The tall shadow stood still before Auren.
From the dim darkness, she began to see it more clearly —
a face she recognized.
It was Noxen's face.
Auren froze, her body stiff as if time itself had stopped.
The strange voices that had filled the corridor slowly faded away,
as though absorbed into the stone walls.
The air was so silent that every heartbeat sounded foreign,
echoing faintly in the frozen air.
"Noxen…?" Auren's voice was barely a whisper.
Noxen frowned slightly, his sharp eyes fixed on her.
"What are you doing in this place?" he asked coldly.
Before Auren could answer, a feral roar echoed from the end of the hall.
The sound was like the cry of something that should not exist — deep, resonant,
shaking the air and making the torches tremble on the walls.
Noxen turned toward the sound.
"This is… The Silent Halls," he said quietly but firmly.
"You're not supposed to be here. Not yet."
Auren could only stare, her eyes wide with fear and confusion.
But behind that fear was something else — something faintly familiar,
as though she had looked into those eyes before.
"What are you seeking in this place?" Noxen asked again.
Auren lowered her gaze, her voice trembling.
"I… I'm just looking for the Guidebook. Did you… bring it with you?"
Noxen's expression shifted slightly — a trace of confusion.
"Before I entered this place, I saw the Guidebook lying before the entrance," he said flatly.
"Were you the one who placed it there?"
Auren fell silent.
The image of the golden-haired man who had led her here flashed in her mind.
She spoke softly,
"I didn't come here on my own. Someone guided me… someone I've never seen before."
Noxen stared at her for a long moment, saying nothing.
Then he exhaled slowly and said coldly,
"Go back. Now."
"But—"
"I won't repeat myself," Noxen cut her off, his gaze sharp and deep.
Auren fell silent immediately.
She looked at him once more, then began to walk past him,
climbing the spiral staircase upward.
Behind her, she could hear Noxen's footsteps — calm, heavy, yet… familiar.
For some reason, each step made her chest tighten,
as though she had heard that sound somewhere before.
The stone walls around them didn't echo;
they swallowed every sound completely.
That was why this corridor was called The Silent Halls —
a place where even breath vanished before touching the air.
When they finally reached the top, Auren saw the Guidebook lying before the entrance,
as if it had been waiting for her all along.
She froze, staring in confusion.
Noxen walked past her without a word, bent down, and picked up the book.
He looked at her coldly, then asked quietly,
"So, you were truly guided by someone?"
Auren met his gaze.
"Yes…"
A few seconds of silence passed.
Noxen's eyes were deep — as though reading straight into her thoughts.
Then suddenly, Auren felt something —
a heavy pressure of darkness pressing from every direction,
like shadows weighing down her body.
Fear crawled into her chest.
Noxen stepped closer, then held out the Guidebook to her.
His gaze was cold, but behind it… there was something else —
a hidden worry.
"Take it. And leave this place," he said flatly.
"Don't come back until you're ready."
Auren hesitated, but finally reached out and took the book with trembling hands.
"A-alright… then."
She walked slowly past Noxen,
her footsteps faint against the dark corridor,
while Noxen stood still behind her, silently watching.
When Auren glanced back for a moment,
she felt his gaze pierce her back —
heavy, alive, like a shadow that could breathe.
She quickly turned away and quickened her pace,
ascending flight after flight of endless stairs.
Even after she left the corridor,
Noxen's footsteps still echoed in her mind —
slow, heavy, and filled with meaning.
She knew that even if he was no longer there,
his shadow had not truly left.
When she reached the third floor, she stopped.
Her breath was uneven, her body exhausted.
Leaning against the wall, she looked down at the Guidebook in her hands.
"Haah… so… where do I go now?" she muttered weakly.
There was no answer.
Only silence.
Auren sighed — half annoyed, half resigned.
She sat in the corner of the room, staring at the grey sky outside the window.
The world beyond looked dead —
as if this place rejected anything resembling happiness.
Seconds passed.
Suddenly, the pages of the Guidebook trembled.
Golden letters slowly emerged, glowing faintly in the dim light.
The air around Auren grew tense, cold, and still —
as if something unseen was watching from behind the pages.
Auren stared at it, her face weary yet tinged with faint hope.
The letters moved on their own,
forming a strange message — not a command, not an answer,
but a riddle.
The words unfolded slowly, one by one:
> "Within a shadow that has no form,
truth waits between two lights.
One will guide you, one will deceive you.
Choose the one that breathes… not the one that shines."
The glow of the words flickered softly, then faded,
leaving only a blank, cold page behind.
Auren stared at it for a long while.
Her mind tangled with confusion —
Two lights? The one that breathes?
What did it mean?
But she knew one thing:
the clue wasn't mere poetry.
Something was waiting — beyond that riddle.
Auren closed the Guidebook slowly.
A soft click echoed from its spine —
like the final beat of a heart.
And beyond that silence, something…
seemed to be waiting to be opened again.