The moment Anant and Surya stepped inside the Black Citadel, the gates slammed shut behind them with a deafening finality. The sound echoed through the dark, endless corridors like a death knell, sending a chill down Anant's spine.
A thick, unnatural fog clung to the air, coiling around their feet like hungry spirits. The walls seemed to pulse and shift, as though the very structure of the fortress was alive. Shadows twisted unnaturally in the flickering torchlight, shifting even when there was no movement.
"This place is a nightmare," Surya muttered, his grip tightening around his sword.
Anant exhaled, pushing away the gnawing unease creeping into his mind. "Then let's wake it up."
They pressed forward, each step eerily amplified in the deathly silence.
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The Voices of the Damned
The deeper they ventured, the colder the air became. The silence wasn't just emptiness—it was unnatural, oppressive. Every so often, whispers slithered through the darkness, faint but unmistakable.
Anant paused, narrowing his eyes. "Do you hear that?"
Surya nodded grimly. "Voices. But not human ones."
A shiver ran down Anant's spine. The whispers weren't words, but fragments of pain—echoes of the countless souls trapped within these walls.
Then, suddenly—the path split into three.
A trick. A trap.
Before them stood three separate corridors, each more foreboding than the last.
The leftmost passage was completely engulfed in darkness, an abyss that swallowed even the dim light from their torches. It was the kind of blackness that wasn't just the absence of light, but something alive, watching, waiting.
The middle passage flickered with a strange red glow, like smoldering embers in the distance. The walls pulsed, and every few seconds, a deep, guttural sound echoed from within, as if something massive was breathing.
The rightmost passage sent a wave of nausea through Anant. The air was thick with the stench of death, a putrid, suffocating rot that burned his nostrils. The walls were slick with something wet, and faint, inhuman moans drifted from the shadows.
"We can't afford to get lost," Anant said, his voice low.
Surya hesitated, then pulled out a small dagger. Without hesitation, he pressed it against his palm, drawing a thin line of crimson blood. He let it drip onto the stone floor, marking their trail.
"If we get separated, follow the blood."
Anant nodded. His eyes flickered between the three passages. Each path led to suffering—but which one led to Rudrakaal?
After a moment of consideration, he pointed to the rightmost passage.
"This one," Anant decided.
The moment they stepped forward, the ground shifted beneath them.
The Citadel had made its choice.
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A Maze of Madness
The corridor twisted and warped around them, as if the very walls were alive. The deeper they went, the more distorted reality became. Shadows moved without a source, whispers grew into distant screams, and the walls seemed to breathe, exhaling cold, damp air.
Surya gritted his teeth. "This place… it's warping our minds."
Anant touched the pendant around his neck, feeling the faint warmth pulsing from it. The divine energy within was the only thing keeping the darkness at bay.
Then, the corridor opened into a vast chamber.
The sight that awaited them froze them in place.
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The Pit of the Forgotten
The chamber stretched farther than the eye could see, filled with towering cages hanging from the ceiling like grotesque ornaments. Inside each cage, mangled, skeletal figures twitched and whispered in agony.
"Help… us…"
A raspy voice echoed from a nearby cage. Anant turned, his stomach twisting. Inside was a gaunt, hollow-eyed man, his body covered in deep, festering wounds. His lips barely moved, yet his words echoed directly into Anant's mind.
"Who are you?" Anant asked.
The man's lifeless eyes focused on him. "We… were like you. Warriors. We came… to stop him."
Surya clenched his fists. "Rudrakaal did this?"
The man gave a slow, agonized nod. "He… consumes us. Our pain… feeds his power."
Anant gritted his teeth. "Then we'll end this."
The man's bony fingers curled around the bars. "Beware… the Guardian."
Before Anant could ask what he meant, a low, guttural growl rumbled through the chamber.
The air grew thick with malevolence. The torches flickered violently, their glow struggling against the encroaching darkness.
Something massive was waking up.
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The Guardian of the Labyrinth
A deep snarl erupted from the far end of the chamber. A massive, four-armed beast stepped out of the shadows, its body stitched together from countless corpses. Its eyes burned with blue fire, and jagged black chains wrapped around its limbs.
"The Guardian…" Surya murmured.
The beast roared, shaking the entire room.
Then it charged.
Anant barely dodged as the Guardian's massive clawed fist smashed into the stone floor, sending cracks spiraling outward. Surya darted to the side, slashing at its leg, but his blade barely cut through the cursed flesh.
"This thing's durable!" Surya yelled.
Anant leaped back, gripping his staff tightly. If brute force wasn't enough, then…
He closed his eyes, focusing on the energy within the pendant.
A golden light erupted around him, momentarily blinding the Guardian. It staggered back, snarling in pain as wisps of smoke rose from its cursed flesh.
"It's weak to divine energy!" Anant shouted.
Surya didn't hesitate. He pressed his blade against Anant's glowing pendant, letting the light infuse the metal. Then, with a powerful swing, he slashed across the beast's chest.
The Guardian howled in agony, stumbling backward. The divine-infused wound burned through its corrupted flesh, sending waves of white-hot pain through its body.
Anant seized the moment. He lunged forward, slamming his staff into the center of its chest.
A burst of light erupted.
The Guardian screamed one last time before disintegrating into ash.
Silence fell.
Surya exhaled, wiping sweat from his brow. "Well… that was fun."
Anant glanced at the cages above. The spirits within were silent now, their suffering finally ended.
But there was no time to rest.
At the end of the chamber, a massive stone door slowly creaked open, revealing another dark passage.
Surya sighed. "Something tells me the worst is yet to come."
Anant stepped forward. "Then let's finish this."
With that, they descended deeper into the Black Citadel.
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