Opening his eyes, Morgan found himself lying on cold, smooth stone. The chill seeped into his skin, and the sensation brought him back to reality. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the dim light. Jamie was beside him, curled up but slowly stirring awake. No one else was with them.
Morgan pushed himself to his feet, feeling a slight ache in his muscles from whatever journey had brought them here. His fingers grazed the cold stone beneath him—polished, almost like marble but darker, more ancient. When he stood fully, he couldn't believe what he was seeing.
They were inside a colossal structure. A castle, maybe, but it was like no castle he'd ever imagined. Everything was impossibly vast, stretching beyond any normal scale. He craned his neck to look upward, but there was no ceiling, just an overwhelming, endless height that disappeared into darkness. It was as if they were trapped in a place built for giants, or as if he were a doll in a giant's playhouse.
"This place…" Morgan whispered, his voice barely breaking the eerie silence.
Jamie stirred beside him, groaning as he sat up. "Where are we?"
Morgan glanced around, his eyes scanning the endless stone walls that stretched impossibly high. Massive archways lined the room, towering columns stood like pillars of some forgotten realm, and the air felt thick, almost oppressive.
"I don't know," Morgan replied, his voice hoarse. "But it's nothing like where we were before." He could still feel the storm's chaotic energy in his bones, but the calm here was almost worse. The stillness gnawed at him, making the space feel suffocating despite its size.
Jamie slowly rose to his feet, rubbing her arms to shake off the cold. "Are we inside…a castle?"
Morgan nodded. "Seems like it. But look at the size of it. This place—there's no way it was built for people like us."
Jamie took a few steps forward, his footsteps echoing off the towering stone walls. "It feels like…we're so small." eyes darting around the room, taking in the intricate carvings that lined the walls—symbols and patterns she couldn't understand, but that felt ancient. Powerful.
Morgan's eyes followed her gaze. The carvings were strange, geometric shapes that wove together in impossible patterns. Some looked familiar—like constellations, or maps—but others were far more abstract, twisting in ways that hurt his eyes if he looked for too long.
"We need to figure out where we are," Morgan muttered, stepping forward cautiously. His voice seemed swallowed by the vastness of the space. "This place is too... empty. Where is everyone?"
Jamie wrapped his arms around himself, breath visible in the cold air. "I don't like this, Morgan. It doesn't feel right."
He didn't like it either. There was something wrong with the air here—something unnatural. The silence wasn't just silence; it was a void. No birds, no wind, no sound except their own breathing. It was like they had been swallowed by something ancient, something that had forgotten life altogether.
"We have to keep moving," Morgan said, his voice firmer now, though every instinct told him to stay still, to not disturb whatever watched from the shadows.
They moved cautiously, every step echoing too loud, too long. As they crossed the vast expanse of the room, Morgan began to notice more details. The walls weren't just stone—they were lined with murals, carved with images of beings that didn't look quite human. Their elongated limbs and faces were unsettling, and they seemed to shift when you weren't looking directly at them.
Jamie shivered. "What are these things?"
Morgan shook his head. "I don't know. But whoever built this place—they weren't like us." He could feel it, a deep sense of dread curling in his stomach.
They approached one of the towering archways, the door standing at least three times their height, crafted from a dark, polished stone that looked almost liquid. Beyond it was a narrow corridor, equally massive in scale but claustrophobic due to the sheer height of the walls.
Jamie glanced at Morgan, eyes wide. "Do we…go through?"
Morgan hesitated. Every nerve in his body screamed to turn back, to find another way. But there was no going back. He couldn't even remember how they'd gotten here. His last memory was of the storm, twisting reality around them—and then, darkness.
"We don't have a choice," he said, his voice low. "Stay close."
They stepped into the corridor, their footsteps growing quieter as the vastness of the castle swallowed the sound. As they walked, Morgan couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. He glanced back a few times, but nothing ever followed. Yet the sensation lingered—like invisible eyes traced their every move.
"Look at this," Jamie whispered, breaking the silence. He pointed to the walls again. The carvings had changed. Now they showed people—humans—gathered before a massive figure. The figure was draped in shadow, but it was clear that it towered over the people, its hand outstretched as if offering something… or taking something away.
Morgan stared at the image, a deep sense of foreboding settling over him. "Whoever built this place—they knew humans. Or at least, they encountered them."
Jamie swallowed. "But what happened to them?"
Morgan didn't answer. He didn't have to. The mural seemed to speak for itself. Whatever the figure had offered or taken, it hadn't ended well for the humans. Further down the wall, the images showed chaos—figures running, collapsing, the giant form of the shadowy figure looming over them like a god.
"We should keep moving," Morgan said, pulling Jamie along. But the further they went, the more oppressive the air became, until it felt like it was weighing down on their shoulders.
And then they saw it.
At the end of the corridor, bathed in a dim, unnatural light, was a massive door—larger than any they had passed before. It was intricately carved with symbols that pulsed faintly, as though alive. But what drew their attention most was what lay before it.
Bones. Hundreds of them, scattered across the stone floor, bleached white and brittle with age. Human bones.
Jamie gasped, stumbling back a step. "Oh my god…"
Morgan knelt down, his heart pounding. He picked up one of the bones, cold and light in his hand. There was no mistaking it. These weren't just remnants of the past—they were warnings. Whatever lay beyond that door wasn't meant to be disturbed.
"Whoever came here before us," Morgan said quietly, "they didn't make it out."
Jamie's face paled. "We need to leave. Now."
But Morgan couldn't take his eyes off the door. There was something about it—something that called to him, like a whisper in the back of his mind. He couldn't explain it, but he felt it deep in his bones.
"No," he said finally, standing and facing the door. "We're not leaving."
Jamie stared at him, horror etched into His features. "Are you crazy? We can't go in there! Look at what happened to them!"
Morgan turned, his expression hard. "We didn't come this far to turn back now."
Jamie opened He mouth to protest, but before He could, the ground beneath them rumbled, and a deep, resonant sound echoed through the hall. The symbols on the door flared brightly, casting an eerie glow over the bones, and the door began to creak open.
The Temple of Nahalli had awakened.