There was shifting in the stone, faint crumbs of mineral tumbling down as the body etched in eternity came to life.

But rather than some grand, menacing awakening, some earth-shattering emergence that would launch us into yet another battle…it rolled its neck?

A slow but audible crack echoed through the square chamber. Then another, as it tilted its head the other way, sending more fragments of dust cascading down its carved form.

"Oooooh. That is nice."

The deep voice was weathered, ancient, something stretched thin through time itself, crackled and frayed at the edges. A voice that had spent an eternity asleep, and yet somehow still carried warmth beneath its worn-out weight.

To my growing disbelief, the statue proceeded to stretch.

It lifted one arm, rolling its shoulder, a fine waterfall of sand cascading from its joints. A low groan of pleasure rumbled from its chest, accompanied by a series of eerily satisfying pops.

Not that I knew exactly how a statue should wake up. But this? This felt…wrong.

The others stood as still as I was, half-ready for an attack, half-processing the absolute absurdity of what we were seeing.

The eerie red glow pulsing from its body no longer seemed like a threat. It was ironic now, the perfect horror-movie touch to what was otherwise just…

An old man working through his stiffness after a long nap.

"Ahh. Much better."

The content sigh drifted through the room like a creeping wisp, curling into the corners of the chamber as the statue tilted its head side to side, finally noticing us.

Its lips curled into a genuine smile.

The scene, already absurd, tipped further into the surreal.

A towering stone-carved figure, veins glowing with streaks of red, standing inches from a tomb, stretching like some old man waking up on his porch.

This wasn’t a monster.

This was a man receiving guests. Only lacking the snacks and drinks required for such an occasion.

"Hello."

The voice was gentle now, lined with something almost welcoming.

"I haven’t had any guests in so long. I’m sure it was difficult to come here. You all did very well."

His tone was almost grandfatherly, comforting and reassuring. If not for the sheer strangeness of the situation, I could almost believe it.

But no one answered right away.

Elric shifted slightly, glancing at me, his hands tensing at his sides.

Thea’s gaze flicked between me and the sealed exit, her mind already calculating. My guess it was something like...Could we break through? Gain distance? Would fighting even be an option?

Lyra, on the other hand, stood still, quiet and unmoving, her eyes locked onto the statue as if captivated by something deeper.

Sia took a step closer to her, fingers twitching slightly, ready to pull Lyra back if needed.

The statue must have sensed the tension in the air because he stepped forward, his movement unnatural in its grace, light despite his size, as if he was bound to different laws than the rest of us.

"You can relax," he assured, voice even, almost reassuring in its certainty.

"I won’t hurt any of you. For clearing the garden…I should reward you."

His gaze shifted first to Elric.

His expression softened.

The flickering red glow in his eyes did not dim, but something behind them shifted, like he was seeing something beyond the surface.

Familiarity. Recognition. Pride.

"Such talent…" the statue murmured, voice dipped in something almost wistful.

Then, with absolute certainty, "You will be unparalleled in the future."

Elric's brow furrowed, but before he could respond, the statue was already moving.

His focus landed on Lyra next. The smallest change in his smile. A twitch at the corner of his lips, an approval that felt less general, more…personal.

"So unique," he mused.

His glowing gaze flickered, briefly glancing toward Elric again before settling back on her. "Your power will be a magnificent accent to his."

Lyra’s fingers twitched at her sides, her posture straightening subtly, but she didn’t speak.

The words lingered. Unspoken meaning hanging between them.

The statue sighed.

"If only I still lived," he murmured.

His voice dipped into something deeper, something edged with regret. "I would have taken you both as my apprentices."

Then, he shifted to Sia. His tone changed immediately. Less nostalgia, more direct approval.

"Raw power. I like it." A simple statement. A clear judgment.

Sia smirked. "I do too."

A light chuckle rumbled through the chamber.

Finally, his gaze settled on Thea.

She tensed under the weight of his attention.

The way he looked at her wasn’t the same as the others. It wasn’t admiration or raw approval. It was study. Analysis. Observation. As if she were a puzzle to be solved.

A long moment passed before he finally spoke. "Curiosity." Then, after a beat, "An excellent path to power."

Thea blinked. She must have enjoyed the praise since she grinned shyly.

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"…Thank you."

The moment stretched, his expression shifting.

He sighed, his shoulders sinking, his gaze growing heavy.

"Just like last time…all of you. My de—"

The words stopped mid-breath.

His entire form stiffened. The glow in his eyes faltered, and for the first time, uncertainty bled into his features.

“…Oh.”

A slow step forward. Cautious. Measured. "Y—you are new."

The warmth in his voice dimmed, just slightly. Like someone who had found a stranger in their home, standing where a loved one should have been.

Something in my chest tightened. I took a step back before I even realized it. My heart pounded against my ribs.

"What?"

A deep, slow chuckle rumbled through him. Not mocking. Not cruel. Just…curious.

"Don’t worry."

He lifted a hand, the motion deliberate, as if calming a startled animal. "I don’t mean to scare you. It’s just been so long. Since I found an outsider make their way here.

My stomach dropped.

"How do you know I’m not from this world?"

The words left before I could stop them. The moment they did my energy stirred, reacting on instinct, my body ready to defend itself.

The glowing stone eyes widened.

Not in anger. Not in threat.

But in shock.

“Not fro—” He caught himself. “What do you mean?”

A hesitation crept into my breath. My cultivation stilled. "...Uh, what do you mean by ‘outsider’?"

A slow, thoughtful hum left him.

His gaze swept over me again, as if truly seeing me for the first time.

Then, almost with a hint of pity, he sighed. "Well… you came far on your own. Despite your weakness."

Weakness. My brain stuttered. Did…did he just diss me?

"Sir?"

Thea’s voice cut through the moment, clear, respectful—but firm.

The statue’s gaze snapped to her.

"Without him, none of us would be what we are."

He turned and the others nodded in agreement.

He studied me again.

Expression shifting. Reassessing. Then, a slow, knowing smile returned.

"So a natural leader is your talent, then?"

I blinked. "Uhhhh. Maybe?"

A pause, a long, drawn-out pause.

Then, as if the very concept was physically painful to process.

A deeply etched look of doubt settled into his features.

Pure. Unfiltered. Doubt.

He exhaled heavily. "Very well." There was exhaustion in his tone now. One that wasn’t there before.

A weariness that clung to his words, "I cannot keep awake for much longer. I will impart you with my gift."

A slow breath of release.

The aura that inhabited the statue left the stone.

The figure, once so alive, stilled, its body shifting with a mechanical finality, returning robotically to its alter.

The glow dimmed. The joints locked back into place.

It was no longer a man. Just a statue.

"If I was successful in my final spell…"

The voice remained, even as the body became motionless.

A soft, resigned laugh.

**"Perhaps we will meet again one day. **Though I won’t recognize you."

And with those words, the aura split.

Five streaks of red, each one sharp and fast, flickering like living embers.

"Is that com—"

Before Elric could finish, the particles shot toward us, moving with a speed I could barely track.

A sharp pulse struck my chest.

And then…nothing.

No transformation. No sudden system messages. No strange new sensation rippling through my body.

I definitely saw the energy enter me. I could feel it, pulsing beneath my skin like a quiet drumbeat, separate from my inner flame. Something new, something unfamiliar. But whatever it was supposed to do…either the old man hadn’t been able to, or more likely, considering his lighthearted attitude, he just didn’t feel like explaining it.

I looked to my side. “Thea.”

She didn’t respond.

“Theaaa.” I sang out, ready to throw some teasing remark her way.

She still didn’t react.

Her storm-gray eyes were open, but they weren’t looking at me. They were glazed over, staring far into the distance as if seeing something I couldn’t.

I looked at the others.

Elric. Sia. Lyra.

All the same.

Still. Silent. Their eyes locked onto some invisible sight beyond my understanding.

“Guys?”

No reaction.

Alright. Don’t panic.

There shouldn’t be anything wrong. Maybe the system was updating them, explaining whatever new abilities they got.

I shook my head, chasing away any dangerous thoughts, then turned my focus back to Thea.

She looked so vulnerable like this. Completely unaware of her surroundings.

...I really wish I had some ink.

I could draw something right on her forehead. Maybe on all of them. A little message, some artistic expression to remind them that leaving me like this hurts my feelings.

Next time, for sure. I’ll pack a marker or something.

Then, just as I was scheming my brilliant plot into reality, Thea’s eyes cleared.

She blinked. “Whoa…” her voice trailed off, wonder still fresh in her tone.

I straightened. “Sooo, I didn’t see anything. Can you explain?”

Sia behind her, having also woken up, opened her mouth, then frowned. “Mission complete. Our rewards are being…generated?”

Her voice carried deep confusion, as if the words barely made sense to her.

Elric suddenly stiffened. His head jerked slightly as he read whatever had just appeared in his system.

“Wait.” His eyes widened. “I can’t stop it. I can’t prevent accepting it.”

Thea summoned her own system menu, reading the message. Her expression changed.

Her gaze snapped to me.

Something was wrong.

Something was very, very wrong.

Her hand shot forward, gripping my wrist. Tight.

“Peter w—”

Light erupted.

It didn’t build up. It didn’t pulse and glow softly like the way system menus appeared.

It consumed them.

Blinding flickers of white encased their bodies, bursting from within like an executioner’s blade had been brought down in an instant.

Thea flinched, panic spilling into her voice.

“Peter! I—”

Her grip tightened for a fraction of a second then slipped away.

Gone.

Vanished.

Her warmth, her weight, her presence. All gone in a flash of light.

I lunged forward on instinct, my hands clawing at the empty air where she had just stood.

Nothing.

No sound. No trace. No scent of movement.

Just air. "THEA!"

I turned wildly. “Elric! Lyra! Sia!”

Light swallowed them one by one.

Elric barely had time to widen his eyes before his body dissolved into flickering embers.

Sia, for all her usual bravado, managed to say half a word."

“Se—.”

Then she was gone, the light stripping her from existence in an instant.

Lyra, the last, held a tear in her eye, her expression distant.

I ran toward her.

Too late.

The light devoured her before my fingers reach her.

Silence.

I stood alone in the empty chamber, hands trembling, breath coming fast and uneven.

No movement. No presence. No lingering warmth of bodies that should have still been there.

I turned to the statue, dread clawing up my throat.

“HEY! WHERE ARE THEY?!”

Silence.

The life in it was gone. The stone was still.

It was just a statue again.

No life. No voice. No answers.

A deep grinding echoed from behind me. I spun toward the noise.

The stone passage had reopened, revealing the garden beyond. The only place left for me to go.

And with that final gut-wrenching realization...

I was alone.