The arch before Lumis and Eili shimmered with golden light, its surface in constant flux, like a living entity responding to their presence. Lines depicting fragments of their past twisted and unfolded, evoking a creeping unease. Eili shuddered at one reflection—a version of herself, stern and weary, her shard dim in her hand.
“Is this a lie?” she whispered, her voice alien in the still air.
Lumis remained silent, his shard trembling as it emitted a soft glow. The arch revealed a vision: a towering spire cloaked in silvery mist, eternal and unknowable. It pulled at him, an invisible thread woven into his mind.
“It’s a signal,” he murmured, clutching the shard. “It’s calling us.”
Eili pressed her fingers against the arch. Its damp, cold surface sent a shiver coursing through her. A voice whispered from its depths, low and ancient, like wind through forgotten ruins: “Come and uncover what is lost.”
The arch splintered open, revealing a corridor of dense, living darkness, its edges pulsating with faint hostility.
“No! It’s a trap!” Eili stepped back, but as she turned, the path behind them dissolved into an endless void.
“We have to move forward,” Lumis insisted, though his gaze betrayed doubt.
The darkness enveloped them like a thick fog, clinging to their every step. It was more than the absence of light—it was a consuming presence, feeding on their fear. Deep, rhythmic sounds echoed, like the beat of a massive heart, urging them onward.
At last, they emerged into a vast hall that pulsed with life. Its walls shifted, expanding and contracting as though made of living tissue, forming a surreal labyrinth. Beneath their feet, ash-like particles glittered and scattered like stardust with every step.
“What is this place?” Eili asked, her voice trembling as she clung to her shard.
Lumis‘ eyes fixed on the walls, where shadowy figures emerged and vanished too quickly to identify.
“They were here,” he said, studying the fleeting silhouettes. “But they couldn’t pass.”
Eili froze as one shadow collapsed, leaving behind a blackened imprint. A chill gripped her; this was no mere vision.
“This place… it has a life of its own,” she whispered.
Lumis‘ shard flared with light, its beam pointing to the hall’s center, where a small obelisk stood. Symbols swirled across its surface, silver lines bending and shifting, as though questioning their readiness for the next step.
“It’s a trial,” Lumis said, moving cautiously toward the obelisk. “We have to understand its meaning, or this path will destroy us.”
The walls began to contract, the pulsating rhythm growing urgent, compressing the space. The voice from the arch returned, reverberating in their minds: “Time is fleeting. Reveal the truth, or leave it behind forever.”