Siyam stood there, staring at the mysterious object. wondered… could this be the thing he had been searching for all these years?
Driven by overwhelmed curiosity, he took a step forward. He didn't know that this single step was about to change everything.
To anyone else, it was just a statue. But Siyam could feel it - a heavy, suffocating aura coming from it and pressing against his chest. He knew even a small mistake could awaken something dangerous.
"Don't touch anything!" he shouted, his voice sharp with worry. "Stay back, everyone!"
Behind the Golem, he noticed a small box. It was sealed with forbidden black magic. He understood that the golem was guarding that box.
Siyam's heart raced - what could be so dangerous that it needed a cursed seal and a giant guardian?
Siyam stepped forward - Suddenly, a sickening click echoed through the cave. He looked down, his foot had landed on a pressure plate. There were ancient words carved into the pressure plate glowing beneath his boot. He hadn't noticed them in time.
In an instant, The moment it activated - the Golem's eyes ignited with a cold, blinding white light.
The entire team froze. No one moved or even tried to breathed. It felt as if the air itself had turned into needles. Even the smallest movement would bring death.
Siyam slowly lifted his foot from the plate, praying the light would go out. But it didn't, the Golem was awake.
Siyam realized his mistake. Then he whispered, gesturing to his team.
"Get back... slowly."
They began slowly stepping toward the door, Step by step. No one made a sound, their faces pale with terror. But then -
BANG!
The heavy stone door slammed shut. The loud sound echoed through the cave. They were trapped. Siyam looked up at the Golem, and for the first time in a long while, his entire body felt like it had turned to ice.He couldn't understand this fear.
Why am I so afraid? Siyam wondered.
He had killed massive demons and legendary beasts. But the Golem's gaze was different. It wasn't just looking at him, it was looking through him. Its eyes, which were facing forward before, were now locked with his.
In a flash, the Golem swung its massive stone sword, it came down fast. Siyam barely managed to activate a protection spell, but the force was incredible. He was slammed into the ground, his ears ringing.
"I... I'm not this weak, So why did that attack feel so heavy?" Siyam groaned, coughing up dust.
Then he realized it. The heavy aura wasn't just scary - it was a Mana Blockage. Something in this cave was eating his magic. He couldn't use his full power.
Chaos broke out. His team tried to fight back, but they were powerless. Siyam started moving, trying to think what could be causing it. He raised his hand and threw a large fireball, but instead of a massive explosion, it was just a weak flicker. It didn't even leave a mark on the Golem.
Then, the nightmare began.
In front of the golem, a mage girl was casting a buff on a tank knight. But before anyone could understand - in the blink of an eye, her head was ripped from her body.
The Knight turned back in shock to look at her but he didn't get the chance to react. The Golem's sword shattered his heavy armor like it was made of glass, crushing him into the dirt.
"NO!"
Siyam screamed. But before he could move, he felt a cold, sharp blade against his neck. He deflected it by a hair's breadth, but a thin line of blood trickled down his throat. Seeing this, fear spread among everyone.
Siyam turned toward the darkness, in the shadows, he saw a figure holding giant, blood-stained scythe. Before Siyam could strike, the figure vanished into the darkness like a ghost. His fireball also vanished into the darkness, as if nothing was there.
Then came the screams, filled the cave.
Siyam turned back - and saw his teammates getting cut into two pieces, one by one. Their shields did nothing. Their magic did nothing. One by one, the people he brought with him were slaughtered. The cave, once ancient and quiet, was now a red tomb, smelling of iron and death. In just moments, everything was covered in blood. Siyam couldn't understand what was happening.
The Golem attacked again, from behind. Siyam dodged, but he saw something - a shadowy figure sitting on the Golem's shoulder, laughing silently. Siyam leaped to strike it, but the Golem blocked him, and the shadow disappeared.
Rage, pure and burning, exploded inside Siyam. He felt like a toy. He felt like a joke. They are playing with me, he realized. They are laughing at my friends' deaths. Another blade swiped at him from the dark, and as he tried to block it, the Golem punched him with enough force to shatter stone. Siyam was sent flying through a wall, buried under rocks and rubble.
He crawled out, wiping the blood from his nose and dirt from his face. His eyes were no longer kind, they were glowing with a terrifying light.
"I thought I should control myself," Siyam whispered, his voice trembling with fury. "I thought I should be careful. But... I've had enough."
He let out a Mana Blast so powerful that the entire mountain shook. With a deafening roar, the top of the mountain was blown into the sky. Rocks, trees, and earth disintegrated. When the dust settled, the mountain was gone. The cave was gone. It no longer looked like there was ever a mountain here. There was only flat, smoking ground.
Everything was destroyed but the Golem was still there, and so was the box. Siyam took a ragged breath. He looked around at the ashes of his friends, Their bodies were burned away in the blast. He felt a hole in his heart, but he didn't have time to grieve. The sharp presence returned.
This time, Siyam didn't dodge. He caught the scythe with two fingers. The mana blockage was gone. Now he could use his full power.
He turned back and saw it - a "Lich." Siyam grabbed the creature by its rotting collar and slammed it into the ground with god-like strength. The Lich screamed in pain. The Golem rushed forward to save its master, but now Siyam understood everything, he didn't even look at it. He knew the truth now: the Lich was using a protection spell on the Golem and a mana - blocker on to weakened everyone.
"You don't know who I am, do you?" Siyam growled. "I've killed thousands of your kind alone. To me... you're just a bug."
With a sickening crack, Siyam shattered the Lich's bones, breaking its spell. As the Golem raised its sword, Siyam threw his own blade. The force was so great that it tore through the Golem's stone body, above the golem's knees was destroyed. And turning it into dust.
Siyam looked at the dying Lich. If he had used this power from the start, his friends would still be alive. He pointed his hand at the creature, and a pillar of fire turned the Lich into nothing but gray ash.
Siyam raised his hand again. His sword flew back into his hand. He held it… then slowly sat down to his knees. His mind felt heavy.
"Again..." he whispered, his voice breaking.
"Why can't I save anyone? Am I really a hero?"
He couldn't save his team. He couldn't even save the people closest to him. He had lost them all.
Slowly, he looked up, the box. He stood up slowly and walked to the box. The moment he touched it, he realized it was sealed with ancient magic. But he broke the seal easily and opened it. Siyam frowned, all this… for just a locket?
Then he saw a book inside. A dark magic book. He opened it, it's a Necromancer's book. Siyam was confused - if the Lich was a Necromancer, why didn't it call an army of the dead?
As he stood there lost in thought, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned and saw Pranto.
Pranto was smiling, looking around at the scene. He walked over to a fallen Knight's helmet and kicked it like it was trash.
Siyam's blood boiled. A Knight should honor the dead, but Pranto didn't care.
With mocking a smile, Pranto said,
"Well, look at our 'Great Hero', not a single one of your ten companions survived. And you still call yourself a hero?"
Siyam didn't look at him. He quietly hid the locket in his pocket, leaving the book in the box.
"I was hoping you would be one of my teammates, I would have been happier seeing you die." Siyam said coldly.
"At least then, the Knights wouldn't have a coward like you in their ranks."
Pranto laughed, a sharp, annoying sound.
"If I were here, this wouldn't have happened. You can't save your team, and you couldn't save your ' so called best friend' either. You're all talk, Siyam. I wonder... can you even save Humaira? Or will she die because of you too?"
In an instant - Siyam appeared in front of him. So fast it was like a blink. His sword pressed hard against Pranto's throat.
"Watch your mouth," Siyam hissed, his eyes burning with rage.
"Or I'll make sure you never speak again. Don't think I won't do anything just because you're a royal guard."
Pranto didn't flinch. He smiled and looked straight into his eyes. Then leaned into the blade.
"And what will you do?" he said calmly.
"You know the punishment for killing a royal family member and a royal guard." Oh wait, I forgot... you're the guy who let his so called best friend's family die just because the King told him to."
Pranto started laughing. Siyam's anger rose. His veins tightened. His grip tightened on his sword. He wanted to end it right there.
"Will you two ever get along? Or am I expecting too much?" a calm voice asked.
Siyam looked past Pranto and saw Shihab. The top student of the Linear School of Knight and Magic.
"You're still alive?" Siyam asked, surprised.
Shihab smiled, though it looked painful.
"Yeah. Lost an arm, but I'm still breathing."
He laughed, trying to lighten the mood as he always did. Siyam had heard Shihab died in "The Great War", but here he was, missing his left arm but still standing.
Siyam asked, "How did you two get here?"
"You blew up and destroyed a whole mountain. The entire country knows by now. We just came to see what happened." shihab said.
Pranto opened the box and picked up the book.
"From what I see… our 'hero' destroyed everything for this," he said mockingly.
Shihab put a hand on Siyam's shoulder.
"Don't listen to him. He's just being himself."
Shihab walked toward Pranto to look at the book. But Siyam stayed silent.
Maybe…
Pranto was right. Am I really just a hero in name only? he thought.
Siyam turned back slightly and held the locket inside his pocket. Suddenly, he felt something strange from it. A strange, cold pulse came from the metal. As if an unseen power inside the locket… Was calling him. Like something sealed inside it… Was waiting to be released.
Siyam realized that even though the mountain was gone, his nightmare was just beginning.