Antem stepped into the sloped tunnel, surrounded by dark metal walls that reflected the faint light of the compass. The vibration he had felt from the very beginning grew stronger, as if the earth itself was breathing. Now, there were no voices or shadows, only a silence that pressed down heavily around him.
The compass guided him onward, but the needle was no longer stable—it trembled, as if reacting to something nearby.
— I am close, — Antem thought, focusing his gaze.
At the end of the tunnel, an opening appeared, and a soft blue light streamed from it. Antem slowed his steps, feeling his heart pound faster. He entered and found himself in a spacious hall, at the center of which stood a massive mechanism.
The core of the system.
It was a gigantic spherical device, rotating slowly, emitting a ghostly glow. Its surface was covered in symbols reminiscent of those he had seen earlier, but now they shifted, rewriting themselves in real-time.
Antem approached closer, and the compass in his hand began to pulse more strongly. He felt his legs grow heavy, as if something were compelling him to stop.
— This is what keeps everything together, — a voice rang out from behind him.
Antem turned to see the woman he had left at the chasm. She stood at the entrance, her face unreadable, but something akin to pain and determination burned in her eyes.
— You knew about this place? — he demanded.
— I knew. But I also knew I could not get here. Only someone who believes in the truth can find the way.
— And what now? — Antem gestured toward the core.
The woman stepped closer, her gaze fixed on the mechanism.
— It doesn’t just hold the illusion of time. It holds us. Everything. If you destroy it, we all will cease to exist.
These words penetrated deep into his consciousness. His goal had always been to escape, but now the price seemed too high.
— Why do you want this? — he asked her.
— I don’t want it, — she replied. — But I know it must happen. Otherwise, it will last forever.
Antem approached the core, his hand trembling. The compass glowed again, the needle pointing directly at the central part of the mechanism.
— If I stop this, I will become like them, — he whispered, recalling the shadows in the chasm.
The woman remained silent. Her silence was the answer.
Antem clenched the compass tightly and took a deep breath. His choice would now determine everything. He could feel the weight of the decision—the urge to destroy the core, to break free from the system, clashed with the realization that doing so would mean the end of everything he knew, including the lives entwined with the illusions he sought to escape.
With resolve coursing through him, he reached out, poised over the pulsating heart of the mechanism. As he prepared to make the choice that would echo through eternity, he understood that in this moment, he held not just the fate of the world, but the very essence of existence itself.