John sat up slowly and rubbed his eyes.
For a brief moment, he considered staying in the room.
Waiting.
Doing nothing.
But the thought passed quickly.
Whatever had started the night before…
Was not going to stop.
And staying still would not make it go away.
He stood, got dressed, and moved toward the table.
The metallic disk was exactly where he had left it.
Silent.
Cold.
Unmoving.
As if nothing had happened.
John stared at it for a moment…
Then carefully wrapped it again and placed it inside his backpack.
This time, he made sure it was secured.
A few minutes later,
He stepped out of the room and headed downstairs.
The hotel café was quieter than the day before.
A few guests sat scattered on the terrace, talking in hushed tones.
The usual morning bustle was absent.
Even the staff seemed more attentive... more careful.
John sat near the edge and ordered a simple breakfast.
Coffee.
Bread.
And fried eggs with cheese.
As he waited, his eyes drifted toward the harbor.
The daylight restored clarity to the scene.
The boats had returned to their moorings.
The water looked normal.
Calm.
Unremarkable.
Anyone arriving now would never guess what had happened during the night.
But the people knew.
You could see it in the way they spoke.
In the way they looked at the sea… just a second longer than necessary.
The waiter brought his coffee.
John nodded in thanks.
Then, almost casually, he asked:
"Is the electricity back?"
The waiter hesitated.
"Some areas, yes. Others… not yet."
"And the network?"
A brief pause.
"Still down."
John nodded slowly.
He ate in silence.
But his mind was already elsewhere.
On the ruins.
On the symbols.
On the disk.
And on the man from the night before.
When he finished, he returned briefly to his room.
He checked his backpack one last time.
Flashlight.
Map.
Water.
Notebook.
And the disk.
Everything in place.
He stepped outside.
It was colder than the day before.
The sky was somewhat overcast.
The sea... deceptively calm.
The road leading out of the city looked different this morning.
Less familiar.
More exposed.
As John walked, the sounds of the city faded behind him.
Soon, only the sound of gravel rustling beneath his feet .
And a gentle breeze caressing the dry grass remained.
The path to the ruins began where the paved road ended.
A narrow path.
Uneven.
It climbed steadily towards the cliffs above.
John paused for a moment at the stretch of road and opened the map.
The marked path curved along .
The mountain range before reaching the plateau where the ruins lay.
It didn't seem long.
But it didn't seem easy either.
He took a deep breath... and began to climb.
At first, the climb was easy.
A steady slope.
Scattered gravel shifted beneath his feet.
The sun rose slowly behind him.
But the higher he climbed...
The quieter it became.
No sounds.
No distant traffic.
Even the wind seemed to fade away at times.
Halfway up, John stopped to catch his breath.
He turned slightly.
From there, the view was wide.
The entire island stretched below him.
The town.
The harbor.
The endless sea.
Everything looked small.
Distant.
Harmless.
But as his eyes moved across the water…
something felt wrong again.
Not visible.
Not obvious.
Just a feeling.
That the calm surface hid something vast.
Something waiting.
John looked away.
He had seen enough of the sea for now.
He continued climbing.
The path became steeper.
More rugged.
Sharp rocks.
Narrow passages between stone outcrops.
At one point, he had to use his hands to steady himself.
Then—
he noticed it.
Marks on the ground.
At first, he thought they were just natural formations.
Lines in the dust.
But as he moved closer… he realized they were not random.
They were deliberate.
Thin grooves carved into the stone.
Faded.
Worn by time.
But still visible.
Symbols.
John knelt slowly.
His heart began to beat faster.
He brushed away the dust carefully.
More lines appeared.
Curved.
Circular.
Intersecting.
The same pattern.
Not exactly identical to the disk.
But close enough.
Too close to ignore.
He reached into his backpack… and took out the disk.
For a moment, he simply held it above the carving.
Comparison.
Alignment.
A light breeze blew.
The light shifted slightly.
And for a brief moment—
The shapes matched.
Perfectly.
John held his breath
Then—
a sound.
Behind him.
A small movement of stone.
John froze.
Slowly… he turned his head.
The path behind him was empty.
Or at least…
it looked empty.
He stood up.
Listening.
Nothing.
Just the faint sound of his own breathing.
He waited a few seconds more.
Then shook his head slightly.
"Just the wind…"
But as he turned back toward the carvings—
he noticed something new.
A footprint.
Fresh.
Right beside where he had been kneeling.
John stared at it.
It hadn't been there before.
He was sure of it.
Slowly…
Very slowly...
He looked up at the road ahead.
The path continued uphill.
Narrow.
Silent.
Disappeared among large lines.
Someone had been here.
Or still is.
John tightened his grip on the disc.
His heart was racing now.
For the first time since he began climbing...
He was no longer alone.
And the mountain...
Suddenly seemed less empty.
John resumed climbing.
At first, he tried to ignore what he saw.
A footprint on the ground... a faint sound behind him...
He convinced himself it was just a coincidence.
But the feeling wouldn't go away.
After a few steps...
He stopped suddenly.
A sound.
Very light.
A small stone slips… then hits another.
Behind him.
John didn't turn around immediately.
He stayed where he was for two seconds… three…
Then he turned slowly.
The path behind him was empty.
Completely.
But something was wrong.
The silence wasn't normal.
It wasn't the usual mountain silence…
It was a heavy silence.
As if something… only stopped moving when he looked at it.
He looked ahead again and started walking once more.
This time… with slower steps.
More cautious.
After a few minutes, the air began to change.
A light breeze passed between the rocks.
Then another.
Colder.
Heavier.
John looked up at the sky.
Gray clouds began to gather slowly above the summit.
"This wasn't expected..." he muttered to himself.
Then the first drop fell.
Light.
Cold.
Another followed... then a third.
The rain started… but it was erratic.
Space-seated drops, as if the sky hadn't yet decided whether to rain or not.
The wind picked up a little.
It began to rustle softly among the rocks, almost a whisper.
John tightened his grip on his backpack and took out his flashlight for a moment,
Just to make sure it was working.
Then he put it back.
Focus… just keep going…
But the sound returned.Closer this time.
A step.
Clear.
John stopped immediately.
His heart began to pound.
"Who's there?" he called out.
No answer.
Only the sound of the wind… and the light rain.
But he wasn't alone.
He could feel it now, clearly.
Very slowly… he turned around again.
His eyes scanned the road behind him.
The rocks.
The bends.
The emptiness
Nothing.
But—
As he turned to go ahead…
He saw him.
Just a glimpse.
A shadow.
Disappeared behind a large rock at the top of the road.
John froze.
This time it wasn't an illusion.
"Hey!" he shouted.
His voice echoed among the rocks...
Then he was gone.
No movement.
The rain had picked up a little more.
And it was becoming more consistent.
The wind began to pick up.
John hesitated for a moment.
Should he go down?
Or keep climbing?
He looked up at the summit.
Then he looked down.
Then he clenched his fist.
"It's too late to go back..."
He began to climb again.
But this time…
He wasn't just walking.
He was being chased.
And the closer he got to the top…
The feeling intensified.
Not only was he being followed…
But someone was waiting for him at the top.
A faint flash of lightning split the sky for a moment…
Revealing the shape of the peak before him—
And the ruins…
They seemed… to be watching him.
The wind picked up suddenly.
Not gradually... but all at once.
A powerful gust of wind hit John, forcing him to cling to the rocks.
The rain was no longer light.
In moments, it transformed into a raging torrent,
Its drops cascading down his face and blurring his vision.
"Damn it..."
The ground became slippery.
The stones slid beneath his feet.
And the path, so clear just moments before,
Began to disappear into the water and mud.
The wind howled among the rocks.
Its sound was no longer a whisper...
It had become a scream.
John tried to move forward,
But one more step nearly caused him to lose his balance.
He stopped. He looked around quickly.
He couldn't go on. Not in this weather.
"I need shelter," he said softly.
He looked to the right of the road.
A rocky, uneven slope.
Cracks.
Gaps.
Places where he could hide from the storm.
He pushed himself toward the rocks, moving cautiously.
The rain is getting heavier.
Visibility is getting worse.
The wind is beating against him from every direction.
Then…
He saw him.
An opening.
Narrow.
Indistinct.
Half hidden behind piles of rock.
If he hadn't been looking for it…
He wouldn't have noticed it.
He approached slowly.
He wiped the water from his eyes.
It wasn't just a natural gap.
It was... an entrance.
John paused for a moment.
His heart pounded.
His intuition told him it wasn't a coincidence.
He quickly pulled out his flashlight and switched it on.
The beam of light pierced the darkness inside the entrance.
Stone walls.
Irregular... but not entirely normal.
Traces of inscriptions.
Ancient.
Faded.
"...a tunnel?" he whispered.
The wind intensified behind him.
The rain turned to a raging torrent.
He had no choice.
He bent down slightly...and went in.
Inside, the sound of the storm suddenly subsided.
It didn't disappear completely...
But it faded away.
Muffled.
John advanced slowly.
Step by step.
The lamplight revealed sections of the walls.
Inscriptions.
Ancient.
It resembles…
Stop.
Get closer to the wall.
Turn up the light.
The inscriptions.
They are the same.
They are the same.
The same symbols.
The same circles.
The same eye.
But here…
It was bigger.
Clearer.
And more precise.
As if this place…
It's the original.
John slowly raised his hand...
and touched one of the engravings.
Cold.
Solid.
Real.
Then...
A sound.
From inside.
Deeper in the tunnel.
No echo.
A step.
John froze.
The lamp in his hand trembled slightly.
"Hello?" he said in a low voice.
No response.
But the sound repeated.
Another step.
Closer.
Then—
Light.
Dim.
He appears for a moment in the depths of darkness.
Not the light of a lamp.
But… something else.
More like a glow.
He moves.
John did not move.
Everything inside him was telling him:
Don't come any closer.
But his feet…
didn't move backward.
The light stopped.
Then—
A voice
Clear this time.
The same voice.
From the dream.
"...You came."
John's eyes widened.
The air felt heavier.
The darkness was deeper.
And the sound returned…
Closer.
"…just like before."
The lamp suddenly went out.
Total darkness.
And the sound of the storm returned,
Violently striking the mountain outside.
.....
"If you liked the chapter, leave a comment ❤️"