The soft golden haze of dawn filtered through the dense jungle canopy, spilling shafts of light across the dew-kissed grass and slick bark of ancient trees. Beams of sunlight sliced through layers of mist, casting a gentle glow on the moss-covered trunks and thick vines that draped over the undergrowth like sleeping serpents. The air was fresh but damp, filled with the scent of wet earth and faint floral musk carried by the breeze. Leaves rustled overhead as birds stirred, their distant calls echoing like whispers through the treetops.
Zay sat in silence, glanced at the time using the Arbiter: Resonance Lens and took note that it said the current time: 5:20 A.M. then the message from the Resonance Lens faded out of existence.
Rei remained seated on the floor near the low table, one leg crossed, the other sprawled out with casual ease. His eyes were closed. Zay rose to his feet, Rei's left eye slowly opened, locking onto him with silent awareness. Without a word, Rei stood, walked over to his bed, and retrieved his katana, securing it at his waist with a practiced motion.
Zay moved to the entrance, opening the wooden door with a gentle creak. He turned back, his gaze flicking to Naomi, still asleep inside, then to Rei.
"We'll be back in two hours," Zay said plainly. "One hour to explore. Then we turn back. We can't leave her alone for too long. Did you get a map with that note?"
Rei shook his head. "Just the note. Seems whatever we're working for in this sequence wants to keep things vague. There's some historical context I jotted down, which you've seen, but that's all I have."
Zay gave a single nod and stepped into the morning air after opening the small door of the building and Rei followed him outside.
The jungle was awake now. Leaves glistened under soft droplets, and long stalks of grass brushed against their ankles as they moved through the terrain. Towering trees twisted toward the sky, their bark dark and gnarled with age, draped in layers of creeping ivy. Vines dangled like tendrils from high branches, swaying faintly as the two Arbiters passed. The occasional flicker of movement—birds darting away, insects buzzing near, snakes recoiling—added to the alive yet tense rhythm of the environment.
With a pulse of midnight-blue aura, Evershade formed in Zay's hand, its blade catching the light through the trees. He gripped the hilt firmly.
"If you hear anything unusual, speak up. We either keep going or call it and head back. It just depends on the situation," he said.
Rei nodded in agreement. A low hum filled the air as both of their auras flared to life. Then, with synchronized motion, they surged forward, darting between trees, vaulting over roots, and slipping through thorny gaps in the brush. A snake struck out from the undergrowth, but its fangs met only air as they passed. Blossoms burst from their stems in the wake of their speed, petals caught in their slipstream and trailing behind like confetti.
Eventually, they slowed and came to a stop. They faced a massive, vine-wrapped temple that rose like a sleeping giant from the jungle floor.
A wide staircase, cracked and worn by centuries, led up toward an ornate archway. Before it stood a colossal statue of a cat, sculpted entirely of gold. Vines coiled around its body like chains. Moss smothered its eyes, paws, and the tip of its mouth, giving it the appearance of something long abandoned yet still watching. Beside the statue, another set of stairs descended underground, the stone steps vanishing into shadow.
Rei broke the silence. "Is this a good idea?"
Zay glanced over. "What do you mean?"
Rei's eyes narrowed slightly. "I mean… a massive golden cat guarding a staircase that descends beneath a temple larger than the trees around us? Besides, that's... no the main issue. I know you feel it as well."
Zay remained quiet, but the answer showed in the tension across his shoulders. He did feel it. an undercurrent in the air, like static before a storm. Something unnatural pressed at the edge of his awareness, but it wasn't threatening. Not yet. Just... wrong.
He exhaled through his nose and took the first step downward. The stone cracked beneath his boot, chips tumbling into the unseen depths below.
"If we're here to find three artifacts, this is one hell of a place to start," he said.
Rei blinked a few times, eyes shifting between the worn stone stairs and Zay.
'Something is definitely... off about him. He's never been this... stupid, has he? No. Every time we've done anything, he always double-checked everything—watched our surroundings, made sure it was safe before making a single move. But this? He's diving in without a second thought. And Naomi... he left her behind without hesitation. That's not like him at all. What the hell happened to him while he was unconscious?'
He shook his head, trying to push the unease aside. Blinking again, he glanced down the staircase and saw that Zay was already halfway into the shadows, where the light faded completely. Without another word, Rei moved to follow. He didn't want Zay going in alone, especially not like this. Something wasn't right, and Rei was genuinely worried about the friend he had made months ago, a friend who treated him more like family then just friends. He needed to make sure Zay was alright.
...
Ten minutes passed in suffocating silence. Nothing happened at all. The only sounds were their footsteps, echoing through the tunnel's endless darkness. They had reached the bottom of the staircase several minutes ago. When Zay's foot pressed down on a loose stone in the tunnel, a deep groan rolled through the air, like something ancient stirring awake. The wall to their left trembled, then slowly opened.
"...What the hell is this?" Zay whispered, his voice barely audible. He leaned in, peering through the narrow opening. There was no movement, no hint of life, and no hostility. His night vision activated, revealing a massive stone door etched with unfamiliar markings. Without waiting, he stepped through.
Rei paused behind him, continuing the sketch the layout of the temple, his hand steady despite the growing tension. He marked the walls, then added a faint line on the left side of the page to represent the new path.
Once finished, he tucked the journal into his cloak. Then he drew his sword. With a sharp pull, flames bloomed across the blade, casting flickering shadows that danced on the stone. Zay's night vision faded in the sudden light, and both of them stood still, their eyes fixed on the door.
"Should we check it out?" Rei asked quietly. He gave Zay a brief glance before turning back toward the stone, as if afraid to look away for too long.
"Well... what do you think could be on the other side?"
"No damn clue. A dragon tied in chains? A holy knight abandoned by his church? Hell, maybe a giant butterfly whose wings spread a poison that decays over time?"
Zay looked over at Rei and nodded. "You make a good point. How about we see if there were any other turns, cutouts, or anything else we missed? If we don't find anything, we come back here and open that door."
"Sounds good to me. I'll keep my sword out and hold off on drawing the map for now. If we come across a cutout, door, or anything unusual, I'll mark it in my journal to keep the map updated."
"Alright," Zay replied simply, and the two began walking back through the tunnel. Rei's right hand gripped the hilt of his katana tightly. Flames lit the blade, casting flickering light along the walls and allowing him to see about five feet ahead.
After only a few moments of walking, Rei lifted his left hand and extended his index finger, pointing toward a wall. Zay's eyes followed his finger, and the two spotted what appeared to be a lever. Zay walked over to it, realizing he hadn't noticed it before, and flipped it down, as it was already in the upright position.
As the lever clicked into place, the ceiling above them groaned and slowly began to rise, opening high enough for beams of morning light to pour down over their heads. The walls seemed to pull back, expanding outward. A loud crack echoed through the air as stone shifted beneath them, and their eyes dropped toward the source of the sound.
"Is that... another staircase?"
Rei stared into the darkness below, his gaze fixed on the steps descending deeper into the earth. His grip tightened around the hilt of his katana before he reluctantly sheathed it. Reaching into his cloak, he retrieved his journal and began to sketch the new passage. He used a quill engraved with a very expensive and extremely rare rune that allowed it to produce ink endlessly, no matter how often it was used.
He drew the staircase in a way that indicated it was descending deeper into the temple, then slipped the journal back into his cloak. He looked up at Zay, then let his gaze drift downward into the darkness.
"The creepy door, or the unknown void of a random staircase inside a temple?"
Zay didn't laugh or smile at what he assumed was Rei's attempt to lighten the mood. Instead, he stepped forward and placed his foot on the first stair. The moment his foot touched the edge of the platform, it cracked and crumbled beneath him. He moved his foot back and they both took a step backwards. The rest of the staircase followed, collapsing in a chain reaction. From the bottom of the pit—so deep they couldn't see the end—a golden light burst upward.
Flames made of gold roared from below, spiraling up. They licked across their clothes, leaving faint burn marks, but no fire actually caught.
"Let's take the creepy door over this, shall we?" Zay said with a dry chuckle, swallowing hard as he turned back toward where they had found the door.