The red eyes glowed in the dark.
There were three statues. Three faces I knew well. My grandfather, young and strong. The Emperor, Mayas father carved in stone.. Lina. Her face waiting for her centuries before she was even born.
A voice said, "Choose the one " again. The voice came from everywhere. From the walls the floor, the air.
I did not move.
"Kael," Rakas voice was tight. Flames danced at his palms. "We need to choose."
"Choose what?" Kiranas voice cut through the darkness. "We do not know what we are choosing for."
Maya stepped forward. Her silver bracelet pulsed with light. Her hand was steady. She stood in front of her fathers statue. The Emperors stone eyes glowed red watching her.
"Why are you here?" she asked. Not to us. To the statue. To her father. "Why is your face carved in this place?"
The statue did not answer. The red eyes glowed. The stone lips did not move.
The voice came again. Not from the statue. From behind us.
"Because he was here."
I turned around.
At the edge of the circle of statues, where the light from the door met the darkness of the temple something was forming.
Not from the stone. Not from the walls. From the darkness itself. Gathering. Taking shape.
It was black. Tall. Taller than any man. Its body was not solid. It moved like smoke, like shadow like something that had no form.. Its eyes. Its eyes were solid. White. Pale. Without color. Without light. Like holes in the world.
The creature from my dream. The one in Bayus simulation. The one that had been knocking from inside the wall.
It was here.
Lina grabbed my arm. Her hand was cold. Very cold.
"That's it " she whispered. "That's what I've been hearing."
The creature stood at the edge of the circle. It did not move. It did not attack. It just stood there its eyes fixed on me.
On me.
"Why is it looking at you?" Kiranas voice was a whisper.
I did not know.. I could not look away from those eyes. White. Empty. Like they had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
The creature opened its mouth. No lips. No teeth. Just darkness.. From that darkness a voice came. Not the voice from the walls. Not the voice from the statues. A different voice. Older. Heavier. Like stone grinding against stone at the bottom of the sea.
"You carry his blood."
The words settled in my chest. Heavy. Cold.
"You carry what he took."
I felt the scar on my hand pulse. Hard. Like it was answering.
"I do not know what you are talking about " I said. My voice was steady. I did not know how.
The creature tilted its head. The movement was slow. Deliberate. Like it had not moved in a long time and was remembering how.
"The one who came before you. The one who opened the door. The one who took what was not his to take."
My grandfather.
"You mean my grandfather." The words came out before I could stop them.
The creatures white eyes flickered. Not with emotion. With recognition.
"His blood is in you. His theft is yours to return."
Linas hand tightened on my arm. "Kael -"
"What did he take?" I asked. Direct. No fear.. Maybe the fear was there but I did not let it show.
The creature did not answer immediately. It stood there its form shifting like smoke its white eyes fixed on me. The knocking came again. Not from the walls. From inside it. Like a heartbeat. Like something trapped.
"He took what was keeping us asleep."
The words did not make sense.. They settled in my chest like stones.
"He took the Core. The heart of this place. Without it we wake. Without it we hunger. Without it -" The creatures form shifted. Darker. Larger. "We take what we need to survive."
Maya stepped forward. Her silver bracelet glowed bright. "You're saying my grandfather. Kaels grandfather. Stole something from you? And because of that you're awake?"
The creatures white eyes moved to her. Then to the statue of the Emperor behind her. Then back to her face.
"His blood is also here. The one who came with the thief. The one who tried to stop him. The one who failed."
Mayas face went pale. "My father came here. With Kaels grandfather."
"They came together. They opened the door. The thief took. The other watched." The creatures voice did not change. Flat. Cold. "Then the thief left. The other stayed. To guard. To wait. To hope the thief would return what he stole."
The Emperor. Mayas father. He did not disappear after the expedition. He stayed. Here. Guarding. Waiting.
"Twenty years " Maya whispered. "Hes been here? In this place? For twenty years?"
The creature did not answer.. Its eyes moved to the statue of the Emperor. The stone eyes glowed red. Unblinking.
"Not here. Not there. Between. Asleep. Like us. Until the thiefs blood returns to wake us."
It looked at me.
". Now you are here."
The knocking inside it grew louder. Faster.
"You will return what was stolen.. You will take its place."
Rakas flames grew brighter. "We're not giving him anything."
The creatures white eyes moved to him. For a moment the darkness of its form seemed to reach toward him. Then stopped.
"Then you will not leave."
The air in the temple changed. Heavier. Colder. The shadows in the corners deepened. The light from the door seemed to dim.
"Kael," Linas voice in my head. "Its going to attack."
I knew.
"Everyone get ready." My voice was calm. I did not feel calm.. I said it anyway.
The creature moved.
Not fast. Not slow. It did not step forward. It simply. Was closer. One moment at the edge of the circle. The next in front of me. Its form blocking the light. Its white eyes filling my vision.
"You carry his blood " it said. "You will return what he took."
Its hand. If you could call it a hand. Reached toward me. Dark. Formless. Cold.
Lina moved.
She stepped between us. Her body small. Her hand raised.. The darkness. Stopped.
Her hand was glowing. Not the faint glow from before. Bright. Silver-white. Like moonlight. Like the light from the door. The darkness touched her palm. Pulled back.
The creature recoiled. Its form rippled. Like water when something is thrown into it.
"You " it said. Its voice changed. Not flat. Not cold. Something else. Something like surprise. "You are not. You are not one of them."
Linas hand was still raised. Still glowing. Her face was calm.. I saw her hand trembling.
"I do not know what I am " she said. Her voice was steady. ". Hes not giving you anything."
The creature stared at her. Its white eyes. For a moment. Seemed empty. Like something was looking through them. Something that recognized her.
"You are the one in the stone " it said. "The one who was not supposed to wake."
The statue of Linas face. The twelfth statue. The one with the eyes.
"You were supposed to sleep " the creature said. "Like the others. Like us. Until the thief returned.. You woke. Why?"
Lina did not answer. Her hand was still raised. Still glowing.
"You woke for him " the creature said. Its eyes moved from Lina to me. "For the thiefs blood."
"I woke because I chose to " Lina said. Her voice was quiet.. In the silence of the temple it was clear. "No one made me. No one woke me. I chose."
The creature was still. The knocking inside it slowed.
"You chose " it repeated. Like the words were foreign. Like it had never heard them before.
"Now let us go " Lina said.
The creatures form shifted. Dark. Light. Dark again.
"No."
It attacked.
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— TO BE CONTINUED —
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Synopsis, for Chapter 25. "The Aegis Is Not a Shield. It Is... (This Page Is Torn)"
Summary
The battle in the temple is chaos. The creature moves around like a shadow and strikes hard as stone. Rakas flames scatter its form. It just reforms. Kiranas ice slows it down. It breaks through. Mayas Null does not work for the time. The creature is not using Kai. It is something older.
Kael tries to use the Ember Core. It responds,. Not like it did before. It pushes back against the creature. Holds it.. Kael does not know how to control it. He is just trying to survive.
Lina stays at the center of the room. Her hand still glows. The creature avoids her. It is not afraid. It is like she is not supposed to be
In all the chaos, one of the statues falls. It is the statue of the Emperor. It shatters against the stone floor.. Something falls out of it. A small piece of stone shaped like a heart and it is glowing with the red light as the statues eyes.
Maya picks up the stone. The silver bracelet on her wrist starts pulsing
"This is the Core " she says. "This is what he took."
The creature stops moving. Its white eyes fix on the stone in Mayas hand.
"Return it " it says. Its voice is different now. It is desperate. "Return what was stolen."
Maya looks at the stone at the creature and then at Kael.
"What if we do not?" she asks.
The creatures form grows bigger and darker. The noise inside it becomes a roar.
"Then one of you will take its place " it says. "You will be trapped in the stone sleeping forever."
Kael steps forward. His hand reaches for the stone. "Give it to me " he says.
Lina starts to say something. "Kael—"
Kael says, "If he took it I will return it. Then we can leave."
When his fingers touch the stone something strange happens. The Ouroboros scar on his body starts burning. The Ember Core in his chest starts pulsing.. The stone changes.
It is not a stone. It is part of something. It is part of Aegis, the artifact.. It is not just a shield. It is something. Something that was never meant to be used as a weapon or, for protection.
It was meant to keep the creature asleep.. If it is taken the creature will wake up forever.