Azad's breath caught in his throat as he took in the ancient city sprawled before him. The place was unlike anything he had ever seen; it was both haunting and captivating. Towering pillars, crumbling yet regal, reached upward, disappearing into the cavern's ceiling. They were adorned with faded carvings and strange symbols whose meaning had been lost to the ages. Scattered around the city were massive, decayed mansions, their walls draped in creeping vines and fractures that ran through the stone like veins, reminding Azad of the fragility of everything that once thrived in this forgotten world.
As he walked further into the city, the stone floor beneath him pulsed with an eerie, heartbeat-like glow. He found himself mesmerized by the strange blue-green hue that flickered through the floor, casting twisted shadows across the ruins before quickly fading back into darkness. It was as if the city itself was breathing, and the rhythmic glow almost seemed to be guiding him deeper.
"This place… it's unreal," he murmured, his voice bouncing off the walls of the cavern and echoing back to him in a faint whisper. "An entire city buried down here… how long has it been hidden like this?" He shook his head in disbelief. "I must be the first to set eyes on this place in centuries, maybe even longer." The thrill of discovery sent a shiver down his spine, filling him with a strange mix of awe and anticipation.
He moved carefully through the streets, his gaze darting between the crumbling structures and decaying arches, the signs of a once-thriving city now claimed by silence and darkness. The notion of hidden treasure began to play in his mind, and he couldn't suppress a grin. "After all I've been through… maybe this place has something to make it all worth it. Come on, just one chest of gold, or a legendary weapon." He chuckled to himself. "The world has to show me some kindness eventually, right?"
As if in answer to his musings, he spotted it—a lone chest sitting in the middle of an open plaza, surrounded by dark, claw-like tendrils that twisted up from the ground. The chest was faintly illuminated by the rhythmic glow from the floor, as if it were a prize just waiting for him. His instincts urged caution, but excitement surged through him, overriding the nagging doubts.
Azad's eyes narrowed with determination as he broke into a run toward the chest. His footsteps echoed across the stone, each step sending a pulse through the strange floor beneath him, vibrations rippling outwards in waves.
"Just waiting for me to take it…" he whispered, his heart pounding. But as he drew closer, a strange sensation prickled at the back of his neck. The floor's pulsing seemed to intensify, and the blue light grew erratic, as if warning him.
"Something doesn't feel right…" he muttered, slowing his pace just a few feet from the chest. But the lure of the treasure drowned out his better judgment. "No, it's fine. It's just nerves. What could possibly go wrong?"
He reached out to open the chest, but just as his hand hovered above it, the ground started to tremble violently, making him stagger backward. The gentle pulse from the floor turned into a rapid thrum, like a heartbeat racing in panic. Dark cracks began to spider across the stone, the ground beneath him rumbling ominously.
"What… what is happening?" Azad whispered, glancing around in alarm. The light flickered chaotically, sending shuddering shadows across the ruins.
Then, with a thunderous crack, the ground split open, and from the depths emerged a massive creature. The beast rose slowly, its massive frame shrouded in pitch-black skin marked with eerie blue veins that pulsed in sync with the glow from the floor. Each step it took sent a shockwave through the ground, the sound reverberating through the cavern like a heavy drumbeat.
Azad's eyes widened as he took in the creature's full form. It towered over everything, its muscular frame covered in what looked like hardened armor. Its chest heaved with each deep, guttural breath, sending out waves of sound that seemed to make the very walls vibrate. The beast had no eyes, but it tilted its head in his direction, almost as if it sensed his presence.
"… what is that thing?" he breathed, his heart hammering as he stumbled back. Every instinct screamed at him to run, yet his legs felt rooted to the spot.
The creature let out a bone-rattling roar, the sound a deep, guttural growl that seemed to reach into his chest and squeeze the air from his lungs. The sheer force of the sound seemed to awaken the city itself; the shadows flickered in chaotic patterns, as if even they feared the beast.
Azad took a shaky breath, his voice barely audible. "Alright… this wasn't the treasure I was hoping for."