Chapter 48: The Whisper of the Sleeper

The air thickened, pressing down on them like unseen hands squeezing their throats. The temple floor quivered, cracks spreading like veins of darkness beneath their feet. The abyss below was no longer just emptiness—it was alive, waiting, watching.

"Walau eh... this thing is not normal." Ah Rong muttered, his voice shaking. He clutched his flashlight tightly, but the beam trembled as it illuminated the creature rising from the depths.

The full form of the Sleeper was revealed.

It was not fully human, nor fully serpent—a grotesque fusion of both. Its lower body coiled like a snake, scales glistening with unnatural sheen. The upper half resembled a skeletal human, its pale skin stretched tight over its frame, streaked with cracks and ridges.

And its face—

It had no eyes.

Only two deep, endless hollows, as if someone had carved out its vision, leaving behind an abyss of nothingness.

"You... who have returned... your blood... shall complete the cycle..."

The voice was not spoken. It did not vibrate through the air—it slithered into their minds, damp and suffocating, a whisper that coiled around their thoughts like a snake tightening its grip.

Noya's fingers went cold. Deep inside, something within her responded to that voice, as if her blood recognized the call.

She barely realized that she had reached out, gripping Lin Han's wrist so tightly that her nails left faint red marks.

"Sakit kah?" Her voice was barely audible, nearly swallowed by the temple's eerie echoes.

Lin Han did not answer. His gaze remained locked on the Sleeper, mind racing.

What was this thing? A god? A prisoner? A mistake that had been left to fester?

A theory was forming, but he lacked the final pieces to confirm it.

The Sleeper slowly raised one of its bony hands. In its open palm, a faint symbol glowed—a serpent insignia, identical to the one etched onto Noya's wrist.

Noya's breath caught.

A distant memory surfaced—her grandfather's voice, speaking in hushed tones.

"If the bloodline awakens, it means you can never escape."

Flashes of fragmented images flickered through her mind—ancient ceremonies, royal sacrifices, the never-ending curse.

This was never just a ritual.

It was a contract.

And she—she was the key.

"We can't let this continue." Lin Han's voice cut through the fog in her mind. His fingers twitched toward his pocket—a small folding knife was all he had, a pathetic weapon against something like this.

Ah Rong was already backing away, every instinct in his body screaming for him to run.

But the exit was already gone.

The temple walls groaned as cracks spread, and from those shadows, countless blind serpents began pouring in, slithering across the floor, their movements eerily synchronized. They did not need eyes—they could feel them, sense them, smell the blood in the air.

And then, the whisper returned.

"Genting's debt... must be paid."

Lin Han stiffened.

That phrase. He had seen it before. In Genting Group's restricted archives. In the murals hidden beneath this temple.

It was all connected.

Genting Group wasn't just a corporate empire. It wasn't just about casinos and business monopolies.

It had been part of this for centuries.

But were they the protectors of this curse, or its true beneficiaries?

"You must decide."

The Sleeper's voice pressed against them, seeping into Noya's mind, dulling her senses.

Her wrist burned. The serpent mark pulsed, reacting to something unseen.

She could feel it—her blood was the catalyst.

If she stepped forward, if she gave herself to the cycle, it would continue.

"If I become the offering, will the curse be broken?" Noya asked. Her voice was eerily steady.

The Sleeper tilted its head, as if considering her words. Then, it spoke:

"It will not end. It will only... reset."

Noya's stomach twisted.

The sacrifice was never meant to be a solution.

Every generation, the same lie had been told. Every descendant of the bloodline had been given the same false promise—that their suffering would be the last.

Her ancestors had been deceived.

Her family had been trapped in this endless cycle, century after century.

Lin Han clenched his fists. His voice was low, sharp. "So you want her to die just to keep this going?"

The Sleeper's lips curved, an almost amused expression on its decayed face.

"It is not sacrifice." The words slithered forth, wet and knowing. "It is... repayment."

Noya's face hardened.

She lifted her gaze, eyes blazing. "If there's no way to end the curse... then we will create one."

Lin Han blinked.

Her voice was quiet, but unshakable.

"We have to break this cycle."

Ah Rong's jaw dropped. "Are you both crazy?! How do you break something like this?!"

But before anyone could answer, a single drop of blood fell from Noya's wrist.

It landed in the cracks below.

And the temple exploded into chaos.