Chapter 10: The Path of Echoes

The passage stretched before them, its walls lined with ancient glyphs, pulsing faintly as Elliot and Seris stepped forward. The air was thick with the scent of dust and something older—arcane energy, lingering like the whispers of the past. Every step echoed, bouncing off unseen corridors, as though the ruins themselves were watching.

Elliot ran his fingers along the symbols, feeling the residual warmth left behind by whatever power had once thrived here. His mind was still reeling from the vision the cloaked figure had forced upon him. A golden city, a shattered monolith, and an endless cycle of destruction.

Seris moved beside him, her dagger still in hand. "You trust that shadowy bastard?" she asked, her voice low but sharp. "Because I don't."

"I don't trust him," Elliot admitted, "but he knows something. Something about this place... about the Key. We need answers."

She exhaled through her nose, clearly displeased, but didn't argue. Instead, she gestured forward. "Then let's keep moving before more of those things wake up."

The corridor widened, opening into a vast chamber unlike any they had seen before. Columns of obsidian reached toward the ceiling, each one carved with intricate spirals of silver light. At the center, a raised platform stood, upon which rested a pedestal—and embedded within it, another shard.

Elliot's breath caught. It was identical to the one he carried, though this one shimmered with a soft azure glow, humming with energy.

"Another fragment," he whispered, stepping toward it.

Seris grabbed his arm before he could move closer. "Wait. Look around."

He did. That's when he saw them—statues lining the chamber's edges, humanoid in shape, their features smooth and blank. There was an eerie stillness about them, as if they were merely waiting.

"Guardians," Seris muttered. "Just like the last one."

Elliot nodded. "But different. They're dormant." He glanced at the pedestal. "For now."

Taking a cautious step forward, he reached for the shard. The moment his fingers brushed its surface, a wave of cold energy surged through his veins. Unlike the first shard's warmth, this one carried a weight—a burden of something left unfinished.

And then, the statues moved.

Their bodies jerked, heads tilting toward Elliot in eerie unison. The silver lines across their stone-like frames flared to life, and one by one, they stepped down from their pedestals.

Seris cursed. "I knew it!"

The first Guardian lunged.

Elliot barely managed to throw himself backward as the stone behemoth's fist crashed into the pedestal, splintering the stone where he had stood moments ago. Dust and shards of rock flew through the air as Seris struck first, weaving past another Guardian's strike and driving her dagger deep into the seams of its form. A burst of silver energy erupted from the wound, but the construct barely faltered.

Elliot scrambled to his feet, the newly acquired shard clenched in his free hand. He felt it pulling, urging him to act. Instinctively, he raised it—and from the glyphs around the room, energy surged.

The air crackled. The ruins responded to the shard's presence, and in an instant, glowing symbols flared beneath Elliot's feet. The Guardians hesitated, their movements faltering.

Seris used the momentary distraction to her advantage. With a fierce yell, she vaulted over one of the constructs, landing behind it and slicing through its exposed back. The Guardian staggered, its body fracturing, before collapsing into a heap of dust and glowing embers.

Elliot wasn't sure how he knew what to do, but he acted anyway. He slammed the shard against the ground, and a pulse of force exploded outward. The remaining Guardians reeled as the energy washed over them, their silver cores flickering erratically.

Then, as suddenly as they had awakened, the constructs froze—their bodies locking into place before crumbling into inert stone.

Silence fell over the chamber.

Elliot exhaled, his grip still tight on the shard. He could feel it now—two fragments, their energies connected, but incomplete. He turned to Seris, who wiped dust from her cheek with the back of her hand. "So... that was new."

Before Elliot could respond, a familiar chill ran down his spine.

The shadows in the chamber shifted.

And from the darkness, a voice whispered, "Two keys found. The path unfolds."