1 – The Silence BeforeThe temple's stone doors slammed shut with a finality that made the ground hum beneath their feet.Every hunter in the room froze. The echoes of that single boom seemed to stretch into infinity, swallowing breath, thought, and courage.
"Is… is this part of the dungeon?" someone whispered, voice cracking.
Rayan's eyes darted to the towering statues lining the chamber — warriors carved from obsidian, each at least five meters tall, each clutching a different weapon. They had been still before. Now, in the torchlight, their shadows seemed longer.
His pulse thundered. He didn't like how their eyes — perfectly polished stone orbs — seemed sharper now.
2 – The VoiceIt began as a vibration through the soles of their boots, then rose into a voice that scraped across the inside of their skulls.
"The First Trial… begins now."
Glowing letters ignited in the air, as if burned into reality itself:
Bow before the gods.Those who do not kneel will be judged.
"What the hell does that mean?" a hunter barked. "Some kind of roleplay crap?"
Rayan's gut screamed. His knees almost bent on instinct. He remembered Serin telling him once, "When you don't understand the rules — assume they can kill you."
3 – The First DeathThe hunter who mocked the rules — a bulky man in dented armor — turned his back to the statues.
It happened faster than human eyes could track.
One of the obsidian warriors moved. Not groaned, not creaked — moved in a blur of black stone and unstoppable force.The giant halberd swept low.
The man's scream cut off instantly as his torso separated from his legs. Blood fountained across the temple floor in a hot, metallic rain.
The group erupted in shrieks.
4 – Panic"Bow! Everyone bow!""Do it now, now!"
Half the hunters dropped to their knees instantly. The other half scrambled, tripping over each other, slipping on fresh blood.
A second statue stepped forward, stone sword in hand. Another hunter was too slow.
The blade entered through his shoulder and exited through his hip — splitting him diagonally in one clean stroke.The corpse fell apart before it hit the ground.
5 – Rayan's Narrow EscapeRayan's knees hit stone just as a statue's spear thrust past his head, grazing his ear.The gust of air from the strike was cold enough to make him shiver.His breath came fast, his mind flashing back to Serin — the way she used to smile when she thought he was being overcautious.
Guess I wasn't cautious enough.
6 – The Lesson in BloodWithin seconds, the survivors understood — every hesitation was death.
Those who had bowed early lived. Those who delayed… were erased.Seven bodies lay in pieces, blood running through the carved floor channels like the temple itself was drinking it.
7 – AftermathWhen the statues finally stilled again, the survivors stayed frozen in place, afraid to rise.The voice returned, colder this time:
"The unworthy have been judged.The Second Trial… begins."
The floor shook. Patterns in the stone rearranged themselves, shifting like the surface of a puzzle box.From beneath the altar, something massive began to rise — a shadow with too many eyes and a smile that didn't belong on anything human.
The torches flickered… and the smell of fresh blood thickened.
To be continued…