Kael didn't answer.He kept staring at the rune.A part of him instinctively understood this wasn't just a mechanical activation.He hadn't "used" a mechanism.He had been recognized.
Then, suddenly, Thana began to chuckle softly in Kael's mind.— Oh... it's him.I was wondering where that little glutton had gone.
Kael, still trembling, frowned.— Him… who is "him"?
— An old familiar. Mine.He accompanied me for a long time… before everything changed.He loves black Magia.Yours reminds him… of me."It's not an independent creature… but an echo of me, sealed in a fragment. He recognizes you as an extension."
Kael looked at the shadow curled on his shoulder, absorbed into his tattoo like in a black cocoon veined with light.— …And now? Is he… with me?
Thana smiled again, even more mischievously.— Let's just say he follows you.He likes you.Or at least, he likes your taste.Don't overfeed him…he gets moody when full.
Kael lowered his eyes to his arm.The tattoo had grown.A new black branch ran from his shoulder down to the base of his palm, like a living vein.He was bound now.Not to a beast...but to an ancient fragment of Thana herself.
Kael exhaled deeply.Silence returned, heavy but steady.Adam said nothing, as if afraid to break this fragile balance.
Kael broke the stillness, attracted by a faint gleam at the foot of a cracked altar.He approached and cleared away some rubble.A finely carved obsidian box lay there, half open.Inside, two objects.
The first:a matte black cloth strip, silky yet heavy in the hand, embroidered with almost invisible silver threads.When Kael touched it, a cold sensation ran up his left arm.He felt it resonate with his tattoo, and immediately, his Magia flow seemed to vanish, as if it no longer existed.
Thana whispered in his mind:— A shadow veil. Very rare.It won't erase you from the world, but it will hide your trace…from the eyes of skilled hunters.
Kael slowly wrapped it around his arm,and the tattoo seemed to disappear beneath its surface.
Then he took the second object:a black copper ring, set with a single tiny, vibrant red shard.No sooner had he slipped it onto his middle finger than a faint breath of air passed through him.As if an invisible door had opened somewhere, just big enough to hold fragments of existence.
— What… is that? Adam asked, stepping closer.
Kael squinted.— A pocket.— A pocket?— Dimensional.
He dropped a small metal relic into his hand, placed it on the ground,and with an instinctive mental gesture, absorbed it into the ring.It vanished silently.
Adam raised his eyebrows, impressed.— Okay. Now I'm jealous.
Adam sat cross-legged near the altar, still shaken.He watched Kael silently as he inspected the remaining objects in the box.
After a long moment, Adam spoke without looking up:— You have the right to be mad at me, you know.
Kael remained silent.He had pulled out a strange broken pendant whose chain vibrated faintly.
— I treat you like a kid… but you're not one anymore.You're an adult. You make your choices.And I just fix them every time.
Adam clenched his teeth, then sighed.— You're right. I act like an idiot.I've always wanted to prove I could be as good as you…But you don't need to be as good as me.You need to be better than what you think you're capable of.
Kael straightened, his gaze calm but intense.— In a temple like this, a mistake can cost us our lives.Wonder is a luxury we won't always have.
Adam nodded, sheepish.— You saved my skin. Again.So here… you lead.Pick three items, whichever you want.We'll sort through the rest together later.
Kael looked at him, surprised, almost touched.— And you?
— I'll just try not to end up impaled, Adam replied with a crooked smile.
Kael gave a slight grin.— Deal.
He pointed out the first three:The black veil, which he tied permanently around his arm.The dimensional ring, already activated.And a small vial of a golden liquid, still undecipherable, which he slipped cautiously into his pocket.
As he finished putting away the items, his gaze was drawn to the back of the room.A wall that seemed perfectly smooth at first glance…but he perceived differently.The Eye.
He approached slowly, placing his hand on a slab.A wave emanated from it, almost gentle.— The exit is here.
Adam blinked, incredulous.— Seriously? How did you—
— I felt it.
The slab vibrated, rising slowly with an ancient rumble, revealing a stone staircase descending into darkness.
But suddenly, a dry, hoarse breath swept into the room.— What's that noise? Adam asked.
Kael narrowed his eyes.— Sand.
A moment later, a wave of fine sand burst from the opening, as if released from a seal long closed.It rolled across the floor in thick waves, enveloping the slabs, pedestals, and frescoes.Their footprints vanished within seconds.
Adam stepped back, surprised.— The temple… erases everything?
Kael, motionless, watched the room slowly cover itself in pale gold.— It buries what it has given.And closes what it has opened.
He turned on his heel, slowly descending the first steps.Adam, still frozen, cast one last glance at the treasure chamber.— That wasn't just a trap, right?
— No, Kael replied.It was a trial.
And behind them, the sand kept falling, covering the silence with an ancient shroud.Kael took the first step, followed by Adam, still marked by the events.
Behind them, the sand continued to flow slowly,covering the frescoes,the offerings,their traces.As if the place refused to keep the memory of those who had survived.
Then, one last low rumble echoed.The slab slowly began to close over the entrance to the chamber.
Kael glanced back.And just before the light vanished, he thought he saw…the tattoo on his arm pulse softly, in echo.As if someone — or something — was bidding them farewell.An ancient farewell.Distant.But not without meaning.
Then silence.And the stone closed.