Primordial Expanse: I have the Strongest Talent!

In the centre of the chamber, a stone altar stood, covered in ancient symbols. A flickering torch, half-burnt, lay on the ground nearby, providing the only light.

Alex picked it up, grateful for the illumination.

'An altar of some sorts? Why would The Whisperer be here? What are the examiners planning with this test? What does this have to do with strategy?'

Alex's mind raced with questions as he was just left even more confused, wondering why he was led to this place.

With nothing else to go off of, he could only do the sensible thing and examine the altar at the centre.

But not before checking for any traps, obviously.

Clank!

He dislodged a loose stone from one of the chamber's walls, and tossed it at the altar in the centre, careful not to damage any of the symbols on the sides.

With the lack of any reaction, he still wasn't sure there weren't any traps, but it was better than nothing.

Approaching the altar, he examined the symbols, but they were unfamiliar and indecipherable.

'I doubt this actually means anything anyway. No way the examiners would make something like this a part of the main assignment.'

The chamber had several exits, each one leading deeper into the temple.

Alex weighed his options, then decided to continue heading in a straight line, towards the exit on the opposite end of the chamber.

It would make for an easy method to find his way back out, since he'd just have to turn back around and walk in a straight line again.

Holding his half-burnt torch high, he exited the chamber, this corridor being narrower and more winding.

With the age of this place, most of the stones and building blocks that made the temple up had degraded.

He had to squeeze through tight spaces and duck under low hanging rocks and arches. The walls here were even more ancient, covered in a thick layer of dust, cobwebs and moss.

'Pause…'

Suddenly, he heard a faint sound — footsteps, barely audible but distinct. He froze, listening intently. The sound grew louder, coming from the corridor ahead.

'Something's here!'

Alex extinguished the roger, plunging himself into darkness again.

He pressed against the wall, holding his breath. The footsteps grew closer, then stopped. Alex's heart pounded in his chest, each beat echoing in his ears.

Alex just hoped the source of those footsteps couldn't hear his heart beating.

He peered into the darkness, trying to see the source of the sound. A shadowy figure moved cautiously down the corridor, but its movements were deliberate and silent.

'Is that The Whisperer?'

Alex stayed still, watching the figure. They seemed to be searching for something, moving slowly and carefully. The figure paused, looking around, until its deep, black irises stared directly into Alex's.

At that moment, Alex knew true horror.

His heart was practically beating out of his chest at this point, and he closed his eyes reflexively.

He could hear the footsteps coming closer to him, but he was focused on a different source of sound.

He was focused on the whispers, to be exact.

'Open your eyessss…'

'Look!'

'Do it, Alexxx…'

'Open them, you know you want tooooo….'

The whispers were snake-like, dragging out the last word of each sentence.

Each of the whispers felt like they were penetrating Alex's head directly, like they were directly bypassing Alex's physical form.

Alex felt something compelling him to listen to the whispers, and he tried with all his willpower to overrule the feeling.

'I can't! I won't!'

He didn't know why, but something inside him told him that he shouldn't open his eyes, no matter what.

'Don't look! Keep your eyes closed!'

Tap

Tap

Step

After a whole minute of the whispers constantly torturing his mind, he could vaguely hear the sound of footsteps getting farther and farther away from him.

With the signal of the steps moving away, the whispers also faded lower and lower, until they were no longer present in his mind.

Alex fell to his knees then the whispers left. He gasped for breath, his chest heaving, heart pounding at a rate that would send him into cardiac arrest on any normal day.

He kept his eyes squeezed shut, unwilling to risk another encounter with whatever that was.

Minutes passed, each one feeling like an eternity.

Slowly his heartbeat began to slow, his breaths became more regular. His mind, which had been a chaotic whirlwind, started to clear.

'What the hell was that??' he thought, still trembling from the trauma. He forced himself to take slow, deep breaths, trying to regain his composure.

'How the hell am I supposed to assassinate a figure like that? That was no human…'

Alex struggled to his feet, leaning against the rough stone wall for support. His legs felt weak, barely able to hold him up.

He stayed there for a moment longer, gathering his strength.

'I need to keep moving, staying here won't do me any good.'

He opened his eyes cautiously, half-expecting to see the shadowy figure still lingering nearby.

The corridor was empty though, thankfully, the darkness undisturbed.

But still, somehow the eerie silence left Alex feeling comfortable compared to the experience with those whispers piercing to the very core of his mind.

Alex picked up the half-burnt torch and flicked his fingers, trying to use his flame talent to relight it.

But, he had forgotten that he had no such powers in this place, and was forced to continue walking in the darkness.

He had no idea where he was going anymore, but he had to keep moving forward.

The corridor twisted and turned, leading him to the location where he saw the shadowy figure searching through earlier.

After feeling around for a while, Alex determined that there was some sort of table leaning up against the corridor in this section.

'It's rather wide here, am I in an office?' He thought, but dismissed it soon after.

He could care very little what type of room he was in, as his hands brushed past something on the table.

Something that felt like a book.