Chapter 13 : The Keeper's Test

The spiral staircase was long—so long it felt like we were descending into the earth's core. Each step echoed with a hollow thud, and the air grew heavier the deeper we went.

Finally, the stairs ended at a circular chamber lit by soft blue light coming from crystals embedded in the walls. In the center stood a pedestal with another journal—this one older, larger, and locked with several iron clasps.

As we stepped forward, a booming voice filled the room.

"The keeper must prove memory. Only those who remember truth shall proceed."

Suddenly, the lights dimmed, and floating images began to swirl around us—snapshots from the past: the night we found the journal, the first clue, the passage under Grandpa's house, even the creature in the shadows.

"What's happening?" Zeeshan whispered.

"It's testing us," I said. "We have to recall everything—every detail."

The voice spoke again, louder this time:

"Answer true, or be forgotten."

Then the questions began—mysterious, riddle-like, but based on our journey:

"What word was etched beside the orb's chamber?" "Who was the first to touch the journal?" "What time did the whispers begin?"

Each question made us sweat, but somehow, we answered them all correctly.

When the last one echoed—"What is the name of the one who must not forget?"—I took a deep breath and said my own name aloud:

"Abdullah."

The clasps on the ancient journal snapped open one by one.

Zeeshan looked at me, eyes wide. "I think it accepted you as the real keeper."

As I reached for the journal, I felt a surge—like energy flowing from it into my fingertips. Images, memories, knowledge—it all started flooding into my mind.

And one thing was certain: this journey had just begun.