Antem stood at the edge, feeling the cold wind from the chasm piercing through his body. The compass in his hands glowed with a faint golden light, almost as if indicating a path he did not understand. He glanced at the woman—she was no longer looking at him, focused intently on the flickering mechanisms below.
— What are you hiding from me? — he asked, his voice cutting sharply through the air.
She did not turn but answered:
— What you will see down there will change you. You think you are ready, but the truth about the system is not something anyone would wish for.
— I have no choice.
— There is always a choice, — she quietly said, almost to herself.
Antem no longer waited. He took a step forward and began to descend the narrow metal stairs that plunged straight down into the chasm. Their creaking echoed like a warning. Each step reverberated in the darkness, and the light from the compass barely illuminated the way.
Halfway down, he heard the mechanisms stirring. A soft but unsettling rumble quickened his heartbeat.
— They are awakening, — came the woman’s voice from above.
Antem did not respond. He reached a platform that hung over the shimmering structures. From here, he could see a complex web of gears, pipes, and moving parts. At the center of the mechanism hung a large pendulum, swinging slowly, creating a deep rhythmic sound.
— Is this the heart of the system? — he whispered to himself.
The compass in his hand suddenly pulsed, directing the needle towards one of the levers. Antem understood that this was not just an indicator—it was a key.
He approached the lever slowly, each of his movements causing a wave of clamor in the mechanisms. Just as he reached out, the pendulum abruptly stopped, and the chasm was flooded with bright red light.
— Stop! — he heard the woman’s scream from above.
But it was too late. Antem grasped the lever and pulled it down. The mechanisms erupted with noise, and everything began to tremble. He felt the platform beneath his feet start to crumble.
— What have you done?! — the woman’s voice echoed through the chaos.
Antem felt no regret. Everything he knew was collapsing along with this place. But deep within his soul, he knew: this was only the beginning.
As the ground gave way and the mechanisms roared to life, he braced himself for what was to come. The return of the truth would bring destruction, and within that destruction, a chance for rebirth. With each pulsating beat from the heart of the system, Antem felt his resolve harden. It was time to confront the real nature of the illusion he had sought to escape, and he was determined to uncover what lay at its core.