Chapter 26 — The Hunter's Breath
The air was no longer still.
It moved.
Softly, but with purpose.
As though the fort itself was breathing.
Arjun felt it first — a pressure in his chest, a tightening in his lungs.
Riya turned her head slowly.
Her eyes glowed faint gold in the torchlight.
> "They're coming," she said quietly.
Her voice was heavy with warning.
He glanced behind them.
The corridor was dark.
But the shadows moved.
They slithered along the walls, pooling like living smoke.
Shapes formed — pale faces twisted in silent agony.
---
The Hunt Begins
They kept moving forward.
But the corridor shifted underfoot.
The air vibrated with low chanting.
It wasn't coming from the walls.
It was coming from inside them.
A faint sound reached Arjun's ears.
A breath.
Slow. Heavy.
Close.
He turned sharply.
Nothing was there.
But the pressure grew.
The breath became clearer — a cold, wet exhale.
It was behind them.
Riya pulled him forward.
> "Don't stop. Don't look back."
They ran.
The corridor twisted endlessly.
Every step felt heavier.
The walls began to pulse.
The air smelled of ash and blood.
---
Visions of the Lost
From the corner of his vision, Arjun saw them again — the lost ones.
Sid, Kabir, Riya… Ananya.
Their faces twisted in pain and fury.
They moved toward him, but their feet never touched the ground.
Riya glanced over her shoulder and gasped.
> "They're not just shadows anymore… they're hunters."
The whispers became clearer.
> "You cannot leave… you belong to the fort… you are already ours."
Arjun's breathing grew ragged.
The corridor stretched before them like a living throat, pulling them inward.
---
The Gate of the Hunt
They reached a junction.
The corridors split endlessly, all leading into darkness.
The whispers roared now — names, threats, promises.
Riya's voice was tense.
> "We need to pick a direction. The fort doesn't want us out. It's hunting us."
A cold wind swept the hallway.
Something moved in the darkness — a shape, tall, cloaked in shadow, with glowing eyes.
It exhaled.
A breath of nothingness that froze Arjun's blood.
Riya grabbed his arm.
> "Run!"
They sprinted down one corridor.
The walls closed in.
The whispers became screams.
The shape followed, its breath heavy and inhuman.
---
The Breaking Moment
They ran blindly.
The ground shifted.
The air bent.
The torchlight warped.
Every corridor felt the same.
Every step was a step deeper into the fort's mouth.
Arjun glanced at Riya.
Her face was pale, drenched in sweat.
> "How much farther?" he gasped.
She shook her head.
> "I don't know… but it's behind us. Always behind us."
They ran into darkness that seemed endless.
The fort's breath was on their necks.
And somewhere, in the distance, Ananya's voice laughed.
---
End of Chapter 26