The ominous door creaked open.
A freezing wind rushed through the doorway, carrying whispers that none of them could understand. The chamber beyond was enormous, disappearing into darkness. Hundreds of broken stone pillars rose from the ground like the remains of an ancient city.
Kai stepped forward first.
His footsteps echoed.
Once...
Twice...
Then a third echo answered.
Kai stopped.
"Did anyone else hear that?" he asked.
The group fell silent.
Vex tightened his grip on a broken metal rod he had picked up in the previous stage.
"We're being followed."
Before anyone could react, every entrance behind them vanished.
The game's mechanical voice echoed through the ruins.
"STAGE THIRTY-THREE."
A pause.
"WELCOME... TO THE GATE OF THE FORGOTTEN."
The ground trembled.
Ancient stone statues surrounding the chamber began to crack.
Pieces of rock fell away.
One statue slowly lifted its head.
Then another.
And another.
Their glowing crimson eyes opened together.
"They're alive..." someone whispered.
Kai looked around quickly.
"There are too many. Fighting all of them isn't possible."
The statues climbed down from their pedestals.
Each one stood nearly three meters tall, carrying enormous cracked weapons made of black stone.
Without warning—
One swung its massive axe.
"DOWN!" Kai shouted.
Everyone dropped.
The axe smashed into a pillar, reducing it to rubble.
Dust filled the chamber.
The sound awakened the remaining statues.
Dozens.
Maybe hundreds.
The entire ruin shook as they began marching.
Boom...
Boom...
Boom...
"They're surrounding us!" Vex yelled.
Kai forced himself to stay calm.
"Look at their movement."
The others stared.
The statues weren't random.
Every few seconds they paused...
Turned...
Then attacked again.
"They're following a pattern."
Kai pointed toward the far side of the ruins.
"There!"
Hidden between two enormous pillars was a stone gate glowing with silver symbols.
"The exit."
"But how do we reach it?" Mei asked.
Kai looked upward.
The ceiling was held together by thick chains.
Some were rusted.
Some were cracked.
A plan formed.
"We're not stronger than them..."
He smiled slightly.
"...but gravity is."
The group immediately understood.
Vex nodded.
"I'll distract them."
"No," Kai replied.
"We all will."
The statues charged.
Kai sprinted toward the nearest pillar.
The giant followed, raising its weapon.
At the last second Kai rolled away.
CRASH!!
The pillar shattered.
Exactly as he hoped.
The broken pillar slammed into another.
Then another.
A chain above snapped.
CLANG!!
A huge section of ceiling collapsed.
Three statues disappeared beneath tons of stone.
"It worked!" someone shouted.
"Keep moving!" Kai yelled.
The ruins erupted into chaos.
Statues chased the players while falling debris crashed around them.
The game itself seemed confused.
"WARNING..."
"ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE EXCEEDS PARAMETERS."
Kai smiled.
"So the game doesn't like improvisation."
Another statue blocked the path.
It raised a stone spear.
Vex grabbed a loose chain hanging from the ceiling and swung across a gap, landing behind the giant.
"Hey, over here!"
The statue turned.
Kai seized the opportunity.
"Everyone, run!"
The group dashed toward the silver gate.
Only twenty meters remained.
Then—
The ground cracked open.
A deep roar echoed from below.
The statues suddenly stopped moving.
Every one of them knelt.
Silence spread across the ruins.
Kai's heartbeat quickened.
"They're... bowing?"
The floor burst apart.
A gigantic hand of black stone emerged from beneath the ruins.
Then another.
Slowly, an enormous figure rose from the darkness, towering above every statue.
Its body was wrapped in ancient chains engraved with glowing runes.
Unlike the others...
Its eyes were blue.
Not red.
It looked down at Kai.
Then it spoke in a deep voice that shook the ruins.
"You are the first players... to reach my gate."
No one moved.
The giant continued.
"The Game fears those who ask questions."
Kai swallowed.
"Who are you?"
The giant was silent for several moments.
Finally, it answered.
"Long before you entered..."
"...I was the First Guardian."
The game's mechanical voice interrupted immediately.
Louder than ever.
"DO NOT LISTEN."
"THIS ENTITY HAS BEEN ERASED."
The Guardian slowly turned its glowing blue eyes toward the ceiling.
Then...
For the first time...
It smiled.
A deep crack spread across the sky above the chamber.
Kai stared upward in disbelief.
The sky...
Was breaking.
To Be Continued...