The forest canopy thinned, sunlight splintering through warped branches, when Sera raised a hand.
"Hold up. Something's moving."
Alex saw it a heartbeat later.
A massive shape pushed through the undergrowth—broad shoulders, thick green hide, curling horns. Each step crushed the forest floor.
A Green Bull.
Its hooves struck like thunder. Its eyes glowed faintly, unfocused but alert.
Liora's tendrils snapped into place around a fallen branch. Milo drew his blade, hesitation flickering across his face.
Alex's system window pulsed.
— — —
[ ENEMY DETECTED ]
Green Bull
Threat: 3
Existence: 1
Karma: 0
— — —
Strong. Real. Not malicious.
Just force.
Sera whispered, "Brute strength. No tactics."
The bull pawed the ground and charged.
Liora's tendrils lashed toward its legs. The creature twisted too late, slamming into a fallen tree with a roar that shook the canopy.
Alex stepped in—
—and his foot slipped on slick moss.
The ground vanished beneath him.
Instinct took over.
His wings flared for a fraction of a second—enough.
He landed silently, already masking the movement.
"Nice catch," he said quickly, nodding toward Liora's tendrils. "That slowed it."
Liora blinked, then flushed. "I—I guess."
The bull retreated into the deeper forest, crashing away through brush and shadow.
Milo exhaled. "That was too close."
Alex said nothing.
The adrenaline faded, leaving guilt sharp and unpleasant.
I can't keep doing this.
— — —
They didn't go far before the corridor narrowed.
Vines choked the stone passage, yellow-tipped and twitching. Symbols carved into the walls pulsed faintly.
The space opened into a circular chamber.
Alex froze.
At the far end stood a door—yellow, seamless, alive. No handle. Three brass eyes embedded in its surface.
At the center of the room sat a stone infant on a cracked pedestal.
Yellow vines coiled around it like veins.
The pressure hit immediately.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Sera whispered, "That's… wrong."
Liora shook her head. "This isn't mechanical. It's not something I can manipulate."
Alex stepped forward.
His chest burned. His skull throbbed. The memory of the dream pressed in—soft voice, yellow light, inevitability.
"I have to," he said.
Sera turned. "Alex—?"
He didn't stop.
The infant's stone gaze felt knowing.
The brass eyes spun.
The vines tightened.
Alex slammed his fists down.
The statue shattered.
Stone burst across the chamber. The brass eyes clattered to the floor, lifeless.
Behind him, the Yellow Door groaned open.
Alex turned sharply, breath ragged, eyes hard.
"Don't question me."
Silence.
"I knew what had to be done," he snapped. "Stop looking at me like that."
No one spoke.
The vines pulsed once—then fell still.
Alex turned away.
— — —
That night, sleep came violently.
He stood in a field of broken banners and silent forms.
Ahead of him walked a man.
Golden hoplite armor. Not reflective—emissive. Reality bent around him.
A spear. A shield.
With each strike, armies vanished.
Humans dissolved to ash. Void entities unraveled without resistance.
Order. Precision. Erasure.
The warrior stopped.
Lifted his shield.
A symbol burned into its surface.
A door.
Yellow vines crept from the seams of his armor—obedient.
The helm turned.
Not a face.
Brass eyes.
Waiting.
Alex woke gasping.
Not afraid.
Clear.
— — —
[ STATUS UPDATE ]
Madness: Active
— — —
The corridor shimmered with yellow light as they moved on.
A presence formed beside Alex—deep violet, coiled like liquid shadow.
At the crossroads, do not turn left.
Alex didn't slow.
"Left," he said.
Sera froze. "Alex—"
He stepped forward.
The corridor held.
No collapse. No trap.
The others followed in silence.
— — —
Halfway down, Alex stopped.
A device rested on a pedestal—metal etched with starlight.
The needle spun, then locked.
— — —
[ ARTIFACT ACQUIRED ]
Celestial Compass
Status: Bound
Description: Always points to the North Star. Reveals hidden paths.
— — —
Alex felt it immediately.
Lines appeared—paths the others couldn't see.
He pocketed it.
"Let's move," he said flatly.
The corridor bent ahead, yellow vines marking the way.
And Alex walked forward with perfect certainty.