The first tremor came like a warning. Dust trickled down the carved pillars and rippled across the floor. Vencian turned toward the sound as another shudder hit the walls, stronger this time. The entire temple groaned.

Reine flinched, clutching her arms. Roselys steadied herself against a wall.

"Is it that accursed serpent?" Vencian said.

"What else it could be."

He grabbed Reine's hand and pulled her toward the entrance. Roselys followed, but a massive stone block broke loose from the ceiling and slammed to the floor, sealing the exit.

"Curse it," Roselys said. "Let's go the other way."

Vencian looked around, his eyes scanning the chamber. "That'll only lead us deeper."

"Haven't you realized yet?" she said. "That entrance, this spherical chamber with a shallow sunken floor—this design belonged to temples from the third epoch."

Her word made him recall the lessons he attended and books he read.

She continued. "And one of their major features being—"

"The three directional exits," Vencian finished.

He nodded. "Fine. Right passage."

They ran. The uneven floor made every step a struggle. Loose stones rolled underfoot. The air thickened with grit as another tremor struck, shaking the corridor and bringing more debris down.

The path curved sharply, forming a narrow ring. Vencian spotted a threshold ahead—an arched opening leading toward a stairway.

"Up there," he said, pulling Reine forward.

The moment they neared it, the ceiling behind them cracked open. A deafening crash filled the space. Dust and stone rained from above. Then came a hiss—low and deep, like air forced through a cavern.

When the dust thinned, Vencian saw it.

The serpent's enormous head filled the corridor, scales gleaming like wet rock. Its eyes fixed on them, unblinking. The size of it froze him for half a heartbeat. Too big to move in here. That realization steadied him.

Then its jaw split open.

Inside its mouth, the tongue writhed—and split again. From within poured hundreds of smaller snakes, sliding over each other, spilling to the ground. Each one bore the same angular head, the same pale eyes.

Reine screamed. Roselys grabbed her and ran. Vencian followed, the hiss of scales scraping stone behind them.

They reached the stairway. The swarm slithered fast, flowing like liquid, climbing over fallen rubble.

"Keep going," Vencian shouted.

They bounded up the stairs. At the top, a solid wall blocked them—a sealed doorway shaped like an arch. Vencian hit the stone with his palm. "Dead end."

Roselys pointed to the floor. "Wait. Look at that."

A circle carved into the ground, identical to the one drawn by the Seer's nephew, spread beneath their feet. Along the sidewall, small beads jutted out in uneven rows.

"It uses a pattern to open," she said quickly.

"How do you know?"

"The entrance to the cave back in Coriel had one. I saw Harin open it this way."

"Then do it," he said.

He turned to face the stairway. The snakes were climbing, piling over one another.

He raised his sword. "Buy time, huh?" he muttered to himself. "Fine."

He met the first wave at the base of the stairs. The blade cut through flesh and scale. The next came faster. He swung again, splitting two in one motion. Another lunged at his leg; he kicked it away, crushing its head under his boot.

Blood smeared the steps. His arms burned, but he didn't slow down. He kept slashing, stabbing, stepping back when needed. A snake leapt for his throat; he caught it midair and slammed it against the wall.

Then one came from above. He didn't see it until it sank its fangs into his arm.

He shouted and tore it off. Pain spread fast. The wound pulsed hot, blood running down his wrist.

Behind him, Roselys struck the final bead in the sequence. The circle on the floor flashed with dull light. A deep click echoed through the wall.

The stone door slid open.

Vencian staggered back, gripping his arm. The blood dripped in slow rhythm onto the floor. The sound seemed to stretch time itself. His vision blurred, the air turning heavy.

Poison? he thought, but the dizziness felt different—like the ground itself folding away.

For a heartbeat, the temple vanished. He stood on jagged rock instead, the floor split into spokes radiating outward. The world around him was empty. The snakes, the walls beyond, everything gone.

Images flickered past him: battles, ruins, and strangers' faces. Among them, one image stood out like a sore thumb.

The temple rose in his view with golden domes reflecting brightness that came from nowhere. Bells hung quiet in high towers. People in white robes drifted between the pillars, their faces hidden behind a haze that seemed alive.

He recognized it but couldn't name them. His chest tightened.

Then came a voice. Broken. Echoing.

"The Fallen… of Fateful…?"

He blinked. The temple returned. Roselys was beside him, eyes wide.

A snake still clung to his arm, its fangs buried deep. Roselys drove her stylus through its body and yanked it free.

"Move!" she shouted.

She pulled him toward the open doorway. The chamber behind them shuddered again as more stone fell. Reine clung to Roselys's sleeve.

They crossed the threshold, and the world tore apart.

Everything went black.

Then came light, the dull, flickering glow of torches reflected off wet rock. The smell of damp earth hit him. He recognized the walls, the floor, the air itself.

They were back. The cave. The chalice. The beginning of everything.

Vencian dropped to one knee, breathing hard. Roselys still gripped his shoulder. Reine huddled near the wall, silent, and pale.

Vencian stared at the blood on his hand. It glistened faintly in the torchlight. The echo of that voice still rang in his mind, half-formed, refusing to fade.

The Fallen of Fateful… what?

No answer came.

The vision clung to him like an afterimage burned behind his eyes.

Vencian froze. His pulse quickened as he realized what he was seeing. I've dreamed this.

The memory hit hard. The same stillness, the same soundless bells. He tried to reject it, but the truth pressed in. A dream can't have form. It can't echo like this. Yet nothing else made sense.

The cave around him pulled him back to the present when the chalice clattered against stone.

He turned. It shook as if struck by invisible force, the teeth around its rim folding inward one by one. The object shrank rapidly until it fit the size of a man's palm.

Roselys stared. "It's the same one," she said quietly.

He crouched and picked it up. The metal felt warm. "We can't leave it here," he said. "Someone will find it."

Roselys nodded, watching the faint pulse along its surface.

Vencian looked around the cave. The torn markings on the walls still glowed faintly, then dulled, leaving nothing but damp rock. His thoughts turned back to the village. If this chalice pulled us to that place, what happened after we were pulled?

He traced a line in the dust with his boot. Maybe they stopped. Maybe Neine's still alive.

He didn't say it out loud.

Roselys said. "We need to find a way out before the next surprise."

He agreed.

Reine stood near the corner, arms tight around herself, eyes wide and glassy.

Vencian stepped closer. "Hey. It's alright," he said softly. "We're out of danger now."

Roselys crouched beside the girl. "You'll be safe with us, Reine. We won't let anything happen to you."

The child gave a small nod, though her lips trembled.

Vencian motioned to Roselys. "You take the lead. Use the same way you came in."

She looked up. "Why that one?"

"It's shorter," he said quickly, unwilling to explain he didn't want her finding Ostik's body.

Roselys hesitated, then walked toward the narrow passage. The air grew heavy again, filled with faint ash and damp earth.

At the next junction, they found Harin.

He stumbled from the shadows, his eyes wild. His hair clung to his forehead, face streaked with sweat and grime. He looked nothing like the calm villager from before.

"You!" His voice cracked. "What have you done?"

Vencian raised a hand. "Harin, calm down—"

"You brought it back!" Harin shouted. "You ruined the rite! You doomed us all!"

He swung a jagged piece of stone in one hand and charged.

Vencian stepped aside and struck him with the hilt's cap across the temple. Harin collapsed instantly, the stone clattering from his grip.

Roselys exhaled. "He's lost his mind."

"Help me move him aside." They dragged Harin's body against the wall.

Roselys brushed dust from her sleeves and turned to the wall of beads. Her fingers pressed each one in sequence, recalling the order. The door vibrated, then split open with a grinding sound.

A wave of heat hit them.

They stepped through—and stopped.

The world outside burned.

The village, the trees, the hillside—everything was in flame. Fire rolled through the fields like a living tide, swallowing roofs and fences alike. The night sky glowed orange.

Roselys covered her mouth. Reine whimpered and buried her face against Vencian's side.

Harin's words came back to him, clear now. You ruined the rite.

Vencian stared at the inferno spreading across the valley. His chest tightened.

"This is not another illusion, right?" he said quietly.

Roselys didn't answer. The firelight reflected in her eyes as another structure collapsed in the distance.

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