The sun was no sooner up than David's group trudged deep into thick woods; with every step, it felt like the damp earth caved in a little more under their boots. The ruins they'd found—a haunting memory that was—there was simply no time to entertain fear. They had something they needed to do, and though fear resided in their hearts, they needed to move on.
Ivane walked beside David, his eyes darting through the trees as if expecting something to jump out at them at any moment. "You sure about this?" he asked, his voice low, almost a whisper.
David didn't answer right away, his mind returning to that ruin and the mark he'd seen there that pulsed—so strangely—with energy when he touched it. The thing had seared itself into his brain like a scar, its meaning both clear and vague. A warning. But a warning of what?
I don't know," David finally said. He sounded a little uncertain. "But we don't have a choice. If there was any truth to what we saw. If that power is real, then we have to find some way to use it."
Ivane frowned. "You realize just how insane that sounds, right? We're chasing something we don't even understand.
David turned to him, his face unreadable. "We're not chasing after anything. We're trying to survive."
The tension between them was palpable but nothing new; they had been through too much together to let that fracture the bond between them. Still, the weight of their situation hung heavy in the air. Every decision he made felt as if it could be their last.
Giorgi, walking a couple of paces in the back, suddenly said, the silence breaking open as his voice emerged from the rear. "You think the prophecy's real?"
The rest turned to him, but Giorgi wasn't one for mincing words or beating around the bush. "The one about the Builder," he continued. "That a hero would rise and bring balance or whatever. You think it's true?
David's face set. He had been thinking about the prophecy since they'd left the ruins, the words echoing in his mind like a haunting melody. The legend of the Builder, who could complete the Symbiote's power and restore balance to the world, was so utterly out of place, the stuff of fairy tales. But . now he wasn't so sure.
I don't know what to believe anymore," David said, quieter than usual. "But if there is even a chance, it's real. We have to be prepared."
Ivane shook his head, the skepticism written across his face. "You put a great deal of faith in an old story. Prophecies. They don't always happen quite the way people think they do.
David stopped walking and turned towards him, his eyes locking on Ivane's. "Perhaps. But what if this one does? What if all we have gone through—the Symbiotes, the ruins, the wars—it all points to this? We cannot just turn our heads away from it."
Ivane sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm not saying we ignore it. I just think we need to be careful. You've seen what power does to people. It changes them. And this. Whatever this is, it's bigger than any of us."
David nodded, his eyes softening. "I know. That's why we have to be careful.
The group continued onward in complete silence, the weight of their conversation settling over them like a heavy fog. The trees thinned out as they approached a clearing, and there, nestled between two towering cliffs, was the entrance to another set of ruins. Much older, ancient even from the last, and the very air around them seemed charged with energy.
"This is it," David said, more to himself than anyone else.
Giorgi came nearer cautiously, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "You really think we'll find answers here?"
David shrugged, eyes scanning the entrance. "There's only one way to find out."
They descended into the ruins, their footsteps echoing from the stone walls. The deeper into them they went, the colder the air became; soon the dim light of the entrance was consumed by the darkness. Ivane lit a torch, and in that moment, a warm glow fell, casting a long shadow along the wall.
The chamber they entered was enormous, with columns reaching up to darkness above. The walls were carved—ancient symbols and images depicting the rise of the Symbiotes to come, the destruction they brought forth, and the wars that ensued. It was a history in stone, telling of hope and despair.
"Look at this," Giorgi whispered, running his fingers across one of the carvings. "It's like. They knew this was going to happen."
David examined the carvings more closely, and with every beat, his heart seemed to pound harder in his chest. "They did. Whoever built this place, they knew."
Ivane went closer to the centre of the chamber, where, right in the middle, stood a huge stone pedestal, its surface smooth and unblemished by time. "What do you think this is for?
David arrived at the pedestal, his fingers skimming over the cold stone. "It's a marker. A key, maybe."
Ivane frowned. "A key to what?"
David didn't reply. Already, his mind was racing, fitting together pieces of what they had seen and experienced. The mark he had seen in the previous ruins, the prophecy, the power they had sensed—it all felt so interlinked. But how?
Suddenly, with no warning whatsoever, a low rumble tumbled through the chamber, and the earth began to shake beneath their feet.
"What the—" Giorgi stumbled backward, his blade materializing in his hand.
A look of wonder had filled David's eyes as the pedestal began to glow, a soft blue emanating from its surface. The carvings on the walls seemed to come alive as the symbols glowed with the same eerie light.
"I think we just found our answer," David whispered, his voice barely audible.
Ivane's hand tightened on the hilt of his sword. "This doesn't feel like an answer, David; it feels like a trap."
The light emanating from the pedestal increased, and before any of them could respond to the scene unfolding before them, a blinding flash of light filled the chamber, the ground gave way beneath them, and the world spun into chaos.
David felt the falling, his body weightless inside the blinding light, yet he didn't feel the slightest sense of fear. Rather, a sense of purpose stood above—a quiet voice buried at the back of his mind told him that this was where he was meant to be.
Then, in an instant, the light disappeared, and David found himself lying upon a cold stone, the air around him still, silent.
He opened his eyes to a sit-up, with his heart racing. The chamber was no more—just a sea of white before him, endless and empty.
And there, before him, one clad in shadow was standing, the eyes aglow with that green eldritch light.
"Who are you?" David asked, his voice trembling with fear and something like wonder.
It didn't answer immediately; it just stood, observing him, exuding menace and familiarity.
"I am the one you seek," the figure finally said after a few eternal moments, its voice reaching through the emptiness. "The one who will show you the truth."
David's breath stopped in his throat. "The Builder?"
The figure took a step closer. The shadows danced furiously around it, a whirling storm.
"Only you can decide that."