Story 1124: Temple of a Thousand Eyes

In the heart of the Desolation Crag, where no map dared tread and compasses spun wildly, stood the ruins of an ancient structure carved straight into the mountainside. They called it the Temple of a Thousand Eyes, though no one alive claimed to have seen more than the entrance.

Because those who entered never returned.

Until tonight.

Clara Veil had spent her life hiding what she was. A performer, a liar, a girl with eyes that shimmered like mercury in the dark. The Hollow One had marked her young. The cult whispered her name in back-alley tongues. And now, drawn by visions of writhing stone and blinking walls, she stood at the foot of the temple—alone.

A carved archway loomed above her. No door. Just darkness and cold air that reeked of old stone and fresh fear.

She stepped inside.

The air thickened immediately, muffling her breath. The walls pulsed faintly, and every few feet, a carving watched her—round, open, unblinking eyes etched into the stone.