The footsteps echoed through the cavern, slow and deliberate. Each step sent a chill down Kael’s spine. He gripped his pistol tighter, scanning the ruins ahead.

  Phantom took point, rifle raised, his body low. The others moved behind him, their breaths barely audible over the eerie silence.

  Aldric murmured, “Weapons ready. We don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

  A shadow moved between the ruins. Then another.

  Kael’s finger tensed on the trigger. “How many?”

  Elysia narrowed her eyes. “Too many.”

  Then the whispers began.

  Soft, sibilant voices slithered through the air, brushing against their ears like ghostly fingers. The words were unintelligible, but the intent was clear.

  They were being hunted.

  A blur of movement.

  Something lunged from the shadows. A tall, emaciated figure with elongated limbs and hollow eyes, its skin a sickly gray. It moved too fast—too smooth—like a predator that had perfected the art of killing.

  Kael fired. The gunshot roared through the cavern. The creature recoiled as the bullet tore through its shoulder, but it didn’t fall. It hissed—a sound like wind rushing through dry leaves—before darting back into the dark.

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  Then the ruins came alive.

  Figures emerged from the crumbling walls, dropping from stalactites, crawling from unseen crevices. Some stood on two legs, others scuttled on all fours. Their eyes glowed with an eerie, unnatural light.

  Lyria cursed. “They were waiting for us.”

  Aldric didn’t hesitate. “Open fire!”

  Gunfire cracked through the cavern. Phantom’s rifle let out precise bursts, cutting down the creatures before they could get too close. Kael fired shot after shot, but the things moved like shadows, twisting away from death.

  Elysia’s sword met flesh, cutting deep, but the creatures barely reacted. They didn’t bleed. They didn’t scream.

  They just kept coming.

  One leaped at Lyria. She twisted, daggers flashing, severing its limbs mid-air. Another swiped at Kael, claws raking his shoulder as he barely dodged.

  Aldric bashed a creature with the butt of his rifle, knocking it back. “We need a way out!”

  Phantom reloaded, scanning the cavern. His eyes locked onto a tunnel entrance half-buried in rubble.

  “There!” He fired at the ceiling above it. Rocks tumbled, forcing some of the creatures back. “Move!”

  They sprinted, weaving through the ruins as the creatures shrieked behind them. The whispers grew louder, merging into a chorus of hunger.

  Lyria vaulted over fallen stones, Kael right behind her. Aldric and Elysia guarded the rear, slashing at anything that got too close.

  Phantom reached the tunnel first, tossing another grenade behind him. The explosion sent dust and rock cascading down, sealing part of the passage.

  For a moment, silence.

  Then—scratching.

  Kael swore under his breath. “They’re digging through.”

  The tunnel stretched into darkness, the air thick and humid. The glow of the underground river had vanished, replaced by an unnatural stillness.

  Elysia touched the stone wall, frowning. “These markings… They’re different from before.”

  Phantom nodded. “This place goes deeper than we thought.”

  Aldric turned back, rifle raised. “No time for sightseeing. We keep moving.”

  As they pushed forward, Kael felt it—the sense of being watched hadn’t left.

  Whatever was down here, it was older than the ruins.

  And it was waiting.