Hours passed as the creature lost himself in a restful sleep, entirely unaware of the eyes quietly watching him from behind the walls.
Birds soared under the sky as the sun climbed higher, eventually taking its place at the center of the heavens.
The creature stirred awake as sunlight streamed directly onto him.
He slowly sat up, stretching his limbs and looking at the sky with drowsy eyes.
The sky was beautiful—far more vibrant than when he first arrived on this world.
The creature had slept for an unusually long time—much longer than he was accustomed to. His body felt heavy and light at the same time, a sensation he found profoundly strange.
As the sunlight reflected off the statue's eye, the creature's attention was drawn to the glimmer.
He got up and began to examine the statue more closely. He walked over and placed his hand on its surface.
It was cold to the touch… The statue was made of Dhavacel, a rare metal monopolized by the Kiren Empire. But this metal was pure, its properties unmatched—immensely durable and capable of absorbing energy efficiently. It was a material left behind by the Ancients, and only the Harkin race of the Kiren Empire was known to have the ability to melt and shape it. Whether anyone else could work with it was a mystery.
The statue bore numerous holes across its body. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be over twenty of them.
Near its base, the creature found a stone tablet inscribed with what appeared to be words written in an unfamiliar language. He paid it little attention and instead retrieved tools from his pack to climb the statue, aiming to investigate the source of the reflected sunlight coming from its left eye—the portion uncovered by its helmet.
Using his equipment, the creature managed to climb up to the statue's head, standing cautiously on its shoulder as he made his way toward the eye.
Inside the eye socket, he found a small gem encased by fragments of metal.
"Maybe I can give them this gem and tell them I found what they were looking for," he muttered, a visible smile forming on his face as he reached out and grabbed the gem. Slowly and carefully, he began to pull it free.
But his smile quickly vanished as the metal fragments began to spin rapidly around the gem. In a split-second reaction, he pulled his hand away just in time to avoid injury.
The gem suddenly emitted a deep violet glow.
The creature had no idea what was happening, and he didn't want to find out. Acting quickly, he used his tools to descend, grabbed his pack, put on his helmet, squeezed back through the hole in the wall, and ran as fast as he could toward the ruins.
A thunderous roar erupted from the direction of the statue, sending chills down his spine.
The sound was terrifying, but the creature didn't waste a single second looking back to investigate. He kept running, his focus solely on getting away.
The sound of heavy footsteps grew louder, and the distance between him and whatever pursued him was closing fast.
Panic-stricken, the creature veered off the dirt path and into the ruins, hoping to lose his pursuer among the debris.
The ground trembled violently with each step of the massive entity, crushing everything in its path.
Desperate, the creature slipped into an abandoned house and hid, his breathing shallow and his heart pounding in his chest.
Cautiously, he peeked through a small hole in the wall, only to see the statue itself had come to life.
It moved through the ruins, searching and destroying some of the buildings as it went. The creature froze, barely daring to breathe, his heart feeling as though it had stopped altogether.
Before he could process what was happening, the statue smashed the house he was hiding in, sending the creature flying through the air.
He hit the ground hard but quickly scrambled to his feet, grabbed his weapon, and fired desperately at the towering figure. However, his shots were futile—the statue's armor deflected every bullet with ease.
The statue, undeterred, continued its approach, letting out a sound that seemed almost mocking, as if it found the creature's resistance amusing.
Standing at its full height of nearly 15 meters, the statue was an imposing figure of destruction.
Realizing his weapon was useless, the creature threw it aside in terror and resumed running, the statue relentlessly pursuing him. Every building he tried to hide in was reduced to rubble by the unstoppable juggernaut.
The creature's mind was consumed by fear and panic as he desperately searched for a place to hide. The statue alternated between a slow, menacing stride and sudden bursts of speed, all while emitting eerie sounds that echoed mockery.
Finally, the creature spotted a large hole in the city streets—an entrance to the sewer system. Without hesitation, or even a second thought, he jumped in.
He landed hard in the sewers, which, to his surprise, still seemed operational. It appeared that a river had taken over the channels, flowing steadily through the ancient tunnels.
The creature quickly moved through the sewers, choosing the first path he saw in front of him. It was, perhaps, the best decision he had made so far.
A thunderous crash followed, and the ground shook as the statue's foot smashed through the ceiling above.
The creature ran as fast as his legs would carry him, the sounds of destruction echoing behind him. Faster and faster he went, barely able to keep his balance, as the statue continued to break through the ceiling in pursuit.
Consumed by fear and desperation, he didn't notice where he was headed—straight toward a deep chasm where the river and sewer water converged into a massive waterfall.
By the time he realized what lay ahead, it was too late to stop.
The creature slipped, and with no other options, he fell into the abyss.
Closing his eyes, he braced for impact, raising his arms in a defensive position as the rushing waters swallowed him whole.