The door closed behind them with a deadly silence. The tunnel shifted from pitch-black darkness to a maze of flickering green lights, like veins pulsing inside a living wall. The air was heavy with the scent of musk and rot, and faint whispers slipped into their minds:
"What do you truly desire? We will give it to you… Here, there is no death, no poverty. You will live forever!"
Sarah (pressing her temples):
"Enough! These voices… it's like they're reading my thoughts!"
Adam (confused):
"What is this place? Why do I hear my mother calling my name?!"
Fatima (aiming her gun toward the shadows):
"It's an illusion! Don't believe anything!"
Omar (wide-eyed, staring into a corner):
"Look! It's my uncle Sofiane… he's still alive?!"
Fatima (grabbing his arm and slapping him hard):
"Wake up! Sofiane died years ago…"
Suddenly… the ghost of Mohamed appeared before Mustafa, blood dripping from his lips.
Jeros (warning):
"Be careful! Don't let him touch you!"
Rayan (terrified):
"Is that really Mohamed?!"
Ghost Mohamed:
"Brother… why did you let me die? Was I not enough to be worth saving?"
Mustafa (tears in his eyes but voice firm):
"You're not Mohamed… he sacrificed his honor for us. You? You're just a sick puppet!"
The ghost shattered into a spray of crimson mist.
Omar (shouting toward another corner):
"Uncle? But you… you've been dead for years!"
Ghost Sofiane (with a twisted face):
"You killed me with your cowardice, Omar… and now I'll take your soul!"
Fatima (firing a bullet through him):
"This tunnel digs into our memories! Control your thoughts or it will devour you!"
The walls suddenly split open, and from within emerged creatures with skin gleaming like glass, eyes without pupils, and smiles that froze the blood.
The most beautiful among them (to Rayan, in a gentle voice):
"Come… I will show you a paradise beyond imagination."
Rayan (walking in a trance):
"Yes… I want to see it…"
Sarah (yanking him back violently):
"Hear my scream! This is no paradise—this is a hell that steals your soul!"
Then, she suddenly smiled and whispered:
"Yes… I'll marry you, Mustafa, take me with you…"
Mustafa (lifting her over his shoulder and pulling out his gun):
"Sister Fatima! We need a strategy before we're all dead!"
The Glass Transformation and the Horrific Truth
One of the creatures touched Adam's shoulder, and his skin began turning into glass!
Adam (choking):
"My hand… it's disappearing!"
Jeros (urgently):
"Fatima! You're the leader now… do something!"
Fatima gathered them behind a stone pillar:
"These creatures are called 'The Deceivers'… born from the sins of humans who craved immortality! They steal the 'Seeds of Life' from their victims!"
Mustafa:
"How do we kill them?!"
Fatima (pulling out a vial of blue liquid):
"With the Tears of the Dead… blood taken from the grave of a forgotten prophet."
She splashed the liquid onto her sword, and it ignited with blue flames.
Omar (in awe):
"Mother… where did you get this?!"
Jeros (murmuring):
"My lady… that should not be said!"
Fatima (smirking):
"He's right… some secrets must stay buried."
Rayan:
"There's a passage there! Go!"
Adam:
"Fatima… which way?!"
Fatima:
"Right! Now, move!"
They fled through corridors pulsing like the veins of a living heart until they reached a horrific chamber: dozens of humans hung by their intestines. Among them, Mohamed, submerged in amber liquid, golden tubes sucking his soul away.
A screen flickered to life:
Faith Energy: 67%... Regeneration complete in: 12 hours
Fatima (breaking down for the first time):
"My husband… alive! But this machine is draining his soul!"
Jeros (emerging from the shadows):
"Stop! 'The Scarred One' will resurrect him as his soldier… that's the plan!"
Sarah (pointing the flaming sword at him):
"The plan is over!"
Mustafa lunged forward to cut the tubes… and the ground began to quake!
The walls turned into jagged teeth,
a deafening roar closed in around the room:
"Do not touch my food!"
They realized the tunnel was a colossal beast… and they were inside its belly.
"To save Mohamed…
you must kill the monster that devours him.
But how do you kill a mountain?"