The moment he crossed the threshold, a total silence swallowed him instantly, a silence that had nothing natural or empty about it, but instead pressed against him with almost physical weight, as if the entire world was holding its breath in anticipation of something inevitable.
Ryuji paused briefly as he felt this strange unease, his foot hovering for a fraction of a second before slowly touching the ground, producing no echo, no vibration, as if matter itself refused to acknowledge his presence. Even his breathing felt stifled, absorbed by an invisible force filling the entire space around him, a constant and crushing pressure that made every step feel like a struggle.
Still, he moved forward, muscles tense and gaze fixed straight ahead, already aware within seconds that he was approaching something abnormal, something beyond simple danger. At the center of the room stood the golem, immense and motionless, yet whose mere presence filled the space like a mountain aware of its own destructive weight, a mass of cracked stone where faint lights still circulated, as if something alive remained within.
Inside its chest floated a blue sphere, perfectly stable, suspended without any support, glowing with a soft and almost soothing light, yet exerting on Ryuji a strange attraction, difficult to explain, like a silent call urging him to approach.
His lips moved without him realizing.
— "...it's you."
At that moment, a deep rumble spread through the floor, as if the room itself reacted to this recognition, and the golem began to move slowly, in a heavy and difficult motion, each joint creaking like stone forced back into life. Despite its apparent slowness, every movement carried overwhelming power, and when it struck the ground, the impact released a shockwave that distorted the air and cracked the floor in multiple directions.
Ryuji did not move immediately, his gaze still locked onto the sphere, almost completely absorbed by it.
— "...all I need is to reach it."
But the golem suddenly changed pace and charged without warning, crossing the distance at an absurd speed. Ryuji reacted instinctively, throwing himself to the side just before the fist smashed into the ground in an explosion of stone and dust.
Without giving him any respite, the golem immediately followed with another attack, forcing Ryuji to dodge again by a narrow margin, each time feeling the pressure of the movement brush past him like an invisible strike. Very quickly, he understood that in a direct confrontation he had no chance, which pushed him to change strategy and adopt a more unpredictable approach, circling the golem at high speed and varying his movements without apparent logic to disrupt its perception.
The golem tried to follow, turning slowly at first before gradually accelerating, but its massive movements remained too rigid and predictable against Ryuji's agility.
— "...yeah. You're slow."
Taking advantage of a slight opening, he identified a chance and immediately acted, pulling explosives from his bag and throwing them without hesitation toward the golem's head.
The explosion lit up the entire room in a violent flash, sending out a shockwave that forced the creature to step back, just enough to create a brief opening that Ryuji immediately exploited by rushing straight toward the sphere, fully focused on his objective, ignoring the pain and fatigue beginning to weigh on his body.
— "Now's the time!"
But just as he thought he had reached the decisive moment, an eye opened through the smoke, glowing with an unsettling light, and before he could even understand what was happening, a shadow surged forward at an impossible speed for such a massive stone body. The golem's hand struck him directly, closing around him with brutal force, compressing his body and cutting off his breath.
— "GH—!"
Without slowing down, the golem hurled him into the wall with crushing power, the impact breaking stone and leaving Ryuji collapsing to the ground in total disorientation. A heavy silence returned immediately, broken only by the footsteps of the golem as it resumed its relentless advance.
Ryuji tried to push himself up despite the pain flooding his body, his muscles refusing to respond properly.
— "...damn…"
His gaze locked once again onto the monster, still intact, still standing, and he realized his attack had not been enough. The golem slowly raised its arm, preparing another strike, slower but clearly meant to be decisive.
Ryuji gritted his teeth, his body trembling under the effort, but his eyes still burned with determination.
— "...I can't lose here…"
Despite the pain, despite the failure, he forced his legs to respond, slowly rising, unstable but standing, facing the creature that still dominated the entire space.
And, with one final effort, he moved forward again anyway, refusing to step back even against a force he could not break.