Sovereign of the Forsaken Path

Ezra sat against the cold stone wall, catching his breath.

His hands still trembled, the ghostly sensation of those fingers lingering on his skin.

He had nearly broken the fifth rule.

Nearly turned around.

If the wall hadn't cracked open at the last moment…

Ezra didn't finish the thought.

Instead, he forced himself to focus.

He was alive. That mattered.

The Sigil on his chest pulsed , but not in hunger this time. It felt… expectant.

Like it was waiting.

Ezra exhaled. "Yeah? Well, get in line. I have enough problems already."

His lantern, still flickering, revealed the new chamber he had stumbled into.

This one was different.

Larger. Older.

The walls weren't carved with warnings they were lined with statues.

Rows and rows of them, each depicting hooded figures clutching old, worn blades.

And at the far end of the chamber

A throne.

Not grand. Not golden.

Just stone , simple and crude.

But it was occupied.

Ezra's body went still.

Because the figure sitting in that throne wasn't a statue.

It was a corpse.

Or at least, it should have been.

The figure wore tattered robes , its face hidden beneath a deep hood.

Yet somehow, it breathed.

Slow. Steady. Patient.

Ezra clenched his fists. "Alright. Dead guy on a throne. Seen weirder. What's the catch?"

The figure moved.

Not much. Just the tilt of a hooded head.

Then

A dry, rasping voice filled the chamber.

"You walk the Path… and yet you are not bound."

Ezra's stomach tightened.

The statues around him shifted.

Not physically. But the longer he looked, the more certain he was that they had changed.

Like they were now… watching him.

The figure on the throne spoke again.

"The Sigil has been carved into your flesh… but the debt remains unpaid."

Ezra froze.

Debt?

That wasn't a word he liked.

"Yeah, well," he muttered, forcing some calm into his voice. "Nobody mentioned a bill when I got this thing."

The figure let out a sound.

Not quite laughter. Not quite breathing.

"Ignorance does not erase cost."

Ezra swallowed.

The hooded figure leaned forward.

The air in the chamber grew heavy.

"You devoured what should not be devoured."

"You carry a hunger that is not yours."

"And so, you owe a debt."

The Sigil on Ezra's chest burned.

Not painfully.

Not like before.

This was different.

Like something inside him was being… measured.

Ezra clenched his jaw. "And if I don't pay?"

The hooded figure stilled.

Then

It raised a hand.

Beneath the hood, a smile gleamed like bone.

"Then the Path will take what it is owed."

The statues in the room began to move.

And this time

They weren't just watching.

They were coming for him.