Sol woke when a faint gray light touched the stone.
His neck ached. His back felt hammered. His mouth tasted like dried copper.
He pushed himself up slowly, wincing.
Below the tower, the corpses were still.
Frozen in whatever position they'd ended their night in, some sprawled across marble, some half-crawled up steps, some mid-lunge with jaws cracked open.
A dead world of dead things.
Lily stirred beside Phoebe. Lex rubbed at his stiff shoulder.
Veyra was the last to rise.
It seemed that the dead corpses only animate in the night.
Sol also noticed something interesting, The dead seemed to be moving towards a specific direction. Towards the valley, He felt a relief that they chose to cross the peak instead of the valley.
They stepped out of the tower and into the marble street.
A cold breeze brushed past them, carrying the faint smell of iron and wilted flowers. The sunrise tinted the white buildings gold again, but it was an eerie gold, the kind that looked like the final moment of a flame before it flickered out forever.
Everything had a soft glow.
The sharp corners of terraces. The curved rooftops. The fractured pillars. Even the dried blood stains were painted in a strangely beautiful crimson.
Sol muttered under his breath,"… This place is insane. "
They continued forward.
Wide stone roads spiraled around the mountain interior, with bridges arcing gently between terraces. Ancient temples carved with symbols of Oath. Collapsed homes with vine-wrapped staircases. Broken statues of soldiers in ceremonial armor.
Nothing moved except the wind.
***
After two hours of careful descent, they found something.
A structure built directly into the inner cliff face a circular dais bordered with obsidian markers, lines etched in a pattern too complex for chance.
After investigating the structure, they found out that it's a broken way point.
Of course, It was Solace's guess. Which he learned after inspecting the structure with his floating runes
"… A Waypoint."
She walked toward it slowly, as if approaching a sleeping beast.
Lex frowned. " What's a waypoint?"
Vivi answered, barely above a whisper. " It's… a gate anchor. A point where long-distance travel was possible in ancient eras. Our gate technology is based off of this, though much inferior. "She glanced at Veyra. "For your Thread of Gate?"
Veyra nodded faintly.
Veyra guided them away from the waypoint, deeper along the outer slope—toward the opposite side of the peak.
The day crept on, carving hours into their bodies.
Their steps slowed. Their breathing thickened. The sun turned from gold to white to orange.
By late evening, the city's architecture grew sparse, fewer homes, more open courtyards, bridges carved into the mountain wall.
And then
Lily pointed ahead.
"There."
A massive stone gate stood at the far end of the inner city. Tall enough for caravans. Reinforced with layered stone. Etched with the sigils of Oath Kingdom.
The way off this cursed peak.
A murmur of relief rippled through the group.
"We made it…" Vivi whispered.
Sara leaned on Nolan's arm, smiling weakly. "That's… wonderful… "
But as they approached, the sun dipped further.
Shadows crawled up the city walls.
Phoebe's expression darkened."… We're cutting it close."
"Run," Veyra ordered.
And they ran.
Their feet pounded on marble. Breath burned in their chests. Lex nearly carried Lily the last stretch. Sol's heart hammered, thinking of the corpses they'd left behind.
They reached the gate as the final shard of sunlight disappeared behind the opposite mountain ridge.
The sigils on the gate dimmed.
"OPEN IT!" Sol shouted.
Nolan and Lex slammed their weight into the heavy doors. Phoebe wedged her shoulder in. Sol pulled with chains. Veyra forced her blade into the crack.
The stone groaned—split—and then—
THUDUUUM
the dead city breathed awake behind them.
Veyra shoved Nolan through the gate first."GO!"
They spilled inside a long ramp way corridor carved into the cliff.
Sol was the last to enter.
He looked back
The corpses in the city rose in unison.
Hundreds of them.
Jaws opened.
Sol slammed the gate shut with every chain he had.
BOOOM.
The door locked.
Silence filled the corridor.