Veil and Alynia dashed toward what looked like the exit, their footsteps echoing over cracked marble. The air still shimmered with residual heat, and Alynia kept glancing back, half-expecting the statue to lurch into furious motion at any moment. But something was wrong.
Veil, panting, came to an abrupt stop, forcing Alynia to halt with him.
"Wait… where's the exit?" Veil asked, breathless, panic creeping into his voice.
Alynia scanned the chamber. The massive doors they had entered through were gone—as if swallowed by the temple's magic. A chill ran down her spine.
"The dungeon is holding us here… it wants us to go all the way," Alynia thought, tense.
Behind them, the colossal statue began to glow, every silver inlay traced by a soft blue shimmer. The articulated rings that made up its body lit up one by one, pulsing with a slow, almost unnerving rhythm—like a millennia-old monster taking its time to awaken from slumber.
Then, without warning, the light faded—dissipating in slow, retreating waves, as if being gently extinguished. Alynia narrowed her eyes, a prickling instinct telling her something was very, very wrong.
"This isn't normal…" she murmured, wary.
Veil took a step back as the engravings lit up again—this time glowing gold. Energy surged once more through the statue's form, but now the pulses followed a steady, almost hypnotic beat. A dull thrum echoed across the room, emanating from the titan.
"I'm so done with this… Why is it always some oversized nightmare trying to crush us?!" Veil muttered.
Alynia shot him a frosty glare, her lips tightening.
"I don't understand this dungeon either. Nothing here plays by the usual rules," she replied, calm and sharp.
"Why is everything getting weirder? It's just a dungeon, right?" Veil grumbled, agitated.
But their thoughts were interrupted by a baffling sight. The statue—ready to strike them down with a single crushing blow—raised its enormous hammer… painfully slowly. So slow, they could've walked away and dodged it with time to spare.
Veil stared at it, incredulous, then let himself relax a little, a mocking grin forming on his face.
"Well… I guess for once, avoiding being pulverized won't be that hard," he said, sarcastically.
But Alynia didn't share his optimism. Her gaze remained cold, piercing.
"Never trust appearances, Little Wolf. It's always the ones that lie best," she said, her voice like ice.
The hammer touched the ground with a deep, thunderous boom—and instantly, a colossal shockwave ripped through the room. The marble split violently beneath their feet, hurling shards in every direction. Veil barely managed to leap back, avoiding a massive crack that split the floor beneath him.
"Shit… okay, I take that back," Veil muttered, stunned.
Alynia watched the statue, unfazed, as it slowly raised its weapon once more, each joint grinding with a heavy clank of metal against stone. Its first step was just as slow, but the sheer force behind it crushed the floor beneath.
"It's slow… but the power behind its strikes more than makes up for it. If we stay within its range, we won't stand a chance," Alynia assessed, her tone calculating.
She extended her claws, the golden glow of the chamber playing across the razor-sharp tips. Veil, on his side, gripped his dagger tightly, eyes locked on the statue, scanning for any visible weak point. Their eyes met briefly—tension crackling between them.
"Little Wolf, listen carefully. Use the moisture in the air to form a sphere of water. Then throw it at the statue and use wind to freeze its feet," she ordered, her voice strict.
Veil furrowed his brows, mind racing.
"I… I can try, but—" he hesitated.
"No buts. Go," Alynia cut in, firm.
Veil took a deep breath, raising a trembling hand. He closed his eyes for a moment, focusing on the air around him, sensing the moisture that clung to the space despite the room's lingering heat. Tiny droplets began to gather slowly before him, swirling into a trembling orb.
"Come on… stay stable…" Veil muttered, concentrating.
Meanwhile, Alynia crept cautiously to the side, watching the statue's movements. Each of its steps sent subtle tremors through the floor—a constant reminder of its overwhelming mass.
"Just a bit more… If we can lock its movement, we'll gain the upper hand," Alynia thought, tense.
Veil drew a sharp breath, gathering every ounce of focus, and hurled the water sphere with all his strength at the statue. The projectile shot through the air, splashing against the massive leg of the colossus.
But what happened next went far beyond their expectations.
Instead of merely running off the marble surface, the water punched through the statue's leg, erupting into a burst of crystalline mist. A gaping hole opened where Veil had struck, echoing a hollow, ominous sound through the chamber.
Alynia froze, eyes wide. She turned slowly toward Veil, momentarily losing her usual composure.
"Little Wolf… what did you just do?" she asked, wary.
Veil blinked, then shrugged, wide-eyed and baffled.
"I… have no idea."
"Uh… nothing special… Just my usual little water sphere," Veil replied hesitantly.
He stared at the statue, trying to make sense of it. Was this a joke? He'd expected an epic battle, relentless resistance… and yet, that gaping hole told a different story.
"This has to be a joke… right? There's no way this thing is that fragile…" he muttered, incredulous.
Alynia, snapping out of her brief shock, pushed the doubt aside with sheer will. Whatever the reason, the opportunity was there. With a fluid leap, she launched herself at the statue, claws ready to strike. Upon impact, the area around the initial wound crumbled under the force of her blows, cracking into large, jagged fragments.
The colossus staggered, its balance broken. A heavy grinding sound echoed as its knee crashed into the ground, sending a marble-dust cloud swirling into the air. And yet, even in its deteriorated state, it didn't yield. Still clutching its hammer, it tried to sweep Alynia away in a sluggish, lumbering arc.
Alynia leapt back effortlessly, dodging the attack with unsettling ease. Behind her, Veil couldn't hold back a laugh.
"What is this thing? A test of patience?" he quipped, amused.
Alynia, still focused, felt the ghost of a smile tug at her lips. The whole scene bordered on the absurd. How could something this massive, this meticulously crafted, be so slow… and so fragile?
"It's like… it's just a façade," she thought, frowning slightly.
In one smooth motion, she shifted position and slashed at the arm holding the hammer. Once again, the marble gave way beneath her strike, splintering into shards. The colossus's arm collapsed to the ground with a deafening crash, the hammer tumbling out of reach.
Seeing how ridiculously easy everything seemed, Veil decided to try the same. He raised his hand and summoned another water sphere, hurling it straight at the statue's head. Upon impact, the marble skull shattered like brittle stone.
"And that's one head less!" Veil shouted, exhilarated.
The statue's golden eyes flickered briefly before fading out entirely, their glow vanishing in a final whisper of magic. Silence fell across the chamber, broken only by the clatter of falling debris. The massive creature collapsed slowly, its lifeless shell crashing against the fractured marble floor.
Veil cautiously stepped closer, throwing a baffled glance at Alynia.
"Seriously… that was it?" he breathed.
Alynia crossed her arms, staring down at the pile of rubble that, moments ago, had seemed like a deadly force. Yet her eyes stayed wary, sharp.
"This dungeon's never made things easy for us… Why would it be any different now?" Alynia murmured cautiously.
Veil, on the other hand, was far more relaxed. He tapped a scattered chunk of the statue's arm with his foot, then grinned at Alynia.
"Well, if the rest of the dungeon's like this, we'll get through just fine," Veil said, sarcasm thick in his voice.
Alynia shot him a glare, her tone snapping back to its usual sharp edge.
"Don't be stupid. When something's too easy… it means we've already fallen into the trap," she replied, curt.
She stepped back, her senses still on high alert, eyes sweeping over every corner of the room. Once again, silence took hold—heavy, oppressive. Despite his smirk, Veil felt a chill crawl up his spine.
"That fight… it was staged," Alynia thought, suspicious.
Veil sighed and cast a sideways glance at Alynia, lips curled into a teasing smile.
"Relax a little. We made it out. For once, no wounds, no exhaustion. Not bad, right?" he said, visibly relieved.
He turned his gaze toward the box that still hovered in the center of the chamber. Its bluish glow felt almost surreal in the heavy air of the temple.
"So… can we take it now?" he asked, curious.
Alynia stepped forward slowly, eyeing the object with care. Her ears twitched at every faint sound, and her sharp gaze examined every inch of it. Veil came up beside her, hands on his hips, clearly more confident than she was.
"Take it," Alynia said flatly.
Veil froze, the grin vanishing from his face.
"You're serious?" he asked, uncertain.
Alynia nodded without looking away from the box.
"Yes. Take it," she confirmed calmly.
He hesitated, instinct screaming that something was off. But under Alynia's unflinching stare, he slowly extended his hand toward the box. The moment his fingers neared its surface, a strange shiver ran up his arm. Then, without warning, the box pulsed—releasing a deep, muted thrum that rippled through the air around them.
"Back! Now!" Alynia shouted suddenly.
Veil yanked his hand away at the last second, feeling a strange resistance—as if something had tried to pull him in. Then, right before their eyes, the box began to dissolve into a cloud of shimmering dust, vanishing into a flurry of luminous particles.
"What the hell was that?! Why did it do that?" Veil shouted, stunned.
Alynia remained motionless, staring at the spot where the box had just been. Her eyes drifted slowly to the ruined statue, then to the shattered floor where the battle had taken place. But where the marble had been broken, it now looked pristine—untouched, as though no fight had ever occurred.
And then, slowly, the remnants of the colossus began to vanish as well, dissolving into smoke that faded into the heavy air of the temple.
Alynia ran a hand across her forehead, her expression dark.
"We're idiots…" she muttered, irritated.
Veil raised an eyebrow, visibly lost.
"Huh? Why? What now?" he asked, confused.
Alynia pointed toward the mural, where the inscription "The Temple of Judgement" shimmered faintly under the chamber's dim light. She then turned to him with a stern look, realization dawning on her face.
"That was it… the judgment," she breathed grimly.
She shook her head, a sigh of exasperation escaping her lips.
"It was so obvious… I was stupid," she admitted.
Veil frowned, trying to piece it all together.
"Wait… are you saying we… messed up?" he asked, still confused.
Alynia crossed her arms, thinking aloud.
"That colossus… it was meant to be avoided, not destroyed. Striking something so slow and fragile is like attacking an innocent. It couldn't have hurt us."
She paused, her gaze hardening.
"We weren't supposed to fight. We should've dodged, waited… The trap was in our instinct to attack without thinking," she added bitterly.
Veil, stunned, placed a hand on his head.
"Wait… You mean we did all that… for nothing?" he said, defeated.
Alynia nodded solemnly. Silence fell once again, heavy with consequence. Veil slumped to the smooth temple floor, his gaze drifting into the void.
Suddenly, a voice echoed through the chamber, clear and crystalline.
"Judgment is complete," declared a woman's voice.
It was soft, yet carried undeniable authority. The words resonated directly in their minds, leaving behind a strange sense of unease.
"For your failure to think before acting, the remainder of the dungeon will be… unpleasant. You shall progress without the blessing that was meant to be yours."
Alynia felt her heart sink at those words. A profound sense of failure washed over her, while Veil just sat there, stunned.
"What?! So now we're gonna have an even harder time?!" Veil shouted, shocked.
Alynia glared at him, her frustration evident.
"What it means, Little Wolf, is that we just got ourselves into trouble. Big trouble," Alynia growled.
The temple fell abruptly quiet. Their eyes met—and they both knew they had just made a mistake with far greater consequences than they had imagined.
After a long, heavy silence, a low rumble rolled through the chamber, followed by the sound of ancient mechanisms grinding to life. Before them, a door they hadn't noticed before slid open in the wall, revealing a spiral staircase descending into the dark.
Alynia stared at the entrance, her expression cold and her tone sharp with frustration.
"We don't have a choice. We're going," she said bitterly.
Veil shrugged, wisely choosing not to push his luck further. Best not to add fuel to Alynia's simmering anger.
"And here I was thinking we'd catch a break… just this once," he sighed, defeated.
They stepped into the spiral staircase, the light dimming with every step. The dungeon still held many surprises—and it was now certain that not all of them would be pleasant.