Alynia's mind was racing. She analyzed every movement of the shadows in the darkness, their paths marked by the temporary disruption of the glowing filaments above.
"These lights… They must serve a purpose. But what?" Alynia murmured, focused.
Meanwhile, Veil kept watching the shadows while observing the glowing points. The ones that moved seemed to follow a pattern: stopping, then allowing another to begin moving.
What if… the key was those moving lights? They're not here for no reason, thought Veil, focused.
He turned to Alynia, an idea beginning to form in his mind.
"Alynia, do you think the answer could be those moving lights? Maybe we have to touch them or activate them?" Veil asked, urgent but uncertain.
Alynia, still on high alert, kept her ears trained for the slightest sound. The shadows were still moving—silent, yet detectable to her through the subtle changes in the air.
"Makes sense. Go check, Little Wolf. But listen to my orders carefully. One mistake, and they'll tear you apart," Alynia replied, serious.
Veil nodded, gripping his dagger out of reflex. He moved forward slowly, his eyes locked on the moving light ahead. Every step seemed to heighten the tension, the room's oppressive silence making his own breathing sound loud.
Alynia, remaining behind, was ready for anything. Her ears suddenly picked up a sharp shift in the air.
"Move! Now!" she shouted, alert.
Veil reacted instantly, leaping to the side. He had barely moved when a shadow slammed into the ground where he had been standing, a loud BAM echoing through the room. The creature retreated just as quickly, melting back into the darkness.
Heart pounding, Veil quickened his pace, finally nearing the moving light. But just as he reached out to touch it, the light abruptly stopped—nearly fading. A different one, several meters away, began to move.
"Are they making me chase them...? No way I'm giving up now," growled Veil, frustrated.
He rushed toward the new light. Alynia, still focused, caught another shift in the darkness.
"Little Wolf, move! Another one's coming!" shouted Alynia, urgently.
But Veil had already extended his hand toward the moving light. Just as his fingers touched it, a shadow lunged at him.
A sudden burst of light exploded through the room, casting a blinding flare that made Alynia instinctively recoil.
"This light… It's too intense after so long in the dark," she whispered, surprised.
A chilling scream tore through the chamber, ripping the silence apart. The shadow that had lunged at Veil vanished, dissolved by the overwhelming light.
Alynia squinted, the brightness momentarily blinding her. But through it, she managed to make out Veil's silhouette—his hands raised to shield his face from the intensity.
At his feet, a dark puddle.
"Blood…" she murmured, worried.
She rushed toward him, her heart pounding in her chest.
"Little Wolf! Are you hurt?" she asked, tense but concerned.
Veil slowly lowered his hands, wincing from the pain.
"One of them hit me before it vanished…" Veil replied, calm but in pain.
Alynia quickly moved closer, her eyes locking onto the wound on Veil's ankle. Without wasting a second, she tore a strip from the bottom of her sleeve and knelt down to wrap it around the injury.
"The cut isn't deep, but you're bleeding… I need to slow it down," said Alynia, focused.
As she tended to his wound, a faint noise echoed from the remaining shadows in the room—a mix of rustling and low growls, like they were frustrated at being unable to reach them.
Alynia looked up toward the ceiling. The blinding light had dimmed, but it still shone brightly enough to let them see their immediate surroundings. The illuminated circle around them was narrow—just enough to feel marginally safe.
Veil followed her gaze, then pointed toward other glowing points still moving across the ceiling.
"The other lights are still moving… Look," Veil pointed out, urgent but cautious.
Alynia studied them for a moment, eyes narrowed. She nodded as she stood up.
"If the lights stay lit after we touch them, then we need to activate them all. If we manage that, we might stop those shadows from moving," declared Alynia, resolute.
They exchanged a look, drawing in a deep breath. Despite the pain and exhaustion, there was no other choice.
"Stay focused, Little Wolf. If they move, we have to be faster than them," ordered Alynia, firmly.
They split up, each heading toward a moving light. Alynia, being quicker, reached the first one. As soon as she placed her hand on it, a bright flash exploded, momentarily blinding them. She instinctively stepped back, her eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden glare.
"These flashes are unbearable… But we keep going," she growled, irritated.
Meanwhile, Veil reached another glowing point. He reached out to activate it—but before he could touch it, a shadow burst out in front of him.
"No!" Veil cried out, startled.
He leapt to the side, but the shadow, more agile this time, anticipated his movement. It didn't crash to the floor like before. Instead, it grabbed Veil by the ankle, lifting him violently into the air.
"Alynia!" he gasped, panicked.
His free leg kicked wildly, but met only air—passing straight through the dark arm holding him suspended.
Alynia, having just activated another nearby light, turned at the sound of his cry. She reacted instantly, sprinting toward him without hesitation. A moving light hovered near Veil.
"Hang in there, Little Wolf!" shouted Alynia, in a rush.
She reached out and activated the glowing point just before the shadow could strike again. Another flash erupted—brighter than the ones before.
SCREEEEEE.
A chilling howl echoed through the room as the shadow vanished abruptly, dropping Veil heavily to the ground—headfirst.
"It… hurts…" Veil groaned, pain sharp.
Alynia knelt beside him, gently helping him up.
"Get up. It's not over," said Alynia, worried but calm.
She glanced quickly at the ceiling and saw that only one moving point of light remained—several meters away.
"Stay here. Don't move," she commanded, determined.
She lowered herself slightly, bracing on her right leg. Then, with all the strength and speed she could muster, she sprinted toward the final light.
Her steps echoed faintly through the room, her ears tuned to catch the slightest suspicious sound. The shadow didn't seem to move this time, but she didn't let her guard down.
In just a few seconds, she reached the last moving light. She reached out and touched it.
Immediately, the glow became blinding. Brighter than all the previous lights combined, it flooded the room, transforming the oppressive darkness into an almost crushing brightness.
"It's… so bright," she whispered, surprised.
The other lights lit up as well, their radiance intensifying until the entire chamber was bathed in a nearly unbearable brilliance—like a flash.
Alynia and Veil shielded their eyes, unable to bear the intensity of the light. The flash was so powerful it seemed to pierce through their closed eyelids, leaving fleeting spots dancing across their vision.
"Little Wolf, don't move!" she yelled, urgently.
Then came a dreadful sound—a scream so harrowing it seemed to come from every corner of the room at once. The shadows, which had been lurking in the darkness, were now exposed with no place to hide. Under the light's force, they dissolved, their forms unraveling into wisps of dark smoke before vanishing entirely.
After a few seconds, silence returned—complete and almost suffocating after the storm of sound. Alynia slowly lowered her hands, squinting as her eyes began to adjust to the gradually fading brightness. At last, she could see the room clearly.
"Is it… over?" she asked, breathless.
She moved toward Veil, still frozen in place, hands over his face. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, making him flinch.
"What? What's…?" Veil gasped, surprised.
He removed his hands, letting his eyes adjust to the now steady light. The room he saw was simple—almost disappointingly so after all they had just endured. Rough stone walls enclosed the space, and the low ceiling, just as they had suspected, gave the impression of confinement.
On each wall stood a statue. One depicted a king—proud and imposing, wearing a crown adorned with intricately carved details. Another showed a chained slave, head bowed, body hunched under the invisible weight of suffering. A third portrayed a queen—graceful and dignified, holding a scepter. Finally, the last statue was of a soldier, standing tall, sword gripped firmly in both hands, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
Alynia sat on the cold stone floor, a faint smile tugging at her lips, tinged with exhaustion.
"Looks like it's over," Alynia replied, relieved but exhausted.
Veil sat beside her, holding his injured ankle with one hand. He turned his head, scanning the room cautiously, searching for any sign of an exit.
"Why is it so quiet…? Something's wrong," murmured Veil, wary.
His gaze swept across the chamber—until he noticed something. He abruptly turned toward Alynia, interrupting her rest.
"Where's the exit door?" he asked, worried.
Alynia lifted her head, her ears perking slightly. She examined the room carefully, her eyes moving from wall to wall. Nothing. No opening, no door in sight.
"There's no way out… How are we supposed to leave this place?" Alynia whispered, confused.
She didn't have time to think further. A CLICK suddenly echoed through the room, followed by an oppressive silence.
The lights shut off completely, plunging them once again into total darkness.
"Not yet…" Veil exhaled, alarmed.
Their eyes, still sensitive after the intense light, were blinded by the sudden return of darkness.
"It's not over… So what's left?!" Alynia murmured, nervous.
They remained still, their minds spinning, trying to make sense of what was happening.
Then, without warning, a faint light pierced the darkness. A single glowing point lit up on the ceiling—its glow dim but visible.
"Seriously? It's starting again?" exclaimed Veil, exasperated.
Alynia, her eyes fixed on the light, let out a soft sigh before answering.
"I don't know, Little Wolf… Maybe we missed something," Alynia replied, calm but puzzled.
What surprised them, however, was the absolute silence. No screams, no movement, no signs of the shadows—just a strange, unnatural stillness.
"Why is it so silent? That's not reassuring at all," she added, suspicious.
She took a step toward the glowing point, but the moment she moved, a filament of light shot out, connecting to another point. Then another filament followed—each light igniting in turn, forming a clear path.
"They're lighting up… but this time, it's different," she observed.
Veil noticed a detail and called out to Alynia.
"Look… The filaments aren't splitting like before. They're following a single path—straight and focused," Veil noted, alert.
Alynia nodded, her gaze tracing the glowing line. The points lit up one after another, always in the same sequence—until the final light appeared. But unlike before, no filament extended from this one.
Instead, a CLICK… CLICK… CLICK began echoing through the room—steady and rhythmic.
"What now?" he asked, frowning.
The sound was repetitive, almost mechanical. Alynia and Veil exchanged a worried glance, unsure what to do next.
"A clue would really help right about now…" he growled, irritated.
As if in answer to his thoughts, the CLICK suddenly sped up, becoming faster and more urgent.
"Little Wolf! It's a timer. We have to move. Now!" shouted Alynia, alert and urgent.
Without waiting for a reply, Alynia grabbed Veil's hand and pulled him into a frantic sprint. They followed the line of glowing points across the ceiling, their breaths syncing with the rapid pace of the increasingly frantic CLICKS.
"Don't stumble. Don't slow down. Not now," Veil repeated to himself, focused.
The lights guided their path, but time was against them. The rhythm of the CLICKS intensified, the silence between each beat shrinking to a mere fraction of a second.
They finally reached the last light. It dimly illuminated a hole in the wall—just large enough for them to squeeze through.
"There! That's it!" Alynia cried out, hurried.
She tightened her grip on Veil's hand and, without hesitation, dove through the opening—just as the final CLICK echoed in the chamber.
The door sealed shut behind them in absolute silence, cutting off all connection to the previous room.
Almost immediately, a chorus of blood-curdling howls erupted on the other side. The shadows had surged, slamming themselves against the sealed door. Their rage and frustration vibrated through the air—a chilling warning of what would have happened if Veil and Alynia hadn't made it through in time.
A new corridor slowly lit up before them, torches igniting one by one, revealing a spiral staircase descending even deeper into the depths.
Alynia caught her breath, turning to Veil with a faint smile.
"This time, it's over. At least for this floor," Alynia breathed, relieved but exhausted.
Veil, however, didn't share her optimism.
"If that was just a trial… what's waiting for us deeper down?" Veil murmured, uneasy.
He slowly stood up, casting one last glance at the sealed wall behind them.
"I don't like this, Alynia. These trials… they're getting more twisted," he said, voice low and tense.
"Maybe. But we're still standing, Little Wolf. And we'll see it through to the end," Alynia replied, calm but confident.
With one last glance exchanged, they began descending the steps, still catching their breath from the run. Veil winced slightly—his injured leg protesting with every step. The torches lit up one by one, illuminating their path deeper into the dungeon.