As we stepped deeper into the pyramid, the air grew heavier, filled with an ancient energy that pressed against our skin. The walls of the corridor shimmered faintly, etched with symbols that seemed to shift when we weren't looking. It was clear that this place was more than just an old ruin-it was a temple, a sacred space dedicated to the goddess.

The air inside the temple was thick with an ancient energy that made my skin tingle. The deeper we moved into the temple, the more I felt as if something or someone-was watching us. The walls were carved with strange symbols and statues of wolves, shifting and shimmering like they were alive. I traced my fingers over one of the engravings, feeling warmth pulse beneath my

fingertips.

"What is this place," Isaiah muttered beside me, his eyes scanning the dimly lit chamber.

I nodded, pulling out the map. The moment I unfolded it, the markings shifted, rearranging themselves before my eyes. The old map of the uncharted realm vanished, replaced by an intricate layout of the temple.

"The map changed," I murmured.

The others gathered around, their expressions tense.

"What's it showing now?" Alex asked, leaning in.

“There are four levels,” I explained, my eyes darting over the new pathways. "We're at the very top, and we need to make our way down to the bottom. Collecting all four shards at each level."

"There are four layers to this pyramid," Stormi said, her voice thoughtful. "We're at the very top, and we

the bottom. That's where we'll find all the shards."

eed to make our way to

Austin groaned. "Of course, they couldn't have just left them out in the open for us."

"And where's the first one?" Alex asked impatiently.

I lifted my gaze from the parchment and scanned the chamber, That's when I saw it-at the far end of the room, raised on a stone pedestal, sat a gleaming shard of crystal, locked inside a glass case. It shimmered like moonlight, pulsing with a faint glow..

"There," I said, pointing.

Austin grinned. "Well, that was easy."

A knot of unease twisted in my stomach. "Nothing about this has ever been easy."

But Austin wasn't listening. He was already stepping forward, his confidence practically radiating off him.

"Careful" I warned.

right there. What could

first step leading to the pedestal, sharp click echoed through

Everything moved.

sinister red glow. The ground beneath us shifted, deep cracks forming as massive stone slabs siid apart, revealing bottomless chasms. Hidden mechanisms activated with a deafening clang, and suddenly,

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Chapter 197

Isaiah groaned. "You idiot."

looking sheepish. "Okay...

roared with grinding stone and snapping mechanisms. The floor was a shifting

have to move!" I

before the temple buried us alive. The problem was-how? The shifting ground was a maze of collapsing tiles, and

to act. He lifted his hands, summoning flames that illuminated the room,

floor moves in cycles. If we step carefully,

the movements. He was right-the stones weren't shifting randomly. There was a rhythm to

shouted, stepping onto one of the

watching the floor carefully. The temple was fighting us at every turn-spears launched from hidden slots, swinging blades sliced through the

moved with surprising agility. He barely avoided a collapsing column, dodging at the last second. His

the temple threw another obstacle at us. Sections of

to Alex, panting. "Any chance you can melt these traps

walls

just have to be faster,"

dropped from the ceiling, but I managed to roll under it just in time. The

reached out for the glass case, but Isaiah grabbed my

"This

down at the

familiar. Then it hit

the temple will collapse," I

let's make sure we have an

"There's a secondary passage behind

fast, we can get

deep breath. "Everyone,

Alex moved into position near the shifting floor, keeping an

Elijah stood beside

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Chapter 197

me

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