The side passage narrowed until my shoulders brushed stone on both sides.
Every step echoed too loudly, even with Shadow Step dampening my movement.
The air here was different—warmer, faintly humming, as if the ruins themselves were breathing. Symbols carved into the walls grew denser, overlapping in layers like generations of forgotten warnings written on top of one another.
The system map struggled.
MAP ERROR
ARCHITECTURE: NON-STANDARD
DATA SOURCE: ANCIENT
Ancient. That word carried weight.
I slowed, placing my palm against the wall. The stone was warm.
Then it pulsed.
I jerked my hand back as a low whisper slid through the passage—not sound exactly, but pressure, like thoughts brushing against mine.
Fragments surfaced.
Fear. Resolve. Regret.
The system chimed, cautious this time.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANOMALY
STATUS: COGNITIVE RESONANCE
WARNING: MENTAL STRAIN POSSIBLE
"So now the walls think," I muttered.
The passage opened into a circular chamber etched floor to ceiling with runes. At its center stood a broken obelisk, split down the middle, its core exposed and glowing faintly gold.
The whispers grew louder here.
I caught words now.
Too late…
We sealed it…
It wasn't enough…
My head throbbed. I staggered, gripping the sword to steady myself.
The system reacted immediately.
MENTAL STABILITY: DECLINING
RECOMMENDED ACTION: WITHDRAW OR INTERACT
Interact with the whispering ruin. Great.
As I approached the obelisk, the glow brightened. The whispers sharpened, no longer random.
They were speaking to me.
Chosen…
Another survivor…
Will you learn faster than we did?
I swallowed hard. "Learn what?"
The obelisk flared.
ANCIENT RECORD ACTIVATED
PARTIAL MEMORY DOWNLOAD INITIATED
Pain exploded behind my eyes.
I dropped to one knee as images flooded my mind—soldiers in gleaming armor, mages carving runes into stone, entire districts collapsing as gates were sealed. Monsters pouring through fractures in reality.
Desperate faces making impossible choices.
The empire hadn't fallen in a single night.
It had been eaten from the inside, slowly, methodically.
And the system—
The system had been there from the beginning.
Not a savior.
A test.
I gasped as the flood stopped, vision blurring.
MEMORY DOWNLOAD COMPLETE
KNOWLEDGE GAINED: BASIC RUIN LORE
EFFECT: INCREASED THREAT AWARENESS IN ANCIENT ZONES
I sat there for a long moment, breathing through the ache.
"They knew," I whispered. "They all knew."
The whispers softened, losing their edge.
Those who listened lived longer…
Those who ignored the warnings fed the ruins…
A sharp sound snapped me back.
Footsteps.
Not skittering. Not dragging.
Human.
I rolled behind a fallen slab just as a figure entered the chamber—a man in torn leather armor, crossbow raised, eyes darting nervously.
Another survivor.
The system chimed softly.
ENTITY IDENTIFIED: HUMAN (PLAYER)
LEVEL: 4
STATUS: WARY
RECOMMENDED ACTION: CAUTION
He spotted the glow of the obelisk and froze.
"So it's true," he muttered. "The whispers are real."
I stepped out slowly, sword lowered but visible. "They are. And they're not lying."
His crossbow twitched toward me, then lowered slightly. "You alone?"
"For now."
He exhaled. "Good. This place eats loners and fools. Sometimes both."
The whispers stirred again, curling around us.
The system pulsed.
DYNAMIC EVENT DETECTED
OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE: ALLIANCE FORMATION
RISK: MODERATE
POTENTIAL BENEFIT: SHARED SURVIVAL PROBABILITY
I looked at the man, then at the glowing obelisk.
The ruins didn't just whisper warnings.
They remembered.
And they were watching to see who would listen.
I sheathed the dagger and extended a hand—not trust, not yet, but possibility.
"Then let's not be either," I said. "The ruins have more to say. We should hear them together."
The whispers rose, almost approving.
Somewhere deep beneath the fallen empire, the past leaned closer.
And for the first time, I wasn't the only one listening.