Max burst through the narrowing corridor, stumbling into a larger chamber. Max collapsed to the floor, gasping for air as the golden light from the locket dimmed and flickered out.
The silence that followed was suffocating. His heart pounded in his chest, and his limbs trembled uncontrollably. For a moment, he thought he could still hear the creature's shriek in the back of his mind—a phantom echo that refused to leave.
Max clutched the locket, its surface now cool and dull. "What the hell was that?" he whispered to himself, his voice trembling.
The chamber around him was starkly different from the others he had passed through. The walls were smoother, almost metallic, and the floor was etched with intricate patterns that seemed to pulse faintly with an internal rhythm. In the center of the room stood a pedestal, its surface cracked and weathered with age.
On the pedestal rested another object—a shard of the same crystal-like material he had seen before, but this one was fractured and glowing faintly.
Max pushed himself to his feet, his legs still weak. He approached the pedestal cautiously, half-expecting another monstrosity to emerge from the shadows.
The shard seemed to hum as he got closer, a soft vibration that resonated in his chest. Reaching out with a hesitant hand, he touched it.
The instant his fingers brushed the surface, a wave of images crashed into his mind.
Survive it