The village remained unnaturally still, its hollow-eyed residents shuffling through routines that meant nothing. Kullen watched them move, his gaze sharp and searching. The air felt thicker here, as if Veyruun's presence weighed down every breath.
Ephraim's words haunted him. 'Purpose. Knowledge. Understanding.'
"Something's wrong with this place," Kullen muttered, his voice low.
"No shit," Lucio replied, glancing uneasily at a villager who walked past, eyes unfocused and glazed. "They're like puppets on strings."
"Or prisoners," Nathan said, his gaze distant.
Kullen's fingers tightened around his weapon. It wasn't just the villagers. It was the silence. The air. Everything felt like it was watching him, waiting for him to break.
They moved deeper into the village, their footsteps muffled by the frost-crusted ground. Jalen was quiet, his eyes narrowed and alert. Kullen could tell something was bothering him, but Jalen wasn't one to share his concerns easily.
They reached the heart of the village, where a stone altar rose from the ground like a jagged tooth. It was covered in carvings—symbols that twisted and turned, their meaning elusive.
"Feels like a trap," Jalen said, his voice tight.
"It's definitely something," Kullen replied, stepping forward. The altar seemed to hum under his touch, its surface vibrating faintly.
"Kullen, careful," Nathan warned.
But Kullen couldn't stop himself. The carvings drew him in, their shapes shifting before his eyes. His head pounded, the world blurring until all he could see was the stone and the symbols etched into it.
Then everything went black.
Kullen blinked, his vision clearing slowly. He stood in a vast chamber, its walls made of smooth obsidian that reflected his own image back at him. The ground beneath him rippled like liquid stone, and the air tasted of ash and decay.
"Where…?" he muttered, his voice swallowed by the oppressive darkness.
A deep, rumbling voice echoed around him, shaking the very air.
"Welcome, Kullen. You stand within my domain now."
Kullen tensed, his fingers twitching toward his blade. "Veyruun."
The shadows twisted and congealed, forming a towering figure. Veyruun stepped forward, his form sculpted from black stone and shadow, with veins of molten gold coursing through his body like blood. His eyes glowed with a fierce, predatory light—molten gold, burning and unyielding.
Eyes that looked disturbingly familiar.
Kullen's breath hitched. The way those eyes glowed, how they pierced through him with relentless intensity… he'd seen that same fire before.
'Jalen's eyes. They are the same as his...'
Veyruun's lips twisted into a grin, his teeth sharp like broken glass. "You have come seeking my judgment. And I will give it."
Kullen steadied himself. "This is your trial, then? A battle of strength?"
"No." Veyruun's voice was a low, mocking rumble. "Strength is a fleeting tool. Knowledge, however, is eternal. Prove your worth, or be forgotten."
The chamber shifted, its walls twisting into a spiraling labyrinth. Pathways unfolded before him, each route branching off into shadow and silence.
"What is this?" Kullen growled, his hand tightening on his sword.
"A game of minds," Veyruun replied. "We shall speak. For every question you ask, I will grant you an answer. But for each answer, I shall ask you a question of equal weight. Answer truthfully, or be crushed by the weight of your own ignorance."
"Why bother with all this?" Kullen shot back. "If you wanted me dead, you could just throw another monster at me."
Veyruun's grin widened. "Because brute force does not interest me. Purpose, knowledge, understanding—these are the things that matter. And these are the things you lack."
The floor rippled beneath Kullen's feet, forcing him forward into the maze.
"Ask your question, mortal," Veyruun commanded. "Let us see if you are worthy of my attention."
Kullen swallowed, his eyes narrowing. "What is this village? Why are the people here trapped like that?"
Veyruun's voice was a blade against his thoughts. "They are the echoes of those who sought my judgment and failed. Their minds shattered by their own arrogance. Their souls trapped in the cycles they created."
"They can't break free?" Kullen asked, his tone hard.
"They could. If they understood their flaws, but mortals never change... they do not grow." Veyruun's gaze bore into him. "Now, my question. Why do you seek me, Kullen? What is your purpose?"
Kullen hesitated. "I want to protect the people I care about. To make sure they have a chance at surviving this place."
Veyruun's laughter was like stone grinding against stone. "A noble answer. But shallow. You protect them, yes. But do you understand them? Do you understand yourself?"
Kullen's jaw clenched. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"You wield strength like a hammer, but wisdom escapes you. You protect those around you, but do you truly understand why?" Veyruun's eyes gleamed. "You cling to purpose, but you do not comprehend it."
The maze shifted again, the pathways coiling around him like serpents.
Kullen's mind raced. He needed to keep the conversation going, to understand what Veyruun was trying to teach him. But the way the god's eyes bore into him—it was like he was being stripped of every defense he had.
"Why me?" Kullen demanded. "Why test me like this?"
Veyruun's grin widened, but it lacked the satisfaction of before. "Because you are the only one who rules a kingdom. And a leader who fails to understand himself will only lead his followers to ruin."
Kullen's eyes narrowed. "What the hell does that have to do with this… game?"
Veyruun's voice rumbled like distant thunder. "Everything. You seek power to protect, but your understanding is as shallow as the ice you tread upon."
The chamber trembled, pathways shifting as the maze reformed around him. Kullen stumbled, his mind racing. Veyruun's words cut deep, each sentence twisted to make him question himself.
Kullen glanced down at his own hands, the faintest shimmer of translucence creeping along his fingertips. His skin seemed to blur, his outline flickering like a dying flame.
"What the…" he whispered, his voice trembling.
"The process has already begun," Veyruun remarked, his voice heavy with contempt. "The longer you flounder in ignorance, the more you become like them. Hollow. Meaningless."
Kullen's pulse quickened. His body was beginning to feel lighter, like he was losing touch with reality itself. Panic clawed at the edges of his mind.
"You're running out of time," Veyruun continued, his voice dripping with disinterest. "Ask a question worth my attention, or continue to fade into nothingness."
Kullen gritted his teeth, fighting to steady his breathing. His body was flickering like the villagers—caught in some endless loop of failure.
"Why do you care about purpose and knowledge so damn much?" Kullen demanded, his frustration laced with desperation. "Why does it matter to you?"
Veyruun's gaze sharpened, the gold in his eyes burning like molten steel. "At last. A question with some merit."
The shadows rippled, the chamber's form twisting around Kullen like a living thing.
"Purpose is the forge through which power is made real," Veyruun explained. "Strength alone is nothing. Knowledge alone is nothing. Understanding is what makes them matter. You claim to rule a kingdom, yet your understanding of yourself and those you lead is fractured."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kullen snapped.
"It means that you lead with force and caution, but lack insight. You wield strength like a weapon and assume it is enough. But knowledge is the true weapon. Purpose is the true shield."
Kullen's hands were now nearly transparent. His entire body felt weightless, as if he was moments away from being pulled into the same cursed existence as the villagers.
"Prove you are more than brute strength," Veyruun challenged. "Or fade away like the others."
Kullen swallowed hard. His mind raced, recalling the villagers' endless loops, their repetitive tasks that led nowhere. That was what Veyruun wanted him to become—another failed soul bound to this place.
"You're wrong," Kullen said, his voice low but firm. "I don't lead them just because I'm strong. I lead them because I understand them. I've seen their pain. Their struggle. I fight for them because I know what it's like to feel powerless."
The maze trembled, cracks splintering through the dark stone. Veyruun's expression remained impassive, but the air grew colder, sharper.
"Words are empty without action," Veyruun sneered. "Prove your understanding, if you claim to have it."
Kullen's gaze darted around the chamber, his thoughts racing. The villagers had been trapped because they couldn't break their cycles. They had failed to adapt, to understand themselves or their surroundings.
He needed to do what they couldn't.
Kullen closed his eyes, focusing on his own doubts, his own flaws. He thought of Jalen's reckless arrogance, Lucio's frustration, and Nathan's distant unease. All of them were struggling to find their own way through this nightmare.
"My purpose isn't just to protect them," Kullen said, his voice clear. "It's to understand them. To help them grow stronger. If I shield them from everything, they'll never become what they're meant to be."
The translucence faded from his skin, his body solidifying as the chamber quaked violently. Veyruun's gaze narrowed, his interest piqued.
"Purpose found is a weapon stronger than any blade," Veyruun intoned, his voice heavy with something close to approval. "But you have only just begun to understand."
The maze collapsed, its walls crumbling away into darkness. Kullen's vision blurred, his senses overwhelmed by a crushing silence.