Apocalypse: The echoes of Madness

Zane fixed his cold gaze on the young woman and asked, "Who are you?"

The young woman gritted her teeth, her hands clenched into trembling fists. Her voice was filled with bitterness as she hissed, "Why did you come back? You already know how hellish this place is." Her eyes burned with an intensity that made the room feel colder. "You saw your sister sacrificed, your mother take her own life right before your eyes… and you still returned to this cursed place. Why?"

Rose stepped forward as much as the chains allowed, her sharp tone cutting through the tension. "Hey, shut your mouth and tell us who you are."

The young woman's eyes shifted to Rose, her expression a mix of sorrow and desperation. Her voice trembled as she replied, "I was Ryeon's neighbor… But I know why your group has been chosen for sacrifice." She took a deep breath, her words spilling out like a confession. "Four years ago, Dr. Seo-joon, a man from this village, defied the elders. His daughter was chosen as the sacrifice, but he fled with her in the dead of night. The elders sent hitmen after him. When they caught him, he swore vengeance. He cursed this village and made a promise—a trade.

"'From now on,' he said, 'I will send you the most beautiful and powerful people for your rituals. They will become your sacrifices.'"

Her voice cracked as she added, "You are the ones he chose.Eight years of sacrifices, and now… it's lily's turn."

The weight of her words sank into the room like a stone.

Cale's voice erupted, his rage barely contained. "Are you kidding me? What kind of twisted nonsense is this?"

Emily struggled against her chains, her wrists red and raw. "You didn't come here just to tell us a story. Why are you really here?"

The young woman hesitated, her fingers trembling as she produced a small iron key from her sleeve. She leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I came to save you. This key will unlock the chains, but listen carefully: you must escape during the night. That's when everyone will be at the temple for the ritual."

Cale's eyes narrowed, his voice steady but filled with urgency. "We're not leaving without Lily."

The young woman froze, her gaze darkening with sorrow. "You can't save her. If you try, you'll all die with her."

She slipped the key into Rose's chained hand, her voice trembling. "Use this when the time is right. But remember, if you hesitate, it'll be the end of all of you."

The heavy silence that followed was pierced by the distant sound of drums, each beat carrying the weight of inevitability.

The woman left without another word, her footsteps fading into the eerie silence of the corridor.

Arthur asked, "Who is that Dr. Seo-joon?"

Zane's gaze was cold, his voice steady as he replied, "It's Dr. Lucas."

Rose clenched her teeth, her voice trembling with suppressed fury. "You knew, didn't you?"

Her words sliced through the air, and the group turned to Zane, their eyes demanding answers.

Zane's cold gaze remained steady as he finally spoke, his tone devoid of remorse. "There is no cure. You all knew that. But we came here because Dr. Lucas asked us to stop this sacrifice. He claimed his daughter was taken and sacrificed here."

Rose let out a bitter chuckle, the sound echoing unnervingly in the dim cell. "So much trust… How naive are you, Zane?"

Zane's expression hardened. "I knew he lied. From the start. But I still came because I wanted to destroy this cursed village." His eyes swept over the group, unyielding. "And I never forced any of you to come. You chose this path on your own."

James broke the heavy silence, his voice firm. "That's right."

"I already knew everyone had their own reasons for coming here," Rose thought, "So, this was yours, Zane."

Their gazes locked, tension crackling like static in the air. The flickering torchlight in the corridor cast shadows across their faces, and for a moment, they looked less like allies and more like strangers with dangerous secrets.

The eerie glow of the full moon bathed the village in a pale, otherworldly light. The cell they had been locked in was unnervingly unguarded, and the silence of the empty village was oppressive. Not a single soul stirred.

One by one, they slipped out of the cell, their movements tense and cautious. The cell wasn't far from the house where they had stayed. They made their way there, checking to see if their weapons were still there. They found their weapons lying there, surprisingly untouched. They collected their weapons, each one acutely aware of the unnatural stillness surrounding them.

Yuri broke the silence, her voice laced with a strange humor as she glanced at Arthur. "Do they really think we'll leave without our powers... or without Lily?"

Cale tightened his grip on his weapon, his voice grim. "Even if we die, we have to save her."

Emily shot him a sharp look. "That's too much, Cale. We can't save her if we're dead."

Rose leaned against the wall, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Based on what that young woman said, Lily was chosen first because she's the most beautiful woman here." She smirked, her tone shifting. "Am I not beautiful enough to be chosen first?"

Yuri hesitated, glancing nervously at Rose. "Of course you are."

Rose raised an eyebrow, her smirk deepening. "You're hesitating, Yuri."

A laugh escaped them, hollow and tense, but a rare reprieve in the nightmare they found themselves in. Even Zane's lips curved into the faintest semblance of a grin.

But the moment shattered when Zane's voice cut through the air like a knife. "By the way," he said, his tone calm but unsettling, "that young woman wasn't my neighbor."

They stopped in their tracks, the weight of his words sinking in like lead. Rose turned to him, her expression dark. "Why didn't you say that before?"

Zane shrugged nonchalantly. "I forgot."

Cale's voice was sharp, tinged with frustration. "Let's go. Whatever trap they've set, we'll deal with it."

The temple loomed at the highest peak of the mountain, shrouded in the eerie glow of the full moon. Seven figures began their ascent, climbing the ancient stone stairs one step at a time. The oppressive silence weighed heavily upon them, a suffocating reminder of the peril that lay ahead.

Each step sent a hollow echo into the darkness, the sound swallowed quickly by the surrounding void. The biting chill of the night sank into their bones, and the air seemed heavier with each breath. The stairs were steep and winding, bordered by jagged cliffs and gnarled trees whose twisted branches stretched toward the sky like skeletal arms clawing for salvation.

They climbed, their breaths shallow, their hearts pounding with a mix of determination and dread. Shadows seemed to shift and ripple in the moonlight, as if something unseen was watching, waiting.

Suddenly, a sharp sound broke through the silence.

[Warning. Warning.]

[1 hour left until Lily's secrifice.]

The words flashed across Rose's vision in bright, glaring red. It was a reminder of what they already knew deep in their bones—danger awaited them at the summit, lurking within the cursed temple. Yet, there was no turning back.

They pressed on, their steps heavy with the weight of the unknown. The higher they climbed, the darker the night seemed to grow, as if the mountain itself was swallowing the light. Every step brought them closer to the temple—and closer to the horrors that awaited them.

When they finally reached the summit, the temple loomed before them like an ancient sentinel, standing tall and proud against the night sky. Its sheer magnitude took their breath away. The structure was made of weathered stone, its surface intricately carved with symbols of gods and forgotten creatures, each one telling a story of a time long past. The temple's towering spires seemed to stretch toward the heavens, their peaks almost lost in the mist that hung heavily in the air. Vines wound around its pillars, creeping up like living fingers, their leaves shimmering faintly in the moonlight.

The temple had a beauty that was both captivating and haunting. The architecture was ancient, yet it pulsed with an energy that felt eerily alive, as if the stones themselves were watching. Its entrance was framed by massive wooden doors, aged and scarred with the passage of time, but still grand in their silent strength. The carvings on the doors were delicate and intricate, a mosaic of strange symbols that seemed to shift ever so slightly when viewed in the flickering light, as though they were constantly in motion, whispering secrets of the temple's dark past.

But it wasn't just the temple's beauty that struck them—it was the sense of foreboding that wrapped itself around their hearts. The air was thick with an unnatural silence, pressing in on them from all sides. It was as though the mountain itself had swallowed every sound, leaving only the weight of anticipation hanging heavily in the air. The moonlight cast long shadows, bending the edges of reality and making everything seem distant, yet suffocatingly close at the same time.

Standing guard at the temple's entrance were two creatures, each more horrifying than the last. They were towering figures, their bodies grotesquely massive, covered in rough, mottled skin that seemed to pulse with a life of its own. Their eyes glowed a sickly yellow, an unnatural hue that burned with malevolent intent. Their faces, a twisted fusion of man and beast, were distorted beyond recognition, their features jagged and sharp. The creatures' massive jaws were filled with rows of jagged teeth that seemed to thirst for blood, their breath ragged and heavy, filling the air with a sickening warmth.

Every movement they made was deliberate and slow, as if they were savoring the moment of terror before the inevitable strike. Their claws scraped against the stone ground with a sound that was nothing short of bone-chilling. Each step they took seemed to send tremors through the earth beneath their feet, shaking the very foundation of the mountain. The closer the group drew, the more oppressive the presence of these creatures became, as though they were the embodiment of the temple's curse, guarding its secrets and ensuring that no one would ever escape its grasp.

The monsters weren't merely guardians; they were the very essence of the temple's dark power, exuding an aura of dread and malevolence. It was clear that the temple's beauty was a mere illusion, a façade hiding the horrors within. The creatures stood as a warning to anyone who dared approach—this was no place of worship, no sanctuary, but a realm where life and death were merely pawns in a game controlled by forces beyond comprehension.

---

(To be continued)

---