Alex was staring at the gigantic metallic obelisk at the center of the massive cavern. The thing floated almost ten feet off the ground, spinning slowly like it had all the time in the world. Its surface shimmered with strange, silvery metal—too smooth, too perfect to be anything man-made. Engraved across its surface were hundreds of symbols, glowing faintly with bluish-white light.
Trisha and Callum stood just behind Alex, both equally mesmerized. The air inside the cavern was thick with pressure—like something old and powerful was watching them. The silence was broken only by the occasional dripping of water from the stalactites above, echoing like slow, deliberate ticks of a clock.
"So... what does it say?" Callum asked, narrowing his eyes at the markings on the massive structure.
Trisha stepped forward cautiously. "It's Alibata, the ancient Filipino script."
Alex nodded slowly. "You're right. The inscriptions on the body of the obelisk are in Alibata... but the ones on the floor—those are runes. Elemental runes, to be exact."
Callum looked down. The ground around the obelisk was a wide circular platform made of tiles, each one etched with a different rune—some familiar, like fire, water, earth, and wind. Others were more obscure. These symbols looked like variations or hybrids.
"What does it mean?" Callum asked again.
Alex knelt beside one of the tiles, running his fingers along a rune shaped like a swirling spiral. "This is a puzzle. We must activate the tiles in a certain sequence to open that door." He pointed to a wide arch at the far side of the chamber—sealed shut, etched with the same runes. "If we fail..."
A sudden rumble interrupted him, and a rain of pebbles and dust fell from the high ceiling.
"That happens," Alex said grimly. "And if we take too long, it gets worse."
"How long do we have?" Trisha asked, glancing nervously at the unstable ceiling.
Alex stood, brushing the dust off his pants. "The obelisk doesn't say the exact duration—but the message is clear: 'Death to the fools who guess blindly.'"
"Well, that's comforting," Callum muttered. "So how do we solve it?"
Alex turned slowly in a circle, studying the runes on the floor. "No instructions. Only these tiles. It's like some ancient test of intelligence... and maybe character too."
Trisha tilted her head. "There must be a pattern. What if it's elemental, like a sequence of how elements interact?"
"Possibly," Alex said. "Let's test that theory."
There were eight types of elemental runes: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning, Ice, Wood, and Metal. Each appeared more than once, scattered across the circular platform.
Alex motioned them back. "I'll try stepping on the first tile."
He stepped onto a tile with the Fire rune. A low chime echoed through the cavern. The tile glowed faint red under his foot.
"That sounds like a good sign," Callum said.
Alex nodded and scanned the floor for the next tile. "If it's a combination pattern, water should neutralize fire... but that might reset the puzzle. Let's think—fire feeds on wood, right?"
Trisha pointed. "There's a Wood rune two tiles ahead."
Alex stepped onto it.
Nothing.
Then a deep rumble surged from beneath them. The glowing tile he had just stepped on dimmed, and both it and the wood tile turned black.
"Wrong sequence!" Alex shouted as the Obelisk pulsed once, a deep, thunderous BOOM that vibrated through their bones.
Suddenly, spikes shot up from several random tiles across the platform.
"Okay! Noted!" Callum yelped. "Trial and error comes with injuries!"
Alex jumped back onto the center tile. "All right, we need logic, not instinct. Maybe it's based on creation or balance rather than destruction."
Trisha knelt beside one of the symbols. "Look... these aren't just runes. They're numbered... see the faint circles? Like layers. This one has one circle, that one has two..."
"Wait," Alex said, moving closer. "You're right. That's a clue. The rings might indicate position in a sequence."
They paused.
"Eight elements. Maybe we have to create a chain using eight tiles, each representing one element in the right order. If the number of circles represents the position, we can map it."
Trisha nodded. "Like a combination lock. Step on them in the correct order based on the circles... and the logic of how elements interact or evolve."
"Okay," Alex said, rubbing his chin. "Let's think this through."
He knelt in the middle, drawing on the dusty stone with his finger.
"Start with Earth. It's the foundation. From Earth comes Metal. From Metal, we get Fire. Fire leads to Ash, and Ash nourishes Wood. Wood draws Water. Water creates Ice. Ice conducts Lightning. Lightning disrupts Wind. Wind erodes Earth."
Callum blinked. "That's ten. We need eight."
Alex crossed out two of the links. "Fine. Let's simplify: Earth → Metal → Fire → Wood → Water → Ice → Lightning → Wind."
Each of the chosen tiles has a number of rings around the symbol, from one to eight. They would have to step on them in the exact sequence based on this elemental chain.
Alex exhaled slowly. "Ready?"
"Do we have a choice?" Trisha said.
Alex stepped on the Earth tile marked with one ring. It lit up gently. No traps.
Next: Metal with two rings. He stepped on it.
Another gentle chime.
Then Fire, Wood, Water...
When he stepped on the ice rune marked with six rings, a sudden screech echoed in the chamber.
From the ceiling, a swarm of bat-like creatures emerged, diving toward them.
"Ambush!" Trisha shouted, pulling her blades.
Kael, Alex's silver direwolf, leaped up and began swatting creatures out of the air.
"Keep going, I'll handle this!" she yelled.
Alex moved faster now—stepping on Lightning, then Wind.
As he landed on the eighth tile, all eight runes lit up in unison—and the tiles pulsed together in a single rhythm.
The obelisk began to hum.
"Did it work?" Callum asked, still fending off the last of the bat-creatures.
The floating door ahead of them began to shimmer, and the sealed stone slowly crumbled away, revealing a long, narrow tunnel.
Alex turned to them. "It worked. But that's just the first lock. I can feel it."
"How many more of these tests do you think we'll face?" Callum groaned.
"Enough to keep out the unworthy," Alex said grimly.
They stepped through the opened passage. As the glowing runes dimmed behind them, the giant obelisk rotated slightly and resumed its original hum—ready for the next challengers.
Ahead of them, the cavern grew colder. The air turned denser, and faint lights flickered on the walls.
The corridor beyond the puzzle chamber descended deep into the mountain, and soon they were walking into an eerie silence that swallowed even their footsteps. The air turned colder, heavier, like they were sinking into the earth's forgotten veins.
The deeper they went, the more unnatural the surroundings became. The walls glowed faintly, covered in moss that shimmered under their torchlight. Strange fungi pulsed with bioluminescence. At one point, they crossed a narrow bridge over a chasm that seemed bottomless.
That's when the monsters started appearing.
Not like the goblin-like creatures they had faced before. These were silent, eyeless predators—long-limbed, pale-skinned beings that moved in the dark like shadows with claws.
"Watch it!" Alex shouted as the first one lunged.
Trisha spun around with her blade, cutting it in two before it even landed. Callum fired an arrow through the next one's head, and Alex summoned vines to wrap and crush the third.
They fought their way down a dozen narrow tunnels, each filled with more traps, more enemies, and more tests. One hallway closed behind them the moment they stepped in.
"I feel like someone built this place just to toy with people," Trisha muttered, wiping blood from her blade.
Alex frowned. "No. This wasn't built for people. This was built to keep something out—or in."
They moved silently now, passing through winding corridors filled with ancient murals—scenes of long-forgotten wars, celestial beings, and glowing crystals shaped like tears.
"Look at this," Trisha whispered. "They carved their history into the stone."
"It must be thousands of years old," Alex said, trailing his fingers across a mural showing what looked like massive machines floating above cities.
Eventually, the narrow passage opened into another massive cavern, twice the size of the first—this one lined with jagged obsidian walls and huge pillars made from unknown black stone.
Then, it appeared.
A colossal shape in the distance.
Callum squinted. "Is that...?"
The towering figure stood over fifty feet tall, its surface covered in the same Alibata symbols as the obelisk. Its arms were laid to its sides as runes were carved in its shoulders. Its body looked like obsidian and bronze fused together, and its head was shaped like an eagle's skull.
A glowing crystal hovered in the center of its chest—pulsing slowly like a heartbeat.
Trisha suddenly stopped in her tracks. "That's not just a monument."
"It's the security guard," Alex whispered. "The final test before the inner sanctum."
Trisha drew her sword slowly. "Then I guess the next door's not opening unless we pass its test."
Alex stared at the massive guardian of the hidden city. "Then let's hope we're ready."
They stood in silence watching the ancient guard.
It wasn't moving.
But it was watching them.
Waiting.