"Negative, Commander," Celine's voice returned. "But there's something... off. I don't remember it feeling like this the last time."

Clara exchanged a glance with Kira, who was standing at her side, arms crossed, eyes sharp as she studied the incoming data. "Could be residual energy from the original incident," Kira muttered, though there was uncertainty in her voice.

"Stay alert," Clara instructed. "We don't want any surprises this time."

Outside, Jacob, Tessa, and Lynn were stationed at the edge of the forest, waiting for their turn. The ruins loomed just beyond the trees, a monolithic shadow against the misty backdrop of the overgrown wilderness. The sounds of insects and distant birds did little to alleviate the mounting unease among them.

Jacob shifted, feeling the weight of the moment pressing down on him. "I hate waiting," he muttered, pacing slightly.

"Patience," Tessa said, leaning against a tree, her eyes scanning the treeline as if expecting something to emerge from the darkness. "It's what we signed up for."

Suddenly, a sharp crack echoed from behind them, like something snapping underfoot. They all froze. Lynn instinctively raised her weapon, eyes darting toward the noise.

"What the hell was that?" she whispered.

Jacob motioned for them to stay quiet, taking a cautious step forward. His eyes followed the sound until he came upon something half-buried in the undergrowth. His breath caught in his throat as he realized what it was—bone. A human skeleton, partially covered in dirt and moss, the remains disturbingly fresh despite the decomposition. He crouched down, brushing aside some of the foliage. The skull grinned up at him, teeth exposed, eye sockets hollow and black.

"Jacob, what is it?" Tessa asked, her voice tight with tension.

"Remains," he said quietly. "Human."

Lynn came closer, her eyes widening. "Those weren't here last time, were they?"

Jacob shook his head, heart pounding. "No. And they're fresh."

The air suddenly felt much colder, and a heavy silence fell over the group. As Jacob stood, his eyes caught something else. The statues, the ones that had been scattered throughout the ruins on their previous visit, were gone. Every pedestal was empty. It was as if the stone figures had vanished into thin air.

"Where are the statues?" Tessa whispered, a chill creeping down her spine.

"They were here before," Jacob said, his voice low. "Right where we're standing."

Lynn took a few steps forward, eyes scanning the area. "We need to tell the others. This isn't—"

Before she could finish, her flashlight beam swept across a nearby wall, revealing something far more unsettling. Painted across the ancient stone were crude, chaotic images—large humanoid figures, their bodies twisted and grotesque. But what stood out the most were the eyes. Each figure was covered in them, dozens of eyes staring out from every limb, every part of their distorted forms. The eyes were black, with long, jagged lines running down from them like tears of ink.

Tessa recoiled. "What... is that?"

Jacob approached the wall, his stomach turning. The figures almost seemed alive, as though the eyes were watching them, tracking their movements with a malevolent awareness. He could feel their gaze crawling over his skin, like invisible fingers pressing into him.

Lynn stepped back, her voice barely a whisper. "Those weren't here before either..."

Jacob's hands tightened into fists. Something was very wrong. The ruins had changed, morphed into something more sinister than the last time they had visited. Whatever was waiting for them inside, it was not the same as what they had encountered before.

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"Team Alpha, do you see this?" Jacob's voice cracked through the comms, breaking the eerie silence.

Clara's voice immediately came through, sharp and urgent. "What's going on, Jacob? Report."

Jacob hesitated, staring at the grotesque paintings, the ominous absence of the statues, and the skeletal remains scattered at their feet. "We've got... new evidence. Remains, and strange... markings on the walls. The statues are gone."

Back in the command center, Clara straightened up, her gaze hardening. "Statues? Gone? And what kind of markings?"

Jacob's voice was tense. "Humanoid figures. Covered in eyes."

A beat of silence followed on the other end of the line before Clara responded, her voice calm but tinged with concern. "Stay where you are. Do not engage. I'll send a team to your location immediately."

But Jacob, Tessa, and Lynn knew better than to think they were alone. The ruins felt alive around them, the shadows thickening as the forest grew impossibly quiet. Even the insects had stopped their buzzing, leaving the oppressive silence to close in on them like a suffocating blanket.

"We're being watched," Lynn whispered, her voice barely audible.

Jacob could feel it too. Something ancient and hungry was lurking just beyond their sight, watching from the darkness, waiting for its moment to strike. He took a slow, steady breath, trying to keep his nerves from fraying completely.

"We wait," he said firmly. "But we don't let our guard down. Not for a second."

The forest felt like it was closing in on them, the strange paintings watching them with every step. Whatever horror lay inside those ruins, Jacob knew it wouldn't be long before it made its presence known.

Inside the command center, Clara and Kira remained vigilant, their eyes glued to the holographic screens displaying the helmet feeds from the Kadmon agents exploring the ruins. Each step the teams took echoed through the speakers, amplifying the eerie silence that dominated the ancient halls.

Celine's voice crackled over the comms. "No activity yet, but the place feels different this time. There's something… wrong here."

Clara exchanged a glance with Kira. "Keep your eyes open. We're not taking any chances this time."

Meanwhile, outside the ruins, Jacob, Tessa, and Lynn stood at the threshold, waiting for their turn to be called in. They could see the first teams moving cautiously through the shadowy corridors from the projected feeds, their lights piercing the gloom of the long-abandoned structure.

"I don't like this," Tessa muttered, arms crossed tightly over her chest. "It's too quiet. Last time, the atmosphere wasn't this oppressive."

"Feels like the air's heavier," Lynn added, glancing toward the ruins as though they were watching her.

Jacob remained silent, his eyes scanning the mist-covered entrance. He had been here before. The last mission had ended in disaster, with Alphonse's death still haunting him. The ruins hadn't felt like this then, like they were breathing, watching.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," he said, though even his voice was strained. "We'll wait for the others to clear the area."

As the minutes dragged on, something in the ruins shifted. Through the feeds, they could see the narrow passageways lined with cracked stone and overgrown vines, but now the camera panned over statues that hadn't been there the last time Jacob was here. They were humanoid figures, each one towering, faceless, and unnervingly still, as if waiting for something to wake them from their slumber.

"They weren't here before," Jacob muttered under his breath. His stomach twisted, a sickening feeling of dread creeping up his spine.

One of the agents on Celine's team noticed the statues too, pausing as their flashlight flickered over the eerie figures. "Commander, do you see this?" the agent asked, their voice shaky.

Clara leaned forward, squinting at the display. "What am I looking at?"

"Statues," the agent replied. "They weren't here last time."

Celine's team moved closer, inspecting the statues. Each one stood with arms crossed over its chest, their blank faces angled slightly toward the ground. It was as if they were bowing or awaiting orders. The stone was ancient, worn smooth by time, yet despite the decay, they exuded a strange aura of power.

"Proceed with caution," Clara said, her voice taut.

Back outside, Jacob's unease grew. The longer they waited, the more the ruins seemed to pulse with something dark and unknown. Every instinct in his body screamed that something wasn't right. The air around them was still, too still, and there was a palpable weight pressing down on them.

Lynn shifted uneasily beside him. "Jacob, do you—"

"Yeah," he cut her off, his voice tight. "I feel it too."

The comms crackled again. "We're moving forward," Celine reported, her team stepping further into the labyrinthine structure. But as they did, the helmet cams revealed more unsettling imagery. The statues weren't the only new additions. Further down the hallways, the walls were now covered in strange, crude paintings. Dark figures, humanoid but twisted, their limbs elongated, each one adorned with dozens of eyes staring out from every part of their bodies.

Tessa's breath hitched as she watched the feed. "What the hell is that?"

Jacob's heart pounded in his chest. The figures on the walls seemed alive, the eyes following the teams as they moved past, staring through the screen as if they could see him, too.

"I don't like this, Jacob," Lynn whispered, her voice trembling now. "It's not right. None of this is right."

Just then, one of the agents on Celine's team stopped. "Hold on," the agent said, their voice barely a whisper. "I think I saw something move."