They walked.
Not in formation.
Not even in sync.
Just four people with four gods whispering in their ears and no map.
The corridor curved twice. Then straightened. Then sloped down.
Again.
Always down.
rlin walked at the edge of the group.
Dion stayed near the front, talking like this was a hike and not a divine stress test.
Mae hovered near the wall. Not hiding. Just… skimming the edge of everyone else's orbit.
Flint didn't speak. Didn't blink. Didn't seem to breathe louder than he had to.
rlin hated that he was starting to like him.
Dion broke the silence first.
"So. If we're all apostolic trialers, does that make us coworkers? Or cultists?"
Mae said nothing.
Flint did not blink.
rlin muttered, "Temporary at shields."
Dion grinned. "Oh, you're fun."
"No."
He wasn't.
They turned a corner. The walls changed again, smoother now, less carved. Still glowing faintly from within. The light shifted from blue-gold to sothing closer to amber.
It slled like iron.
Not blood.
Just tal worn too long.
rlin's eyes scanned the ceiling.
Still no cracks.
Still no monsters.
Which ant sothing was building.
Mae spoke, finally.
Her voice was like chalk on cold tile. Soft. But brittle.
"Do you think it's testing our trust?"
"No," rlin said.
She looked up.
He kept walking. "It's testing our expectations."
Dion gave a little whistle. "Cryptic and hot. No wonder your god hasn't smote you yet."
"Try that line again when we're not standing in a cursed tomb."
"Noted."
They kept walking.
Another corridor. Then a junction.
Flint stopped.
His head turned left.
No sound.
Still, he stared.
rlin asked, "What?"
"Dust flow changed."
"You're tracking airflow?"
"Yes."
Dion blinked. "This dude's a vacuum cleaner with PTSD."
No one laughed.
Not even Dion.
They turned left.
System pinged.
[Path Chosen: Insight Alignnt]
[Challenge Approaching: Discernnt]
[The ssenger leans in.]
[The Huntress folds her arms.]
[The Grin Beneath the Mask places a small bet.]
[Proceed.]
Mae touched the wall as they passed. Whispered sothing to it.
rlin caught part of it.
Not a spell. Just a na.
Not hers.
Soone else's.
He didn't ask.
Just walked.
Let the corridor get narrower. Let the stone breathe behind them.
Let the gods stack their coins.
Because soon?
One of them would make a move.
And this ti?
There wouldn't be a warning.
—
They reached a circular chamber.
No markings.
Just smooth stone. A little too smooth.
No torches. But still lit.
Sothing about that felt personal.
rlin stepped in second.
Dion first.
Mae and Flint followed behind.
The second they all passed the threshold—
[Seal Engaged]
[Chamber Type: Closed Cycle]
[Objective: Survive / Resolve / Reveal]
[The ssenger smiles, but says nothing.]
[The Huntress draws her bow. She does not fire.]
rlin's foot hit the center of the room.
The floor didn't shake.
The air didn't pulse.
Nothing moved.
Then Flint did.
No warning.
No sound.
He pivoted left. Arm flicked. Sothing flashed from his sleeve.
rlin stepped back just as the blade passed through the space his throat had been a half-second ago.
Veilstep surged.
He didn't vanish.
Didn't run.
He reappeared behind Flint. Pivoted. Kicked.
The man rolled with it.
Dion laughed. "Knew it."
Mae didn't move.
rlin dropped back three paces. "We doing this now?"
Flint straightened. Still calm.
"Needed to check."
"Check what?" rlin snapped.
"If you're worth killing."
rlin's eyes narrowed. "And?"
"Not yet."
[The Grin Beneath the Mask claps politely.]
[The Chainbreaker frowns. They expected more blood.]
[The ssenger tilts their head.]
Dion pulled a dagger from his belt.
But didn't lift it.
"You know, you could've just asked," he said, gesturing toward Flint. "Instead of trying to turn him into a decorative torso."
"I don't trust silence," Flint replied.
Mae stepped forward. Her voice didn't rise.
"Then stop expecting it from people like him."
rlin didn't speak.
He was still calculating.
Not whether to strike back.
But how fast he'd need to move if both Dion and Flint turned.
The system pulsed once.
[Chamber Objective Updated: Dynamic Resolution Engaged]
[Decision must be made: Vote / Duel / Follow]
[The room reacts to internal consensus.]
rlin blinked.
'…It's sentient now?'
Mae finally looked at rlin.
"I vote follow."
He t her eyes.
They didn't shake.
She ant it.
Dion raised his hand. "Sure. For now."
Flint said nothing.
But he stepped back.
The room pulsed.
The air shifted.
[Consensus Reached: Follow]
[Path Opens.]
The wall to the right hissed. Stone lted sideways.
New corridor.
New trial.
rlin exhaled.
No smile.
No relief.
Just one clean thought.
'He'll try again later.'
And when he did?
rlin wouldn't move second.
—
The wall opened like it regretted it.
Stone folded sideways with a hiss, revealing another corridor lined in that sa wrong-light glow.
Amber. Then green. Then just shadow pretending to be color.
Nobody spoke.
Because now they had to pretend this was still cooperation.
rlin stepped through first this ti.
Dion followed.
Mae walked close to the center, glancing at the edges like she expected the floor to whisper a secret.
Flint ca last.
Still silent.
Still carrying that casual posture of soone who'd rather stab than speak.
rlin didn't relax.
Not even a little.
The corridor narrowed. Then expanded. The labyrinth didn't care about symtry. Or sanity.
It just kept going.
"Anyone else think this whole trial is being run by the god of bad roommates?" Dion asked.
Mae didn't look up. "This is still the trial?"
"Isn't everything?" rlin muttered.
They walked ten more paces.
Then the room ahead opened.
Large. Circular. Again.
But this one had sothing in the middle.
A platform.
One pedestal.
Two objects.
A knife.
And a key.
System pinged.
[Trial of Divergence: CHOICE]
[Only one may be taken.]
[One opens a door.]
[One opens a throat.]
[You cannot share.]
Dion whistled low. "Well. That's subtle."
Mae looked between the key and the knife. "What happens if no one picks?"
rlin answered before the system could.
"We all die."
She didn't flinch.
Flint stepped closer to the pedestal. Didn't reach.
Just stared.
"I choose the knife," he said calmly.
"No," rlin replied, already moving between him and the platform. "You already tried murder today. You don't get a bonus round."
Dion stepped up beside them. "I'd like to not be part of a stabbing sandwich."
The system pinged again.
[Tir: 30 seconds]
[The gods grow impatient.]
Mae stepped back.
Flint didn't.
rlin stayed where he was.
Dion looked at both of them.
Then stepped forward, grabbed the key, and tossed it to Mae.
She caught it.
Fumbled slightly.
Held it.
"Congratulations," Dion said brightly. "You're in charge of doors now."
Flint's gaze didn't move.
rlin didn't either.
Dion looked at him. "Relax. I pick the knife."
He grabbed it.
And laughed.
"Huh. Not cursed. That's refreshing."
[Trial Passed: Path of Divergence]
[The gods nod. So in approval. So in boredom.]
[The ssenger adjusts his seat.]
A door slid open at the far end of the room.
No light.
Just breath.
From the other side.
Sothing waiting.
rlin turned his head slightly. "Next ti we let Flint pick first."
Flint said nothing.
But his hand didn't leave his coat pocket.
rlin noticed.
Mae looked at the key.
Didn't smile.
Just walked forward.
The rest followed.
—
The door opened without sound.
Which was sohow worse.
No screech. No thud. Just… open. Like it wanted to be found.
Mae went in first.
Not bravely. Just quietly.
Dion followed, spinning the knife once on his finger like a coin he couldn't spend.
rlin ca third.
Flint watched their backs like he was already planning to stab one.
The room was cavernous.
Stone ceiling. No light source.
But still lit.
Amber again. Mixed with deep rust-red, like soone had painted with dried blood and called it ambient design.
The floor dipped slightly in the center.
A pit?
No. Not deep enough.
Just depressed.
Like sothing big liked to sit there.
rlin's steps slowed.
Mae stopped entirely.
Dion stopped spinning the knife.
Even Flint's breath caught.
Then they all saw it.
At the far end of the room.
Pressed halfway into the wall like it had grown from the stone itself.
Not sleeping.
Not waiting.
Just still.
It was huge.
Eight feet tall, maybe more. Shoulders hunched under armor that wasn't armor, just bone hardened into plates. Its back curled in slow, steady rhythm. Breathing.
Barely.
Its face was wrong.
No eyes. Just a flat surface with hairline cracks that twitched every few seconds. Like sothing was trying to look out, but hadn't decided how.
Hands? Too long.
Claws curved backward.
Arms jointed wrong.
Like a sketch that didn't care about physics.
Dion whispered. "…So. That's not a dragon."
Mae's grip on the key tightened.
rlin's pulse didn't spike.
It just hardened.
Because he knew this thing.
Not personally.
But from the system.
From the page he wasn't supposed to read.
From the story that hadn't reached this chapter yet.
[ENTITY: Faceless Retainer]
[BEHAVIOR: Dormant until division is sensed]
[RESPONSE TYPE: Reactive / Punitive / Adaptive]
[NOTE: Combat initiates upon first sign of internal discord.]
rlin blinked.
"…Great."
Dion looked over. "What?"
"Nothing," he said. "Just don't argue."
"Why?"
The monster twitched.
Mae took a step back.
The room didn't breathe.
The monster did.
A slow inhale.
A crack appeared along its face.
Small.
Hairline.
Flint exhaled.
rlin hissed, "Do not speak."
The system pulsed again.
[Stage Set: Retainer of Division — ACTIVE]
[Trigger chanism: Disagreent, Doubt, or Violence]
[Hint: Choose your words like you an them.]
Dion swallowed.
Loudly.
"Okay," he whispered. "So we're playing charades with Satan's bodyguard. Good. Love that."
Mae just nodded.
Flint's hand hadn't moved.
But rlin saw the shift in his shoulder.
He whispered. "Flint. Don't."
Flint's head turned.
Slow.
He looked right at rlin.
Didn't blink.
Didn't speak.
Then?
The monster stood.
Reviews
All reviews (0)