It wasn't wind.
It wasn't sound.
It was the weight of something… something heavy, unseen, yet pressing against every inch of skin. The cobblestone ground seemed to breathe with it, as if exhaling a deep, cold breath. Even the moon, which had bathed them gently for hours, dimmed just slightly. Not enough to plunge them into darkness, but enough to change the mood completely.
A figure appeared.
Not walked in.. materialized.
Ahead, just past the center of the clearing, a man stood. Young, but not youthful. Mature, but untouched by age. His long golden hair glimmered faintly under the moon's muted light, flowing past his shoulders in waves of silk. His eyes… they were golden. Not golden like sunlight. Not golden like jewelry.
Golden like molten metal.
There was no white in them. No iris. Just liquid gold, glowing with a serene and inhuman calm.
He wore white. A garment so clean it looked untouched by dust or earth. Across his chest was a golden "X"... simple in shape, yet unnerving. From a distance, it was just a symbol. But up close… anyone who stared too long into it could feel their thoughts drifting, as if being pulled into a current they didn't understand. As if drowning in something too vast to name.
Zolli's breath caught.
Vadd's eyes narrowed slightly, his expression still unreadable but alert.
The other children grew still, as if frozen in a single, shared breath.
The figure said nothing. He just stared, the golden oceans of his eyes sweeping across them. He didn't need to speak. His presence alone filled the clearing like a tide.
Then, from the side gate, another figure stepped out.
Captain.
The same tall man from earlier... broad-shouldered, square-jawed, dressed in a soldier's uniform bearing a dark insignia. Around him clung an aura of command. Fearless, cold, almost mechanical.
But even he... he dropped to his knees.
His movements were smooth, rehearsed, like muscle memory. He bent forward, lowering himself until his forehead touched the ground before the golden-eyed man. Then slowly... he reached forward and placed a kiss on the man's bare foot.
"Prophet…" he spoke, voice hushed, trembling with reverence. "I've brought the fourth batch of children, as ordered… I ask for blessing."
He didn't lift his head.
No one moved.
Not the children.
Not Zolli.
Not Vadd.
Not even Yai Lu in her arms.
The figure… the one they called Prophet… watched the kneeling captain in silence.
And then… slowly… he smiled.
It was not wide. Not cruel. Not kind.
It was calm. Serene. Like a sunlit lake just before it pulls you under.
And then...
he spoke!
His voice was....
....holy.
It didn't echo. It didn't need to.
It resonated.
It was the kind of voice that made the children's knees weaken. That made the world itself seem quieter, as if all else dared not speak over it. His words were simple… yet there was something beneath them. Like the whisper of a thousand prayers said backward.
Something ancient.
Something terrifyingly beautiful.
And in that moment… many of the children suddenly understood why the captain had kissed his feet.
And why they might do the same.
"I give you my blessings…", the Prophet finally spoke. "Stand up, my child. Let's begin with what we came for."
His voice was calm... too calm. Smooth like a breeze brushing across still water, yet heavy like the quiet before a landslide. The Prophet's golden eyes shimmered faintly under the dim light of the cobblestone room, and for a moment, time itself seemed to pause.
The Captain, a towering man, stepped forward. The weight of his presence spread like a cold fog. His broad shoulders dipped slightly, his right knee lowering to the cobbled ground in reverence. His squared face, chiseled like a statue, remained blank as he bowed. Then, with a fluid motion born of practice, he rose again and stepped to the Prophet's side, standing still... like a shadow that refused to detach from its source.
The heavy silence returned… only to be broken by the soft sound of cloth swaying. The Prophet turned slowly, so slow it was almost theatrical toward the gathered children.
Dozens of them stood there, shoulder to shoulder, not making a sound. No one moved. The flickering torches on the walls cast long shadows that danced behind them like silent ghosts.
With a serene smile stretched over his lips, the Prophet finally spoke.
"Children of this world..."
His voice echoed.. yet not through volume, but through weight.
"I apologize... for the sorrowful loss of your loved ones."
His words felt like feathers brushing against skin, soft and light but carried a sting that clung like a whisper of guilt. He paused for just a breath, golden eyes scanning each child.
"If I could turn back the hands of time… I would give all that I am to do so."
Another pause. But this time, it lingered longer… deeper.
"…But fate," he said softly, "cannot be tampered with. We are all bound to it."
His smile didn't falter. But the air shifted.. thicker now. Like the room itself had begun to breathe slower. Denser. The walls, once silent witnesses, seemed to lean inward. The torches dimmed, though no wind stirred them.
Zolli's chest tightened.
A slow squeeze… then tighter. And tighter.
It was like someone had reached into her ribcage and was slowly pressing her lungs shut. She gasped, but barely any air came in. Her legs shook, her fingers twitching. She looked around, hoping.. praying that someone else noticed this pressure.
But none of them did.
Vadd, standing tall with his usual unreadable calmness, had his head slightly lowered in reverence. His deep orange eyes, once alive with quiet awareness, now gleamed with something… foreign.
Yai Lu, her little junior brother, eyes wide.. not with fear, but admiration. His hands were clasped before him like he stood before a god.
The other children... every single one of them wore that same expression. Eyes shining. Faces slack with worship. As if some invisible thread had wrapped around each of them, pulling their minds into a shared trance.
Zolli's heart pounded. Her emerald eyes darted from one familiar face to another. No one blinked. No one twitched. Their bodies weren't frozen, but… held. Enchanted.
And she was the only one left out.
Why?
She took one slow step back, her arms wrapped tightly around herself. Her long hair.. midnight black with that single silver streak at the right brushed against her waist as she trembled.
Then, the Prophet spoke again. His words slow. Carried with unbearable grace.
"Children… I have come bearing great news from the depths of creation."
The room didn't echo this time. The walls swallowed his words.
"Fate," he continued, "has given us… a loophole."
He took a step forward, and though his feet barely made sound on the cobblestones, it was as if the world moved beneath him.
"And I, as your Prophet… stand here today to ask... no, to plead…"
He raised one hand, palm open.
"…Will you join us? To fight back against the creatures that seek to annihilate all of mankind?"
His gaze swept over them again.
"..…will you join us?"
And then…
All at once, as if controlled by one mind...
"Yes, Prophet," they replied.
In perfect unison. Voice after voice layering into a single, empty harmony. They bowed together, heads lowered like loyal followers at the feet of their savior.
Zolli's skin prickled. Every hair stood on end. Her breath hitched. It was wrong. Something about this entire room felt tainted. Hollow. Dead.
Even the air tasted… stale.
But she bowed too. She had to. Her hands clenched into fists, hidden within her rough robe. She mimicked the others' motions, lowering her head with them.. though every muscle in her neck fought back. She didn't want to do this. She didn't want to bow to that thing.
But she had no choice.... Not now. Maybe not ever.
"Prophet…" the Captain spoke again.
His tone was flat, but respectful. He didn't continue immediately, he waited. As if asking permission.
The Prophet gave a nod, and the Captain followed with a crisp, "Yes, Prophet."
He turned, then lifted his hand with a sharp, commanding motion.
"Proceed."
The guards moved instantly.. no hesitation, no questions. Their boots hit the floor like war drums. They marched toward the far side of the room, where none of the children stood.
Then...click! Crack!! Grraaaaaak!!!!
The ground trembled.
The cobblestone floor groaned, stones splitting apart like jaws unhinging. An enormous mechanism revealed itself beneath.. metal gears spinning, grinding. The floor opened wider, creaking like the bones of an ancient beast.
And from that chasm… it rose.
A cage.
Massive. Metallic. Dark as pitch. Each bar as thick as a man's arm, twisted and forged into raw, thorn-like designs. It clanked into place with a final shudder.
But Zolli didn't stare at the cage.
She stared at what was inside it.
There.. at its center loomed a being unlike anything she had seen before. A creature draped in layers of black wings, folded tightly like a cocoon. It stood on two clawed legs, hunched and silent, yet its sheer size dwarfed everything around it. Even the cage struggled to contain it.. the tips of its wings brushed the upper bars, as if the thing had to shrink itself just to fit inside.
It breathed.
Slowly.
One inhale shook the floor. One exhale darkened the air. Its breaths were labored, but alive.
Alive.
It wasn't just some relic or corpse.
It was living.
Yet none of the children reacted.
Not a single gasp.
Not a twitch of fear.
Even Yai Lu, standing barely a few feet from Zolli, stared ahead with dull admiration. As if he saw nothing horrifying at all. As if this monstrous entity.. this sleeping god of nightmares, was as normal as a gentle breeze.
Zolli's knees nearly buckled.
Her fingers trembled against her sides, gripping the hem of her robes. Her mind screamed at her to run with her brother, to shout, to do something. But she didn't move. Couldn't.
She felt like a lone survivor on a ship full of puppets.
And the Prophet's voice lingered still, wrapping around them all like a chain made of gold and poison...