The chamber waited.
It felt ancient in its patience, as though time itself bent around this place and slowed to match its rhythm.
It didn’t rush them.
There was no ticking clock, no visible threat pushing them forward.
It didn’t threaten.
That absence of menace made the silence heavier than any roar.
It simply waited—as if it already knew someone would decide.
The stillness carried certainty, like an answer that had already been written.
The words above the lever glowed faintly, their edges blurred by age and something deeper than fire.
The glow pulsed slowly, matching the rhythm of the chamber itself.
ONE STAYS.
The words pressed into Ethan’s chest like a physical weight.
TWO GO.
A promise and a punishment bound together.
Ethan’s fingers tightened around the compass. The met
