He slowly walked toward the statue.
The pedestal beneath it was buried under layers of dust, untouched for centuries, a silent witness to forgotten worship.
Aarav placed his hand on the cold stone. A strange feeling surged through him not fear, not memory, but something in between, like searching for a piece of himself that refused to be found. His thoughts grew foggy. Beneath his fingers, he felt shallow carvings of letters, almost erased by time.
He brushed the dust away, revealing faint words engraved into the stone:
"The one who loves and cares for others,
Will be the one to protect them,
Through destruction."
Sameer stepped beside him, his voice trembling as he read aloud,
"'The one… who loves and cares for others… will be… the one to protect them… through… destruction.'"
Kabir frowned, scratching his head. "What's that supposed to mean? Some old sage's riddle?"
But Aarav's eyes didn't move. His voice echoed softly through the cavern,
"The one who loves and cares for others,
Will be the one to protect them,
Through destruction."
The air trembled.
A low rumble spread beneath their feet, the stone ground split open in front of the pedestal. From the crack, a metallic platform slowly rose, covered in black dust. A trident, glowing faintly with deep dark blue.
The hum of energy filled the chamber as if the entire cave had taken a breath after centuries of silence.
Aarav stepped closer. The air around the pedestal felt heavier now — dense, electric. Each breath came slower, as though the cave itself was waiting.
"Maybe we shouldn't touch that…" Sameer whispered, his voice small against the vast silence.
But Aarav couldn't stop himself. Something deep within him pulled him forward not curiosity, but recognition.
He reached out.
A pulse of blue light shot outward.
The air cracked like thunder.
Symbols flared to life across the four statues' lines of energy tracing through their ancient stone bodies, connecting one to another.
The trident began to rise slowly inside the dome, spinning in place as its glow deepened to a fierce azure. The faint hum turned into a low, resonant tone that vibrated in their chests.
"Aarav!" Kabir shouted, stepping back as the ground quaked beneath them.
But it was too late.The pendant floated in the air between them.
For a heartbeat, time froze.
Then the pendant shot forward straight toward Aarav's chest.
He gasped as it struck him, the force knocking him backward. A surge of burning light spread through his veins, illuminating the cracks on his skin like molten fire. His vision exploded into colors of blue, gold, and black swirling like storms.
He fell to his knees, clutching his chest.
Images flashed before his eyes not memories, but echoes of another life.
Flames.
Screams.
A village burning up in flames.
A girl with silver eyes calling his name, reaching out as fire consumed the sky.
And then, silence.
When his eyes opened, the trident was gone.
In its place, around his neck, hung a small metallic charm in the shape of a trident, faintly glowing with the same deep blue.
The air trembled as Aarav's trident burned with white-blue fire, its glow spilling across the ancient chamber.
Dust rose like mist, and the echoes of forgotten chants rolled through the hollow halls.
The three others—Riya, Kabir, and Sameer stumbled back, shielding their eyes.
But then, the ground beneath their statues began to move.
Slowly. Heavily.
Like something ancient remembering how to breathe again.
Cracks spread across the stone pedestals.
Glowing veins of golden light ran through the carvings, pulsing like a heartbeat.
Aarav turned, his eyes widening.
"Wait, there's more—"
The floor split apart. From beneath the statue beside him, rings of light spiraled upward, wrapping around Sameer.
He gasped as the light circled his arm, tracing his veins like molten rivers before converging on his hand.
Then, with a flash, it condensed into a circular disc—smooth, metallic, alive.
It spun once in the air, leaving trails of gold behind, before shrinking down and melting into a ring on his right index finger.
Sameer looked at it, trembling.
"It feels… like it's watching me," he whispered.
The ring pulsed once, as if in answer.
Then the statue behind Riya cracked open, its stone face splitting apart.
From within, serpent-like ribbons of energy flared to life, twisting and coiling around her arms like snake raping around in pray before eating.
They shimmered between metal and light—alive, breathing.
The ribbons tightened, and in a burst of violet sparks, they solidified into two bangles—one on each wrist, glowing faintly with threads of lightning.
Riya took a step back, feeling the hum within them.
"They're moving," she whispered, and the bangles responded, flexing like serpents ready to strike.
Finally, the last statue roared open, the echo deep and heavy.
Shards of stone flew across the floor as a dense, red aura surged upward, wrapping around Kabir.
The energy was heavy, iron-scented, like the breath of a battlefield.
It crawled up his arms, searing his skin for a moment before cooling into a solid form of two armlets, thick and etched with ancient runes that glowed faintly like green embers on his wrist. The right one had a small silver axe glowing like the moon, hung by a wire connecting its handle and the armlet. The left one had a design of a red shield.
Kabir flexed his fists, the runes pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat.
"They're… armor," he murmured, his voice half in awe, half in disbelief.
But deep inside, he could feel the weight of something older
The light from all four merged at the center of the room.
For a brief moment, the chamber looked alive again, walls gleaming, statues radiantThen, silence.
Only the low hum of power remained, echoing like a heartbeat beneath the earth