Chapter 19: How to Survive a Glorious Victory and Immediately Regret It
The corridor widened after a few more turns and stumbles, as if the world had finally gotten tired of squeezing me between rocks and decided to give me enough space to die comfortably.
And that's when I saw it.
The hall was vast. Very vast. Massive columns rose like the bones of some extinct creature, covered in glowing fungi and dried-out vines. And in the center... was history.
Literally.
The walls of the place were covered in carvings that looked like giant comic strips. Yeah, like those stained glass church panels — only with way more decapitation and way less forgiveness.
Among the figures carved into the stone — mirrors, veiled kings, and soldiers with eyes on their backs — one symbol caught my attention, even though I couldn't say why.
Two spirals intertwined, crossed by a single vertical line.
Simple, almost insignificant in the middle of so much grandeur.
But it wasn't just decoration. There was intention in that design. Like it was part of a ritual, or a command mark.
I moved forward. Didn't have time to stop and analyze. But the image stayed in the corner of my mind, waiting for the right moment to come back.
I approached one of the walls, even with my brain screaming "don't touch anything, you idiot." Curiosity won.