Only four hours remained before Siya was supposed to awaken from her deep meditation.
And for the last three days, we had been hiding.
No words. No movement. No plans spoken aloud.
Just silence—and waiting.
Waiting for Siya.
Those three days felt heavy, but these final four hours felt like four entire days compressed into one unbearable stretch of time. Every second crawled. Every breath felt borrowed.
How would we even tell her that another colossal danger was already waiting for us?
That while she fought within herself, we had been sitting here like cowards—hiding, watching, unable to act.
Ali and I were in the same condition. We sat in a corner of the chamber, silent, barely exchanging glances, simply watching time pass. What we had seen outside… we couldn't tell anyone. Not yet. To speak of it would be to crush the fragile hope these people were clinging to.
Siya's words echoed endlessly in my mind:
"No matter how deep the darkness is, a single ray of light is enough to erase it."
But this time, the darkness before us was not a shadow—it was a vast black ocean, endless and hungry, capable of swallowing everything into itself.
And without Siya, we couldn't even imagine erasing it.
Too many questions burned inside us—questions only Siya could answer.
Ali broke the silence.
"Andy… this bracelet we wear… did the Boss give it to you?"
I looked down at my wrist. The metallic band shimmered faintly.
"No," I said slowly. "I don't even know how it came to be on my hand."
Ali was troubled by it too—especially because in our moment of greatest danger, that bracelet had suddenly activated and saved us. How? Why? None of it made sense.
Clara approached us, her footsteps light but her concern heavy.
"Ali, Andy… for three days you've been sitting in this corner, murmuring to yourselves. You haven't told us what happened outside. You haven't said anything at all. What did you see?"
I avoided her eyes.
"It was nothing," I lied. "Where's Siya? How long before she wakes?"
Clara studied me for a moment, then replied, "I just checked on her. Maybe three hours more."
I nodded, forcing calm.
Then Clara's tone shifted.
"There's another problem," she said quietly. "We have only one hour of oxygen left inside this chamber. We can't keep it underground any longer. We'll have to bring it up to the surface."
Ali and I froze.
Bringing so many people out—into that danger—was unthinkable. Worse, the people were completely unaware of what awaited them outside.
"Should I bring it up now?" Clara asked. "At least we'll save some oxygen."
I quickly said, "No—"
But Ali interrupted me.
"Do it," he said. "Bring it up."
Slowly, carefully, Clara activated the mechanism. The chamber rose from beneath the earth and emerged onto the surface.
The silence outside was soul-piercing.
It wasn't peaceful—it was the kind of silence that felt like a scream being held back. It stabbed into our chests like invisible arrows. Ali and I tried desperately to convince ourselves that everything was fine.
But Clara saw through us.
She could sense it.
"There's a threat out there," she said quietly. "A big one."
Before we could answer, the ground trembled ever so slightly.
That vibration was enough.
Ali and I understood instantly.
He had already sensed the humans. Their scent. Their fear. And his hunger was driving him straight toward the chamber.
We couldn't take the chamber back underground. We were trapped.
The fear we had been holding inside finally surfaced on our faces.
Can we save them?
All these people?
That question was breaking us from within.
Clara looked at us, reading our expressions.
"How big is the danger," she asked, "that even you two are shaken like this?"
Ali and I exchanged a glance.
"Bigger than imagination," we said together. "And far more dangerous."
Clara swallowed hard.
"Can we fight it?"
I shook my head.
"If we fight," I said, "we'll all die. This isn't a newly created threat. It's an ancient darkness—one that has survived across ages."
Clara's jaw tightened.
"Then we still have to fight," she said. "Even if it costs our lives. Can you hide the people somewhere? So they won't be harmed?"
Ali exhaled.
"I barely have any power left," he said. "The invisibility won't last long."
Still, he did it.
He cloaked the people in invisibility.
And then—
We saw him.
A colossal being, towering like a living mountain. It looked capable of crushing mountains beneath its feet. Before him, the three of us looked like ants.
Clara was afraid—I could see it—but she wasn't the kind to surrender without a fight.
"Let's see how long we can hold him," she said.
Before striking, she whispered her mother's name, as if she already knew this might be her final battle.
She attacked first—straight at his chest.
The blow landed.
And did nothing.
It was no more than a scratch.
The creature looked down at her, then flung her away with effortless force. His laughter thundered across the land.
"Ha… ha… ha…"
"You thought a few scratches could kill me?"
Ali and I attacked together, pouring every last drop of our remaining power into the strike.
It didn't matter.
Our attacks were meaningless.
Now he was hunting us—hungry for blood—trying to crush us beneath his massive feet. We scattered in different directions, desperately trying to draw him away from the people.
He tore a tree from the ground and hurled it toward Clara.
She dodged—but not without injury.
She was hurt. Slowed. Unable to run.
I saw it in her eyes.
She knew this was the end.
The creature raised his foot, ready to crush her.
At that exact moment—
The invisibility spell shattered.
A child screamed.
The sound drew his attention.
He turned toward the people.
His laughter returned—louder, crueler—as he charged toward them.
Ali and I attacked him again, trying to stop him.
He swatted us aside like insects.
What we saw then was pure annihilation.
He lifted his foot above a little girl.
Time froze.
And then—
A blinding light burned through the air.
A sound so powerful it tore through our ears.
The force slammed into him, throwing the giant backward.
Silence fell.
Heavy. Absolute.
For a moment, no one breathed.