Chapter 247

It started as a faint sound, like wind through dry leaves, but it grew, layered voices speaking in a cadence that defied logic. The words slithered through the air, pressing against their minds.

John clenched his jaw, shaking off the effect. "We land. Now."

The team moved quickly, dropping onto the sand, weapons at the ready. The heat was suffocating, but it was nothing compared to the weight of the whispers, which now seemed to be coming from inside their own heads.

They pressed forward, navigating the ruins, their footsteps silent despite the shifting sands. The air was thick with tension, the glow from the stones growing stronger with each step.

Then they saw it.

A figure stood at the center of the ruins, shrouded in darkness, its form shifting, indistinct. It had no face, no true shape, just an absence, a void where something should be.

John raised his weapon. "Identify yourself."