The moment they stepped into the chamber, the entire team fell into silence. The air shifted, heavy with tension, as if the room itself was holding its breath. Each of them moved with caution, trying to guess what kind of challenge awaited them here. Even Tave, usually the first to act, stopped just a few steps inside and went still. His hesitation enough to make the rest freeze as well.

  “Tave… tell me you’ve got a pn,” Elias said.

  Tave didn’t respond immediately.

  But before he could say anything, a loud, sudden crash echoed behind them. Everyone spun around just in time to see the stone door they had entered through sm shut.

  A few faces paled at the sound, though no one dared to say what they were all thinking.

  Then, Orion stepped forward, completely unfazed. He slung his sword casually over his shoulder and gnced around at the statues.

  “Let’s just smash these stupid things and be done with it,” he said ftly.

  “Orion! Just for once. Please, stay put,” Oriana snapped, her tone firm.

  “So what, you want us to sit around and wait? Nothing’s happening! Might as well break the statues before they start moving and make things harder for us.”

  Everyone turned toward Orion, tension rising like a drawn bowstring. Then Elias spoke, voice barely above a whisper.

  “Honestly… I don’t think it’s the worst idea.”

  Tave watched as Orion strode confidently toward one of the statues. The one cd in jagged armor, its massive greatsword resting across its shoulder in an eternal, silent stance.

  Orion didn’t hesitate. Fmes ignited along the length of his bde as he raised it high, then brought it crashing down on the statue with all his strength.

  Everyone’s eyes locked onto the moment of impact.

  A shimmer, almost invisible at first, fred around the statue. A protective barrier, unseen until struck, absorbed the blow completely. The impact threw Orion back a step, his boots skidding across the stone floor. The statue didn’t even flinch. It hadn’t moved an inch.

  “Damn it!” Orion cursed, his voice echoing off the chamber walls.

  The team remained still, tense. Some gnced toward the intricate circle carved into the center of the room, wary of getting too close. No one dared make a move. No one wanted to be the next trigger.

  Orion rejoined the group, irritation simmering beneath the surface. But before anyone could speak, a deep rumble vibrated through the ground beneath their feet. The cave trembled.

  Dust and tiny fragments of stone fell from the ceiling.

  Everyone snapped into alert. They were trapped. No exits, no escape. If the cave colpsed, they were done.

  And then the light changed.

  Suddenly, the room was flooded with blinding brightness as the mana crystals embedded in the walls fred with energy, their glow intensifying several times over. Everyone squinted, shielding their eyes, spinning to scan their surroundings.

  “What the hell is happening?”

  “Is the monster coming?” someone asked.

  “Are we going to have to fight all ten statues?” another added, almost in a whisper.

  They stood close together now, weapons ready, their bodies tensed. No one knew what was coming next. But whatever it was, they were ready to meet it head-on.

  They waited in silence, the tension stretched to its limit, until the rumbling ceased and the cave settled once more into an uneasy stillness. Just when it seemed the worst had passed, something appeared before their eyes. Floating text, a system notification.

  But as they began to read it, a sound ripped through the chamber. A shrill, high-pitched scream that echoed against the stone, like a woman’s voice ced with malice and piercing rage.

  It wasn't just a scream. It spoke.

  Threatening words, cruel and sharp, ced with derision:

  “You have thirty seconds. Only three of you may remain outside the circle. The rest must enter. The three who remain… will be sacrificed, so the others may move on to the next stage.”

  “You don’t have time to hesitate. Choose the weak. Choose the burdens. Do it quickly… or my forces will tear you apart before you decide.”

  The weight of the message dropped like a stone in the pit of each stomach. The chamber, so bright only moments ago, now felt like a coffin closing in.

  Three of them… had to be sacrificed?

  The threat was real. The choice… impossible!

  “No… no, this can’t be real… this isn’t happening,” one of the women cried out, her voice cracking with panic.

  “What the hell is this?!” another shouted. “Why are they doing this? How can we be forced to choose? We can’t. We can’t lose three people!”

  Voices trembled. Fear cracked through the group like lightning, each of them caught between disbelief and horror. The timer hadn’t appeared, but the urgency was unmistakable.

  They had seconds to decide who would die… so the others could live.

  “Thirty…”

  “Twenty-nine…”

  The voice began its countdown. Cold, echoing, and ced with cruel delight.

  “Damn it, we don’t have time!” someone shouted, already trembling, ready to bolt toward the circle at the center. If not for Orion, who stepped in front of them, sword drawn and held low across his body. He positioned himself between the glowing circle and the rest of the team.

  “No one moves. We stay right here,” Orion said firmly.

  “Lord Orion, if we don’t go into that circle, we’re all going to die!” someone else snapped, panic rising in their voice.

  “No!” Elias called out, loud enough to stop the growing panic. “I’m not convinced this is the only way to solve this. It feels wrong… like it’s meant to tear us apart.”

  The others turned to him, eyes filled with desperate hope. Clinging to the idea that there might be another way, a trick, a loophole, anything.

  The countdown continued, ticking like a death clock. And then the voice ughed, a shrill, mocking sound.

  “Those who are fastest… those who are strongest… they will steal the chance to survive in the final seconds. Don’t let them fool you.”

  “We don’t have another choice,” one of them said, almost in a whisper. “I don’t want to be sacrificed. I want to live.”

  “I said we stay!” Orion growled, stepping forward. “This is a damn lie. You really think a demon’s word can be trusted?”

  He raised his bde and pointed it at the rest of the group, eyes bzing.

  “Anyone who tries to pass me. Will deal with me first.”

  The countdown kept ticking, each number dropping like a dagger into the heart of their panic. And now, it was clear, several among them had gone pale, frozen in pce, eyes wide with dread.

  “No… this is insane,” someone choked out. “If we just stay here, we’ll die too!”

  More voices cracked under the pressure.

  “We can’t just stand here and wait to be sughtered!”

  “They’re going to kill us all!”

  “We have to do something!”

  “Let me go. I won’t die in this pce!”

  “We stay!” Orion barked, his voice slicing through the panic. “No one disobeys me!”

  But then, without warning, one of them broke.

  A defender, armored and desperate, suddenly dashed forward with a burst of speed, sprinting toward the glowing circle.

  “Damn it! Stop!” Orion shouted, surging after him. He swung his sword in a wide arc, fmes trailing behind. The defender raised his shield just in time. Steel cshed against steel, the impact ringing through the chamber.

  A powerful blow, but not enough to stop him.

  And while the two cshed, chaos erupted.

  The cave began to tremble violently. Stones fell from above, and a deafening rumble shook the walls. The ten statues, once silent guardians, now stirred to life. Stone scraped against stone as they began to move, slowly, ominously, stepping forward with weapons in hand.

  Screams broke out as panic surged through the group.

  “They’re moving! The statues are moving!”

  The defender pushed forward again, shield raised, teeth gritted as Orion struck once more. Another block, another brutal csh of sword and shield.

  “If you keep moving, the statues will keep advancing!” Oriana shouted, trying to cut through the chaos.