The next morning, Mikel awoke feeling more restless than ever. The encounter with the woman had left him with a storm of unanswered questions. Despite the fatigue weighing on him, sleep had been fleeting, plagued by fragmented dreams and haunting images he couldn't piece together.
As the dim light of dawn seeped into his room, Mikel sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the wooden floorboards. The inn's atmosphere felt heavier now, as though it was watching him, urging him forward.
A soft knock on the door broke his thoughts. Mikel hesitated before crossing the room to open it. Naira stood there, her expression unreadable but tinged with urgency.
"Come with me," she said simply, her tone leaving no room for argument.
Mikel nodded and followed her through the winding hallways of the inn. It struck him again how alive the place felt, the walls seeming to pulse with an unseen energy. Naira led him to a room he hadn't seen before—a small study filled with bookshelves, a large oak desk, and a faint smell of parchment and ink.
Dorian was waiting for them, seated at the desk. In front of him lay an ancient map, its edges frayed and its surface marked with strange symbols that seemed to shift when Mikel tried to focus on them.
"Good, you're here," Dorian said, his voice gruff but carrying a note of relief. "It's time you started to understand."
Mikel frowned, stepping closer to the desk. "Understand what? No one here seems willing to give me a straight answer."
Dorian chuckled, though there was no humor in it. "The inn doesn't deal in straight answers, lad. But it does offer guidance—if you're willing to see it." He gestured to the map. "This is the Map of Shadows. It shows the paths of those who stay at the inn. Each mark represents a choice, a memory, a truth revealed."
Mikel's gaze fell on the map. At first, it seemed like a jumbled mess of lines and symbols, but the longer he looked, the more it began to make sense. One path, in particular, stood out—darker and more erratic than the rest.
"That's you," Naira said, pointing to the dark path. "The inn has been guiding you, even when you didn't realize it. Every step you've taken here has been part of this journey."
Mikel's stomach twisted. "But I don't understand any of this. What journey? What's the end of this path?"
Dorian's expression darkened. "That's for you to discover. But be warned—every choice you make will shape your path. And not all paths lead to redemption."
The weight of Dorian's words settled heavily on Mikel. He wanted to ask more, but the map seemed to shift again, and a new symbol appeared—a glowing circle at the edge of the dark path.
"What does that mean?" Mikel asked, pointing to the circle.
Naira and Dorian exchanged a glance before Naira spoke. "It's a crossroads. A choice you'll need to make soon. The inn is showing you the way forward, but the decision will be yours."
Mikel's frustration boiled over. "Why can't anyone just tell me what's happening? Why does everything have to be so cryptic?"
Dorian's voice softened, though his gaze remained steady. "Because the truth isn't something that can be handed to you, lad. You have to earn it. The inn can guide you, but it can't choose for you."
Mikel clenched his fists, his mind spinning with questions. But as he stared at the map, he couldn't shake the feeling that the glowing circle was important—a turning point he couldn't afford to ignore.
"Fine," he said finally. "I'll play along. But I'm done with riddles. If this inn wants me to walk this path, I'll do it. But I'll find my own answers."
Dorian nodded, a hint of approval in his eyes. "That's the spirit, lad. The inn doesn't reward those who sit idle."
As Mikel turned to leave the room, the weight of the inn's expectations pressed down on him. The path ahead was uncertain, but one thing was clear: he couldn't turn back now.
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