The doors creaked open with the slow weight of ages.
Cold air rushed out. Not jungle-cold—tomb-cold. It smelled of wet stone and forgotten things. The group hesitated at the threshold. Jonathan felt the pulse of the place even before stepping in.
It wasn't just a building.
It was watching them.
"Sealing protocol will trigger in sixty seconds," Teshaal warned. "Once inside, we're locked until someone finishes the objective… or enough of us die."
"Comforting," Vikka muttered.
They filed in.
Stone pillars flanked the entrance chamber, etched with spirals and eye-like glyphs. Torches lit on their own as they passed, cold blue flames hissing into life. The floor was cracked mosaic, its patterns shifting subtly when not directly looked at.
Jonathan stayed near the middle of the group. Vikka flanked him, hand on her short blade. Liari moved silently ahead, orbs hovering in a slow dance. Teshaal trailed near the rear, watching everyone more than the architecture.
Then the door slammed shut behind them.
A system ping echoed across the chamber.
> STAGE OBJECTIVE:
Unseal the Chamber of Truth.
Requirements: Complete 3 of 5 Trial Wings. Solve core puzzle to unlock the Vault.
Bonus: Completing all five Trials grants additional relic.
TIME REMAINING: 02:00:00
PARTICIPANTS: 9
CURRENT DEATHS: 0
Penalty for failure: Memory Fragment Reduction (Tier 1)
Jonathan felt the temperature drop.
"Three of five," Teshaal murmured. "Divide and recon?"
"No!" a tall woman barked. She wore scavenger armor and had a cybernetic eye glowing faint red. "We split and someone dies. That's what they want."
"She's right," said Liari. "We go one wing at a time. Fast. Clean."
Teshaal gave a slow nod. "Majority rule?"
Jonathan raised a hand. "Before we vote—what happens if someone grabs the Emerald first?"
Everyone paused.
"They paint a target on their back," Vikka answered. "But yeah, we should probably set ground rules now."
"What are you proposing?" Teshaal asked.
"No betrayal inside the temple," she said. "We work together to reach the Vault. After that… the gloves come off."
Mutters followed. One by one, reluctant nods.
"Fine," said the cyborg-eyed woman. "But if anyone tries anything funny—"
"You'll what?" said the youngest guy, a twitchy kid in high-tech goggles. "Stab them while they're solving a puzzle?"
She raised a fist. The kid backed off.
"Alright then," Teshaal said, gesturing forward. "Trial Wings are marked by glyphs. First one's this way."
---
Trial Wing I: Voice of Fire
A hallway of mirrors.
But not reflections—memories.
As they passed each mirror, voices whispered, distorted and slow. Jonathan saw flashes—his brother crying beside a hospital bed. A lunchbox being set down by a grave. A burnt note with his name on it.
He clenched his jaw and kept walking.
Then the hallway gave way to a circular chamber with five flaming braziers. In the center: a pedestal with a smooth black cube.
> TRIAL: "Kindle the Truth."
Ignite the three flames that speak no lies.
Failures add heat.
Too many failures—well.
"We guess wrong and the room bakes us alive," said Teshaal.
Liari touched the cube. A voice spoke, female and tired.
"I loved my daughter. I gave her everything."
A second voice: "He didn't cry at the funeral because he didn't care."
Third: "I told the truth that day. It ruined my life."
Fourth: "Pain made me stronger. I would suffer it again."
Fifth: "No one who dies is ever truly missed."
"Three are truths," Vikka said. "Two are lies."
"Or maybe three are lies," muttered the goggles-kid.
Jonathan stared at the flames. They flickered in time with the voices. One of them danced in a strange rhythm—like it flinched at its own words.
"I think the second voice is the lie," he said. "People grieve in silence all the time."
"And the last one," said Liari. "That's cruel, not honest."
Teshaal stepped forward. "We vote. Then ignite."
They chose: First. Third. Fourth.
The flames hissed upward—bright blue, steady.
A hum filled the air.
> Trial Completed.
The black cube cracked open. Inside: a shard of white crystal.
Liari touched it. Her orbs flared. She gasped—and smiled.
"What did it give you?" someone asked.
"Map data," she said. "A glimpse of the Vault's inner layout."
Everyone moved quickly, tension lifted for a moment. One trial down.
---
Trial Wing II: The Memory Loop
The hallway wound like a spiral, taking them deeper into darkness. At the end, a room with no walls—just floating platforms and echoing whispers.
> TRIAL: "Walk the Path You've Forgotten."
Only one player may proceed.
Each misstep repeats the loop.
They looked at one another.
"I'll go," Jonathan said before he could think.
Teshaal raised a brow. "You sure?"
"I have no attribute. If I fail, it's less risk for the group."
Vikka looked annoyed but didn't stop him.
He stepped onto the first platform. It glowed red.
A memory flared.
His mother, coughing, reaching for her pills.
Second platform—red.
His boss firing him, telling him he "wasn't worth the tech."
Third—blue.
His hands, covered in oil, handing a toy robot to a crying child.
He paused.
> Rule Update: Only steps of true self advance.
False memories or regrets trigger the loop.
Jonathan closed his eyes. Focused.
Not on pain. On truth.
He took a breath.
Next step—blue.
Then another. And another.
With each one, the memory sharpened: the moments he lived not for himself, but for others.
He reached the far edge.
> Trial Completed. Memory Integrity Restored +1.
Relic Acquired: "Mirror of Will" (Unbound)
He took the shimmering disk and turned.
The others cheered softly.
"Not bad for the new guy," Vikka grinned.
---
They returned to the central chamber.
Two wings done. The Vault awaited.
But the tension returned as the final wing opened with a groan of shifting stone.
Smoke billowed out. From within, a figure emerged—alone.
A woman. Black armor. Eyes of silver flame.
> PLAYER DETECTED: UNKNOWN
ATTRIBUTE: BLADE SWARM
GP: 104
STATUS: HUNT MODE
She smiled.
"I already took one trial," she said softly. "The others didn't make it."
Jonathan's breath caught.
She wasn't here for the puzzle.
She was here for blood.