A deep *rumble* echoed through the chamber as ancient mechanisms shifted into motion. Dust and stone trembled under Alina's feet, and the glowing carvings along the walls pulsed like a beating heart.
Kael stepped in front of her instinctively, sword raised. "Tell me this is just a normal reaction to uncovering long-lost knowledge."
Alina swallowed hard. "I… don't think so."
The object on the pedestal—a metallic disc etched with intricate celestial patterns—began to glow. The energy radiating from it crackled through the air, making the hairs on Alina's arms stand on end.
"This isn't just some artifact," she murmured, stepping closer despite the danger. "It's a *conduit.*"
Kael kept his eyes on the shifting chamber. "A conduit for what?"
Before she could answer, the symbols on the walls *flared*—and something else stirred in the darkness.
A deep, guttural *groan* reverberated through the space. It wasn't the stone. It wasn't the ruins.
It was *something alive.*
Kael grabbed Alina's arm, pulling her back. "We need to move."
The pedestal trembled, and the metallic disc rose into the air, spinning slowly. The energy around it coalesced into something almost *tangible*, forming shifting patterns in the air.
Alina's breath caught. "It's a map."
Kael's grip on his sword tightened. "Great. A map to what?"
Alina's fingers traced the glowing constellations. "Not what. *Where.*"
But before she could piece together the meaning, the air behind them shifted—
And the stone door they had entered through *shattered.*
The robed figures had found them.
And they weren't alone.
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