The next passage was longer and colder, its walls narrowing into a jagged tunnel that seemed to spiral deeper into the earth. Max's flashlight cast long, flickering shadows on the uneven surfaces, making the strange symbols seem alive, crawling like spectral worms.
The air grew heavier with each step, and a faint, rhythmic sound echoed ahead. It was almost like breathing—deep, labored, and uncomfortably close.
Max stopped to catch his breath, leaning against the wall. His mind churned with questions, each more unsettling than the last. What had the creature meant by "the Void"? And why had it called Viktor a betrayer?
The locket around his neck felt heavier now, as though the weight of its secrets had become physical. He unclasped it again, staring at the ouroboros symbol. The faint warmth had returned, pulsing rhythmically in time with the breathing sound ahead.
With a deep breath, Max pressed on.
The passage ended abruptly in a massive, cavernous space. The walls were made of the same crystalline material as before, but these pulsed faintly, as if alive. In the center of the cavern was a circular platform surrounded by jagged spires that jutted upward like broken teeth.
The breathing sound was louder now, coming from the shadows beyond the platform. Max's stomach churned as he realized it wasn't breathing at all—it was the sound of movement, slow and deliberate, like something dragging itself across the cavern floor.
"Who's there?" Max called out, his voice cracking.
The sound stopped. The cavern fell deathly silent, and Max's own breathing seemed deafening in the void.
Then, a voice—deep, guttural, and filled with malice—answered.
"You are the son of Kron."
Max spun toward the voice, his flashlight shaking. In the shadows beyond the spires, a massive shape stirred. Its form was indistinct, shifting like smoke, yet its presence was overwhelming.
"I don't know what you want!" Max shouted. "I'm just trying to find my father!"
The shape moved closer, and as it emerged into the faint light, Max's breath caught. It was not a creature but a mass of writhing tendrils, each one studded with glowing eyes that stared directly at him. The thing's form was constantly shifting, never staying still long enough for Max to fully comprehend its size.
"He came seeking knowledge," the voice rumbled. "He left destruction in his wake."
"What does that mean?" Max demanded, gripping the locket tightly. "What did he do?"
The tendrils coiled and uncoiled, the glowing eyes never leaving him. "He opened the way. He fed the Void."
Max took a step back, his heart pounding. The locket in his hand flared again, the ouroboros symbol glowing faintly. The creature recoiled slightly, its tendrils withdrawing as if burned.
"You bear his mark," it hissed. "You carry his sin."
"I don't understand!" Max shouted. "What sin? What is the Void?"
The creature's form shifted violently, its voice rising in anger. "The Void is hunger. It is the end. Your father called it forth, and now it seeks to consume all."
Max stumbled, his mind racing. This was too much—too big. His father had opened something, unleashed something, and now it was hunting.
The creature surged forward, and Max braced himself, but it stopped just short of the platform, its tendrils writhing angrily.
"You cannot escape it," the voice growled. "The Void remembers. The bloodline is cursed."
Max's grip on the locket tightened. "If it's hunting me, then tell me how to stop it!"
The creature paused, its many eyes narrowing. "There is no stopping the Void. There is only submission—or annihilation."
The cavern trembled, and the creature began to dissolve, its form collapsing into a mass of shadows that seeped into the cracks of the crystalline walls.
Before it vanished completely, the voice echoed one last time, softer but no less menacing.
"The Key lies in the heart of the Betrayer's work. Seek it, or be devoured."
The cavern fell silent once more. Max stood frozen, his chest heaving. The locket had gone cold again, its light extinguished.
He looked around the cavern, his eyes falling on the circular platform at the center. Something about it felt wrong, like it was waiting for him.
With hesitant steps, he approached, the pulsing crystals lighting his way. As he reached the platform, he noticed a small pedestal at its center. On it lay a book, its leather cover worn and cracked with age.
Max picked it up carefully, brushing away the dust. The title was barely legible, but he could make out the words:
"Codex of the Waking Depths."
Flipping it open, he found page after page of alien symbols, diagrams, and notes written in his father's unmistakable handwriting.
Max's hands shook as he turned the pages, the weight of the discovery pressing down on him. This was it. This was the beginning of whatever Viktor had done.
The answers were here—but so were the dangers.
Max tucked the book into his bag and stepped back from the platform. The path behind him was gone, replaced by another corridor leading even deeper into the structure.
There was no turning back now.