In a world where the sky was nothing more than a single, colossal eye, the horizon no longer held the promise of endless possibilities. Instead, it was a prison, a haunting omnipresence that hung above us like a god waiting to judge our every breath.

The Eye, as it was called, had no eyelid. It never blinked, never wavered. Its pupil, a deep abyssal black, contrasted sharply against the cloudy white sclera. It watched, always watched, as if to remind us that no action, no thought, was ever hidden.

The eye loomed over us for as long as anyone could remember. The old tales said it appeared centuries ago, though no one alive now knew exactly when or why.

The whispers among the elders hinted at ancient sins---our ancestors having done something terrible, something unforgivable. Others believed the Eye was always there, a reminder that we were merely ants in the gaze of an indifferent god.

But the one truth everyone accepted was that the Eye controlled everything.

Rain fell when the Eye wept. Lightning struck when its rage boiled over, arcs of violent energy lashing out from its gaze. And when it dilated, everything beneath it trembled. That was when we felt the tremors in the ground, as if the entire earth was caught in the pulse of the Eye's slow, calculated breath.

Every ten years, the Ritual of Reckoning would be performed. A few chosen, just a handful out of thousands, were permitted to step outside the dome.

Beyond the protective barriers of the underground cities where we all lived, the outside world was barren---gray, lifeless, scorched by the Eye's eternal stare. The chosen would be tasked with doing what no one had ever done: kill the Eye.

I had never imagined I'd be one of them.

Not me, of all people.

***

The day began like any other in the underground city of Vorr. I woke to the hum of the reactors that powered our lives beneath the surface, the artificial light mimicking a sun that no longer existed. The air was thick with recycled oxygen, always tinged with a metallic bite.

My name is Cale, a factory worker, like my father before me. I lived a simple life of routine and survival, never thinking much beyond the confines of the city walls.

That morning, the summons came. It arrived in the form of a cold, digital voice, broadcast through the speaker system that ran through every part of Vorr.

"Cale Elorik. You have been chosen."

Four words, and everything I knew came crashing down.

My hands froze mid-motion as I was assembling a cog for one of the ventilation systems. The other workers stopped what they were doing too, staring at me with a mix of awe and pity. The chosen were never expected to return.

I didn't know what to feel---pride, fear, or perhaps the numbness that followed the announcement. Being chosen meant one thing: you had been marked by fate to challenge the Eye.

And no one, not in centuries, had ever succeeded.

***

The preparations were minimal. We were given weapons---a jagged blade forged from a rare metal said to absorb the Eye's power, and a crossbow with bolts dipped in the poison of a long-extinct creature.

We were trained for only a few days, but the truth was, no amount of preparation mattered.

The Eye is a god.

What could mere mortals like us possibly do against it?

The day of the Ritual arrived. I stood with the others---five of us in total---on the platform that would lift us to the surface. Each of us was clad in protective suits, though they felt like little more than symbolic gestures.

Our faces were hidden behind thick helmets with darkened visors, but even through the shield, I could feel the terror that permeated the group. Not one of us believed we would make it back.

The platform rumbled beneath us as it began its slow ascent. We passed through layers of rock and metal, the underground city shrinking away beneath us. My heart pounded in my chest as we neared the surface, my mind racing with a thousand thoughts.

Then, the hatch opened, and for the first time in my life, I saw the sky.

The Eye.

It was larger than I had ever imagined. Stories couldn't do it justice, nor could the warnings from the elders who had witnessed it and lived to tell the tale.

The Eye filled the entire sky, its gaze fixed on us as we stepped out into the dead world. Its pupil constricted, narrowing as if it were focusing directly on us.

The ground outside was scorched and cracked, like the surface of a barren moon. No life existed here---no plants, no animals, not even the wind dared to disturb the silence. All that remained was the Eye and its unyielding watchfulness.

For a moment, we stood frozen, staring up at the thing that had haunted our ancestors for generations. None of us spoke, but I knew we were all thinking the same thing: how could we possibly kill something so vast, so ancient?

The answer was simple: We couldn't.

But we had to try.

The first to move was Renn, a soldier from the lower districts. He was the bravest of us, or maybe just the most desperate. He loaded his crossbow, aimed it at the sky, and fired.

The bolt shot upward, a tiny speck against the vastness of the Eye. It arced through the air, reaching higher and higher until it finally disappeared into the blackness of the pupil.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, the ground shook.

A low, rumbling sound filled the air, like the growl of a sleeping beast awakened from a deep slumber. The Eye's pupil widened, dilating until it seemed to swallow the sky. Lightning crackled around its edges, and the earth beneath us cracked and split.

Renn didn't have time to react. A bolt of energy shot down from the sky, striking him where he stood. His body disintegrated in an instant, leaving nothing but ash.

The rest of us stumbled back, terror clawing at our throats.

One down, four left.

And we had no plan.

Panic gripped the group. A woman named Yara dropped her weapon and ran, sprinting toward the distant mountains in a futile attempt to escape the Eye's wrath. She didn't make it far. The Eye watched her, its pupil narrowing again. Another bolt of lightning, and she was gone.

Two down.

Three left.

I stood there, my mind racing, my heart pounding in my chest. We were doomed. There was no defeating this thing. It wasn't just a force of nature---it was something more; something far beyond our understanding.

The ground continued to tremble, cracks spider-webbing across the barren landscape. I turned to the others, trying to form a plan, any plan, but words failed me.

How do you fight a god?

The answer came from Koris, the eldest of our group; a scholar who had studied the Eye his entire life. His voice was calm, almost resigned as he spoke.

"We don't kill it," he said, his eyes locked on the sky. "We make it see us."

Koris' words hung in the air, their meaning elusive at first. But as the ground trembled beneath our feet and the sky darkened with the Eye's wrath, I began to understand.

For centuries, we had been trying to destroy the Eye, to rid ourselves of its gaze. But what if the Eye wasn't our enemy?

What if it was something else entirely, something that had been waiting for us to realize its true purpose?

"We've been fighting it all wrong," Koris continued, his voice growing stronger. "The Eye isn't here to destroy us. It's here to watch us; to judge us. And we've been hiding from it. We've been afraid of its gaze, when all it wants is for us to look back."

The idea was insane.

But at that moment, with the ground cracking beneath our feet and the Eye bearing down on us, it was the only thing that made sense.

Koris stepped forward, raising his hands toward the sky. His voice rang out, strong and clear.

"I see you!" he shouted, his words echoing across the empty landscape. "I see you, and I am not afraid!"

The Eye reacted. Its pupil narrowed, its gaze focusing on Koris. But instead of the destructive energy that had obliterated Renn and Yara, something else happened.

The Eye blinked.

For the first time in centuries, the Eye closed. And when it opened again, the sky was different.

The clouds were gone, replaced by a clear, endless blue. The sun, long forgotten, shone down on us for the first time in generations.

Koris collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "We were never meant to kill it," he whispered. "We were meant to see it; to understand it."

I stood there, staring up at the now-clear sky, my mind reeling from what had just happened. The Eye is still there, but it is different now. Less of a threat; more of a presence. Watching, but no longer judging.

We had spent centuries trying to destroy something that was never meant to be destroyed. In the end, all it had wanted was to be seen; to be acknowledged.

Koris was right.

We had been afraid of the Eye for so long that we had forgotten how to truly look at it.

The sun's warmth on my face felt surreal, almost alien. For so long, the Eye had been the only sky we had known---its constant, unblinking gaze dominating our lives. Now, with the sun's rays filtering down through the clear sky, I felt something stir inside me: hope.

But that hope was tempered with a gnawing uncertainty. We had changed something fundamental. Was it for the better, or had we simply awakened something far more dangerous?

Koris was still on his knees, staring up at the sky with awe. His frail form trembled, but I couldn't tell if it was from relief or fear. I approached him slowly, unsure of what to say, unsure of what would come next.

The others---Dahlia and Meren---remained frozen in place, their expressions blank, as if they too were processing the enormity of what had just happened.

"We did it," I murmured, though the words felt hollow.

What had we really done?

We hadn't killed the Eye.

We hadn't freed ourselves from its gaze.

We had simply made it blink, made it acknowledge us, but what does that mean?

Koris lifted his head, his eyes reflecting the light of the newly revealed sun. "It's a beginning," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "We've changed the world. For the first time in centuries, we have been seen."

"Seen by what?" Dahlia's voice cut through the fragile silence, trembling with suppressed fear.

She hadn't moved from her spot since Yara and Renn had been struck down. "It's not gone. The Eye is still there. What happens now?"

I didn't have an answer for her, but Koris spoke again, his voice growing steadier as if he had tapped into some deep reservoir of wisdom. "It watches us differently now," he said. "Not as a god, but as ... something else. We've shown it that we are more than mere subjects of its gaze."

I didn't share Koris' optimism.

The Eye is still there, lurking behind the blue of the sky, its presence felt even if unseen for now.

The thought chilled me. We had barely scratched the surface of understanding it, and already we were thinking we'd changed something fundamental.

I stepped forward, my gaze shifting between the sky and Koris. "But what happens next?" I asked, pressing him. "If this is just the beginning, what comes after? What if it decides to act again? What if blinking was just the start of something worse?"

Koris stood slowly, using the staff he carried for support. "That's the thing about beginnings," he said, looking at me with tired eyes. "We don't know. But we can't live in fear anymore. We've faced the Eye. We've survived."

Survived.

I wanted to believe that meant more than just existing beneath the gaze of a god, but could I?

Could any of us?

Meren, who had remained silent, finally spoke up, her voice tinged with resignation. "We can't go back underground," she said, her eyes scanning the horizon. "Not after this. The world has changed, and so have we."

I glanced around at the landscape. The barren, cracked earth still stretched out in all directions, but the air was different now.

Lighter.

I hadn't realized how suffocating the constant presence of the Eye had been until now, when it no longer dominated every moment of my existence. But the fear of its return lingered.

Koris gestured toward the horizon. "We'll need to explore. We need to understand the new world we've uncovered. The Eye isn't our prison anymore---it's our challenge."

I exchanged glances with Dahlia and Meren. None of us looked particularly convinced. The sun was bright, sure, but beneath it, the scars of the past were still visible. The earth was dead, the world barren.

Could we really rebuild?

Could we even hope to fight whatever other trials the Eye might have in store for us?

Still, we had no choice. We couldn't go back to the way things were.

***

In the days that followed, we began our journey beyond the dome. We were the first of our kind to truly walk the earth in centuries, unshackled by the Eye's oppressive presence.

Koris led us, his knowledge of the old texts guiding our steps. We traveled toward the distant mountains, where legends said there was still life---hidden away, protected from the Eye's gaze. The journey was long and grueling.

The sun, though warm and welcoming at first, became an unrelenting force. Our bodies, accustomed to the artificial light of the underground, struggled to adjust to the harshness of the real world.

And yet, we pressed on.

We had to.

As we traveled, I couldn't shake the feeling that the Eye was still watching us. Though the sky remained clear, I felt its gaze lurking just beyond the blue, waiting for us to falter. Koris assured us that the Eye had changed, that it no longer saw us as prey or subjects.

But I wasn't so sure.

The world is still too quiet, too dead.

It was Dahlia who noticed it first. We had been traveling for weeks, our supplies dwindling, when she pointed out the faint glimmer on the horizon. At first, I thought it was a trick of the light, a mirage brought on by exhaustion. But as we drew closer, I saw it too---buildings. Ruins, to be exact. The remnants of a city long forgotten.

We approached cautiously, weapons drawn, though what we expected to find, I couldn't say. The city was vast, its crumbling towers reaching up toward the sky like skeletal fingers. It must have been magnificent once, a place where thousands lived and thrived. Now, it was a graveyard, its streets choked with dust and debris.

But it wasn't empty.

As we entered the city, we saw them: People.

Or at least, they had once been people.

Their bodies were twisted and malformed, their skin pale and translucent, as if they had been drained of life by the Eye's gaze. They wandered the streets aimlessly, their eyes vacant, their movements slow and lethargic.

I felt a chill run down my spine as one of them turned to look at me. Its eyes were the same color as the Eye in the sky.

Koris stepped forward, his face pale but resolute. "They're the remnants," he said softly. "Those who lived here before the Eye came. They've been ... changed."

"Changed?" Dahlia echoed, her voice trembling. "They're monsters."

Koris shook his head. "No, not monsters. Victims. The Eye didn't kill them---it twisted them, bent them to its will. This is what happens when you live under its gaze for too long."

I stared at the creatures, my heart pounding in my chest. This was the future that awaited us if we failed. If the Eye decided to turn its gaze on us again.

"We need to leave," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "Now."

Koris nodded, but before we could move, the ground began to tremble. A deep rumbling sound echoed through the city, and the sky darkened once more. I looked up, my heart sinking as I saw it.

The Eye had returned.

Its pupil is wide, its gaze fixed on us. Lightning crackled around its edges, and the ground beneath our feet began to crack and split.

"We've been seen," Koris whispered, his face pale. "It's testing us."

I didn't have time to think. The ground gave way beneath me, and I fell into darkness.

***

I don't know how long I was unconscious, but when I woke, the world had changed again. I was lying on a bed of soft grass, the sun shining down on me.

The air is warm, the sky clear.

The Eye is gone.

I sat up slowly, my head spinning. Dahlia and Meren were nearby, both unconscious but alive.

Koris was gone.

As I stood, I realized that we were no longer in the city. We were in a lush, green field, surrounded by trees and flowers. It was beautiful, peaceful. The kind of place I had only ever dreamed of.

But as I looked around, I felt a deep sense of unease. This place was too perfect, too idyllic. It didn't feel real.

And then I saw it.

In the distance, hovering just above the horizon, was the Eye.

It hadn't left. It had merely changed.

I don't know what the future holds for us, but one thing is certain: we are still being watched. The Eye may no longer see us as prey, but it hasn't stopped watching. And I don't know if that's a blessing or a curse.

All I know is that we must keep moving, keep fighting. We must learn to live under its gaze, or we will become like the twisted creatures in the city.

The Eye is watching.

Always watching.

The ground beneath me trembled as I stood in that unnervingly beautiful field, my legs still weak from the fall. Dahlia stirred beside me, her face contorted with confusion and fear as she blinked her eyes open. Meren sat up a moment later, her gaze darting around as if she expected the ground to split open again and swallow us whole.

"Where are we?" Dahlia asked, her voice thick with dread, even though the field around us looked like a scene from a paradise. Flowers bloomed in vibrant colors I hadn't seen in years. The breeze was soft, carrying the scent of fresh grass and something sweet I couldn't place.

"I don't know," I answered honestly, keeping my eyes fixed on the distant horizon. That's when I saw it again---the Eye. Smaller now, like it had retreated to the edge of the world, but it was still there, watching. It always watched.

"It's not over, is it?" Meren muttered, standing to brush the dirt from her clothes. "We thought we could kill it, but it just changed."

I didn't have an answer for her. Maybe there wasn't one.

Koris had believed in some kind of deeper meaning to the Eye's presence, that it was testing us, watching to see if we could prove ourselves worthy of something. Maybe he was right, but if that was true, we hadn't won anything. All we’d done was survive another round.

"We need to find Koris," I said, but even as I spoke, I had a sinking feeling that we wouldn't find him.

Not here.

Not in this strange, too-perfect place.

As we began to walk through the field, everything felt wrong. The beauty around us was too pristine, too untouched, like a dream that could turn into a nightmare at any moment. The further we walked, the more I felt the tension in my body building, my nerves on edge.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something move. A shadow darted between the trees, quick and fluid. My heart raced, and I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Did you see that?" I whispered, gripping Dahlia’s arm. She tensed beside me, her eyes scanning the treeline.

"I saw it," she confirmed. Meren nodded as well, her expression tightening.

We crept forward, staying low to the ground as we approached the trees. The sun’s warmth dimmed slightly as we stepped into the shade, and the peaceful atmosphere felt oppressive now, like we were intruding on something.

That's when we heard the voice.

"Welcome."

It was soft, barely a whisper, but it sent a chill down my spine. The three of us froze, exchanging terrified glances. The voice came again, this time louder, more distinct.

"You've done well to make it this far."

I turned slowly, my heart pounding in my chest. Standing at the edge of the field, just where the trees began to thin out, was a figure. I couldn't make out their face; they were shrouded in shadows, despite the sunlight that bathed the area. But I could feel their gaze on us, heavy and unnerving.

"Who are you?" I demanded, my voice shaking despite my attempt to sound strong.

The figure didn't move, but their voice echoed in my mind, as though they were speaking directly to me.

"You thought you could challenge the Eye," they said, almost mockingly. "You thought you could escape its gaze. But you were never meant to kill it. That was never the point."

"Then what is the point?" Dahlia asked, stepping forward despite the fear I saw flashing in her eyes.

The figure tilted its head, as if considering her question. "You are the first to make it this far in centuries. The Eye has watched, and it has judged. You will be tested now, not by the Eye, but by the world it controls."

The ground trembled again, and the trees around us seemed to shift, growing taller, their branches reaching out like claws. The field of flowers behind us withered, the bright colors bleeding away into dull, lifeless grays.

"You must prove yourselves," the voice continued. "Survive, and perhaps you will be free. Fail, and you will join the others."

"What others?" Meren asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

The figure smiled---at least, I think it smiled. It was hard to tell through the darkness that cloaked it. "The ones you saw in the city. The twisted souls who couldn't pass the test. They were not strong enough. Let's see if you are."

Before any of us could react, the ground gave way beneath our feet again, and we fell.

***

When I opened my eyes, we were no longer in the field. We were in a barren wasteland, the sky above us a swirling mass of dark clouds. The Eye was still there, larger than before, looming over us like an oppressive force. The wind howled around us, whipping sand and debris into the air, stinging our skin.

"We need to move," I said, pushing myself up. Dahlia and Meren were already on their feet, their faces set with determination. We didn’t have a plan. We didn't know what we were supposed to do. But one thing was clear: this was the test.

This is what the Eye---and whatever power controlled it---wanted from us.

We started walking, moving toward a distant shape on the horizon. It looked like a tower, its silhouette stark against the stormy sky. There was no other option, no other direction to go. The wasteland stretched out in every direction, barren and lifeless.

As we walked, I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being watched. Not just by the Eye, but by something else. The same shadowy presence that had spoken to us before.

"What do you think this test is?" Meren asked, her voice tight with fear.

"I don't know," I admitted. "But whatever it is, we have to survive it. That's the only way out."

We walked for what felt like hours, the wind growing stronger with each step. The tower in the distance seemed to get closer, but agonizingly slowly. I could feel the weight of the Eye’s gaze bearing down on us, and with each passing moment, the fear gnawed at me.

Then, out of nowhere, the ground beneath us erupted.

Creatures---twisted, deformed things that looked like they had once been human---burst from the earth. Their eyes were empty, their bodies warped and broken, but they moved with terrifying speed, rushing toward us with a primal fury.

"Run!" I shouted, but it was too late. The creatures were on us in seconds.

I swung my staff, knocking one of them back, but more kept coming. Dahlia and Meren fought beside me, their movements frantic but determined. We had to survive this. We had to prove ourselves.

The battle was brutal, but we managed to push through. Bloodied and exhausted, we fought our way toward the tower, the creatures falling one by one under our blows. When the last of them collapsed to the ground, we stood in silence, our breaths ragged.

"We're close," Dahlia said, her voice strained. "We have to keep going."

The tower loomed before us now, its dark stone walls towering above the wasteland. As we approached, the door swung open on its own, inviting us inside.

"I don't like this," Meren muttered, but we didn't have a choice.

Inside, the air was thick and heavy, the darkness oppressive. The only light came from a small, flickering flame at the far end of the room. In front of the flame stood the figure from before, still shrouded in shadows.

"You've done well," the figure said, its voice echoing through the chamber. "But the test is not over. You have proven your strength, but now you must prove your resolve."

The ground shifted beneath our feet, and the walls of the tower began to close in around us. The figure's voice grew louder, more insistent.

"Will you fight for your freedom? Will you challenge the Eye, even if it costs you everything?"

I felt the weight of the question settle on my shoulders. We had come this far, fought so hard. But was it enough?

Could we truly defeat the Eye?

Or was this just another part of its game, another trick to keep us under its control?

"I'll fight," I said, my voice steady despite the fear that gnawed at me.

Dahlia and Meren nodded in agreement, their faces set with determination.

The figure smiled again, and the walls stopped closing in.

"Then let the final test begin."

***

I don't know how long we fought. The battle was a blur of violence and pain, the creatures coming at us in wave after wave. But we didn't stop. We couldn't. The Eye watched us the entire time, its gaze unrelenting.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the creatures stopped coming. The chamber fell silent, and the figure stepped forward.

"You have proven yourselves," it said, its voice filled with a strange kind of respect. "The Eye has seen you, and it has judged you worthy."

The ground beneath us trembled one last time, and the walls of the tower crumbled away. The Eye disappeared, and the sky above us cleared.

We had done it. We had passed the test.

But as I looked around at the wasteland, at the bodies of the creatures we had slain, I couldn't shake the feeling that we had only just begun. The Eye might be gone, but its presence lingered, a constant reminder that we were never truly free.

"We survived," Dahlia said, her voice filled with relief, but her eyes betrayed her true feelings---there was doubt behind them, a hesitation that mirrored the uncertainty in my own heart.

Meren wiped the blood from her brow, looking around at the ruins of the tower, the lifeless bodies strewn across the ground. "For now," she muttered under her breath. "But is it really over?"

The question hung in the air, heavy and oppressive, much like the gaze of the Eye had been. We stood there in the silence, waiting for something---anything---to happen. But nothing did. The sky above remained calm, the wind was still, and the world around us seemed eerily quiet, too quiet.

I wanted to believe it was over, that we had passed the test, that we were free. But deep down, I knew better. The Eye may have judged us worthy, but that didn't mean we were safe.

"What now?" Dahlia asked, breaking the silence.

I didn't have an answer. I looked at the horizon, where the sun should have been setting, but instead, there was only the same pale, colorless sky that had been there when we first arrived. There was no sun. There is no day or night. Time doesn't seem to matter here.

"We find Koris," I said finally, though I wasn’t sure if I truly believed we'd ever see him again. "We need to get out of this place."

Meren gave me a skeptical look. "And where exactly do you think we'll go? Back to the city? The Eye is gone, but that doesn't mean the world is suddenly safe for us."

She was right.

Even without the Eye watching, the world beyond this wasteland was still dangerous. The creatures, the twisted souls, the people who had lost themselves to the test---they were all still out there, waiting.

But we couldn't stay here, either. This place, this field of ruins, it was nothing more than another prison, another part of the test.

We had to move forward.

We had to find a way out.

"Then we keep moving," I said, my voice firmer this time. "We find a way out of this wasteland, and we figure it out from there."

Dahlia and Meren exchanged a glance, but neither of them argued.

We had no other choice.

***

We walked for what felt like days, though it was impossible to tell how much time had actually passed. The landscape didn't change much---the barren wasteland stretched out endlessly in every direction, with no sign of life or shelter. Occasionally, we'd come across the remnants of something---a broken statue, a crumbling wall---but there were no clues as to where we were or where we should be heading.

My mind wandered back to the figure in the tower, the one who had spoken to us, who had tested us.

Who were they?

What did they want?

And why had they chosen us?

There were no answers, only more questions.

Dahlia's voice broke through my thoughts. "Look."

I followed her gaze and saw something in the distance---a structure, just barely visible on the horizon. It was small, but it was the first sign of anything different we’d seen in days. Hope flickered in my chest.

We quickened our pace, making our way toward the structure. As we got closer, I realized it was a building---an old, crumbling temple made of stone, its once-grand pillars now broken and leaning at odd angles. Vines had overtaken much of it, but it was still intact, still standing.

"Do you think it's safe?" Dahlia asked, eyeing the entrance warily.

"Safe enough," Meren replied, her tone dry. "It's the only shelter we’ve seen. Might as well take a chance."

I nodded in agreement and led the way inside.

The interior of the temple was dark and musty, but it was surprisingly spacious. The air was thick with dust, and the walls were lined with strange carvings---symbols and patterns that I didn’t recognize but that felt vaguely familiar. They reminded me of something, though I couldn't quite place what.

Meren ran her hand over one of the carvings, tracing the lines with her fingers. "This place is ancient," she said softly, almost to herself.

Dahlia moved deeper into the temple, her footsteps echoing in the empty space. "Do you think anyone's been here recently?" she asked, her voice reverberating off the stone walls.

I doubt it.

The temple felt abandoned, forgotten. But then again, so had everything else in this world.

We set up camp near the center of the temple, using what little supplies we had left. It wasn't much---just some dried food and water we'd managed to scavenge before the last fight. But it was enough to get by, at least for the night.

As we sat around a small fire, I couldn't help but feel a strange sense of unease. There was something about this place, something that felt off. It wasn't just the silence or the emptiness---it was something deeper, something I couldn't quite explain.

Dahlia must have sensed it too, because she looked at me with a frown. "Do you feel that?"

I nodded. "Something's not right."

Meren glanced around the temple, her expression hardening. "It's probably just the fact that we've been on edge for days," she said, though she didn’t sound entirely convinced.

But then, without warning, the ground beneath us began to shake.

It wasn't like the tremors we'd felt before, the ones that signaled the presence of the Eye. This was different. It was stronger, more violent, as if the very foundation of the temple was shifting beneath us.

"Get up!" I shouted, scrambling to my feet as the walls around us began to crack.

Dahlia and Meren were already moving, grabbing their weapons as we ran toward the entrance. But before we could make it out, the ground gave way beneath us, and we fell.

***

When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in the temple. I was back in the city---the same city we had fought to escape, the same city we had left behind when the Eye first appeared.

But something was different.

The buildings were taller, the streets wider, and the people---there were people everywhere, bustling about as if nothing was wrong.

As if the Eye had never existed.

I stood in the middle of the street, staring at the scene in disbelief. How was this possible? Had we somehow been transported back in time? Or was this some kind of illusion, another part of the test?

"Dahlia? Meren?" I called out, but there was no response. I was alone.

I started walking, pushing my way through the crowd. No one seemed to notice me, no one paid me any attention. It was as if I wasn’t even there.

Then I saw it---the figure from the tower. They were standing at the end of the street, watching me. I could feel their gaze, even though their face was still hidden in shadows.

"You've come far," the figure said as I approached. "But the test is not over."

"What do you mean?" I demanded. "We passed your test. The Eye is gone. We're free."

The figure shook their head. "You misunderstand. The Eye is not something that can be killed. It is eternal, as is the test."

I felt a surge of frustration and anger. "Then what was the point? Why did we fight? Why did we suffer?"

"To prove yourselves," the figure said simply. "To show that you are worthy."

"Worthy of what?" I shouted, my voice echoing through the empty street.

The figure smiled---an eerie, unsettling smile that sent a chill down my spine. "Worthy of survival."

Before I could respond, the world around me began to dissolve, the buildings, the people, everything fading into darkness.

And then I was back in the temple, lying on the cold stone floor.

Dahlia and Meren were beside me, their faces pale and drawn. "What happened?" Dahlia asked, her voice trembling.

I shook my head. "I don't know."

But one thing was clear---we weren't free. The Eye may be gone, but the test was far from over.

We had only just begun.

***

As we stood in the ruins of the temple, the wind howling outside, I realized something. The figure, the Eye, this entire world---it wasn't about freedom or survival.

It was about control.

We had fought and bled and suffered, all in the name of proving ourselves worthy.

But worthy of what?

To be pawns in some cosmic game?

To be judged by an entity that we couldn't even begin to understand?

No. I wouldn't accept that.

"We need to find a way out," I said, my voice steady despite the fear gnawing at me. "For real this time."

Dahlia and Meren nodded, their faces set with determination.

And so we began again, our journey through the wasteland, searching for a way to escape the Eye's gaze once and for all.

***

6.180 words.