were covered with strange symbols, some glowing faintly while others looked ancient and worn away.
After several minutes, Kai noticed something.
Their footsteps weren't the only ones.
There was another set.
Behind them.
He stopped.
Everyone stopped.
Silence.
Then—
Step.
A footstep came from above.
Vex looked upward.
"Did someone follow us?"
Nobody answered.
Kai slowly raised his badge.
The symbol glowed.
Nothing appeared.
"Keep moving," Kai whispered.
They continued downward.
The footsteps followed.
But whenever Kai stopped...
they stopped too.
Finally, the staircase ended.
They entered a huge underground chamber.
At the center stood four stone statues.
Each statue looked like a Guardian.
The first held a flame.
The second covered its eyes.
The third wore a broken crown.
The fourth had its hands chained behind its back.
Kai approached the statues.
"Four Guardians."
Vex pointed at the fourth.
"That's the one."
Kai nodded.
The warning suddenly made sense.
Or so he thought.
A voice echoed through the chamber.
"CHOOSE THE GUARDIAN YOU TRUST."
The four statues began glowing.
The flame Guardian.
The blind Guardian.
The crowned Guardian.
The chained Guardian.
Kai looked at the others.
"Don't choose yet."
The Game's voice repeated.
"CHOOSE."
The chamber began shaking.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
The statues started moving.
The chained Guardian suddenly lifted its head.
Its eyes opened.
They were blue.
Just like the First Guardian.
Kai stepped toward it.
"You're one of them."
The Guardian nodded.
"I am the Fourth."
Everyone went silent.
Kai remembered the warning.
DON'T TRUST THE FOURTH.
"Why shouldn't we trust you?" Kai asked.
The Fourth Guardian smiled.
"Because the warning is true."
Vex raised his weapon.
"What?"
The Guardian looked directly at Kai.
"I am the only Guardian who still serves the Game."
A chill ran through the group.
The Game's voice suddenly became strangely quiet.
The Fourth Guardian broke his chains.
CRACK.
The chains fell to the floor.
Kai stepped backward.
"You lied to us."
"No," the Guardian replied.
"I told you the truth."
His eyes began glowing red.
The other three statues immediately shattered.
The Fourth Guardian stepped forward.
"You were warned not to trust me."
The floor beneath Kai lit up.
"Yet you came anyway."
Kai looked at Vex.
"Get everyone back!"
The Guardian raised one hand.
The chamber exploded with light.
Kai and the others were thrown apart.
When Kai opened his eyes, he was alone.
Vex was gone.
Mei was gone.
Everyone was gone.
Only the Fourth Guardian stood before him.
And behind the Guardian...
was a door.
The Guardian pointed toward it.
"Your friends are on the other side."
Kai stared at him.
"What do you want?"
The Guardian's smile disappeared.
"Nothing."
He stepped aside.
"I want to see what you choose when you have no one left to trust."
The door opened.
Kai stared into the darkness beyond it.
Then he heard Vex's voice.
"Kai!"
Kai immediately ran toward the door.
But just before he crossed the threshold, the Guardian whispered:
"Remember..."
Kai stopped.
"...the Game doesn't always lie."
The door slammed shut behind him.
Kai was alone.
And somewhere in the darkness ahead...
something began laughing.
To Be Continued...