Sovereign of the Forsaken Path

Ezra walked into the tunnel.

It was narrow and cold , the walls rough with age, as if the very stone had been gnawed away by something patient and terrible. His lantern's blue flame flickered weakly, the only source of light in the suffocating darkness.

Each step echoed unnaturally, like he wasn't the only thing moving.

He tried to ignore that thought.

Instead, he focused on the Sigil branded into his skin.

The mark still burned faintly , not with pain, but with a presence a weight that coiled around his very being.

And beneath that weight, something… shifted.

It was subtle.

A sensation just at the edge of his thoughts, like a hunger that wasn't his.

Ezra exhaled. "Yeah, that's definitely not ominous at all."

The tunnel sloped downward. The air grew thicker, heavier. A faint, metallic scent clung to the walls something between rust and old blood.

And then, the whispers began.

Ezra froze.

They were faint at first. Just a soft murmur, distant and unintelligible. But as he stepped forward

They grew louder.

"…one step further…"

"…closer now…"

"…hunger…hunger…hunger…"

Ezra's skin crawled. His instincts screamed at him, but he forced himself to keep moving.

Then, up ahead

The tunnel opened into a vast underground cavern.

Ezra hesitated at the threshold, his lantern barely illuminating the space beyond.

It was… massive.

A ruined temple , long abandoned, its cracked stone pillars rising toward a ceiling shrouded in complete blackness. The floor was littered with broken relics , half buried in dust and decay.

But the worst part?

At the very center of the temple , resting in a crater of blackened stone

A corpse.

Ezra's breath hitched.

No not just a corpse.

It was massive , easily three times the size of a normal human, its skeletal frame twisted and unnatural. The remains of chains lay shattered around it, as if whatever had been sealed here had died trying to escape.

And carved into its ribs, in deep, violent gouges

The same Sigil that was burned into Ezra's chest.

The whispers became a roar.

"…TAKE IT…"

"…HUNGER…DEVOUR…CONSUME…"

Ezra staggered backward , gripping his head. His own heartbeat pounded against his ribs , his body reacting to something primal, something unnatural.

The Sigil burned hotter.

Something inside him wanted.

Wanted what? He didn't know.

But deep in his gut, a horrifying thought whispered:

It wants me to eat it.

Ezra swallowed thickly.

"…You know what? I think I've had enough surprises for today."

But his feet were already moving.

His body acted on instinct , drawn forward against his better judgment.

And as he stepped into the temple, past the shattered chains

The corpse twitched.

Ezra froze.

A moment of horrible silence.

Then

The skeletal hand shot forward.

Ezra barely had time to react.

The world blurred. The Sigil on his chest ignited , pain lancing through his veins like liquid fire.

The whispers became a SCREAM.

And then

The world collapsed into darkness.