THE SILENT WATCHERS

Chapter 10

Aya stood at the heart of the awakened oasis, feeling the weight of her decision settle on her shoulders. The once-lost sanctuary now pulsed with life, its waterfalls roaring, its golden trees swaying under an unseen wind. But beneath the beauty, something felt off, as if the oasis itself was waiting for something.

Idris sensed it too. His hand instinctively rested on the hilt of his dagger as he scanned the courtyard. "I don't like this silence," he muttered. "It's too… expectant."

Aya turned to the masked figure. "What happens now? You said I must be its guardian, but who am I guarding it from?"

The figure didn't answer immediately. Instead, they lifted their head, as if listening to something unseen. Then they spoke, their voice quieter than before.

"You are not the only one who has sought the oasis."

Aya's breath caught. She had feared this moment, feared that someone else might be watching, waiting for her to open the gates.

Before she could ask another question, a deep rumble echoed through the courtyard.

Idris spun around. "What was that?"

The air shifted. The temperature dropped. And then, from the far edge of the oasis, the shadows moved.

Aya's pulse spiked.

Figures emerged from the darkened archways of the ruined city, silent, hooded figures draped in obsidian robes, their faces hidden beneath veils of silver.

The Silent Watchers.

Aya had read of them in forgotten texts—whispers of an ancient order that had vanished centuries ago. They were said to be the protectors of lost knowledge, appearing only when sacred secrets were disturbed.

But no book had ever described them as this eerie.

The Watchers advanced without a word, their movements unnatural, as if they weren't walking but gliding over the stone. Their presence pressed against Aya's mind, heavy and suffocating, like an unseen force weighing her down.

The masked figure stepped forward. "They have come to judge."

Aya's mouth went dry. "Judge?"

The figure nodded. "The oasis was not merely hidden, it was sealed. To awaken it is to awaken the Watchers. And they must decide if you are worthy… or if the oasis must be buried once more."

Aya's stomach twisted. She had barely begun to grasp the oasis's power, and now she was already being tested again?

Idris took a protective step toward her. "And if they decide she's not worthy?"

The masked figure hesitated. "Then the oasis will close forever."

Aya's heart pounded. She couldn't let that happen.

She squared her shoulders and stepped forward, meeting the Watchers head-on. "I am not here to exploit this place," she said firmly. "I came seeking the truth. I restored it so that it would not be lost to time."

The Watchers stopped.

For the first time, one of them moved—raising a gloved hand. Aya stiffened as a sharp whisper filled the air, not spoken aloud but pressed into her mind.

"Truth can be dangerous."

Aya shuddered. The voice was ancient, layered, as if countless souls were speaking at once.

Another Watcher raised their hand.

"Knowledge is a weapon."

A third.

"Do you understand the burden you have taken?"

Aya clenched her fists. "Yes," she said. "I do."

The Watchers lowered their hands, but they did not disappear. Instead, the first Watcher stepped forward, extending a long, slender hand toward Aya.

In their palm lay a small, black stone, smooth and carved with shifting golden symbols, the same ones she had seen on the obelisk.

Aya hesitated before reaching out. As her fingers closed around the stone, a shock of cold fire surged through her veins.

Her vision blurred.

And then,

She was somewhere else.

She stood in a vast desert, the wind howling around her. Before her stretched an endless battlefield, littered with shattered weapons and bleached bones. The sky was dark, heavy with the scent of dust and decay.

And at the center of it all stood a single figure, cloaked in midnight, their face obscured, their hands outstretched.

The air around them was twisting, reality warping as golden symbols flickered in and out of existence. Aya felt power radiating from the figure, ancient and terrifying.

The ground trembled as the figure turned, and for a split second, Aya saw their face.

She gasped.

It was herself.

Aya staggered back, the vision vanishing. She was back in the oasis, the stone still burning in her palm. Idris grabbed her arm, steadying her.

"Aya! What happened?"

She couldn't speak. Her breath came in sharp gasps, her mind reeling.

What had she just seen? A warning? A prophecy?

The first Watcher lowered their hand.

"This is the price of knowledge. The burden of a guardian. The future is unwritten, but the shadows have already begun to move."

Aya's hands shook.

She had thought the greatest challenge was finding the oasis.

But she was wrong.

The real battle had only just begun.