The second chamber opened into a cavern far larger than the first—so wide their lamps barely touched the far walls. Pale light seeped from cracks in the ceiling, giving everything a ghostly, bluish hue. The air felt colder, weighted with something thick and suffocating.
Zhang muttered, "What kind of place is this…?"
Yan Xiu raised a hand. "Quiet."
Her eyes narrowed. Her posture shifted.
Then Li Wei saw it.
Shapes.
Dozens of them.
At first, he thought they were statues—dark, unmoving silhouettes slumped against the walls. But then one shape trembled. Another shifted. Another raised its head.
Peng let out a strangled gasp. "Living…?"
Yao stepped forward cautiously, lamp extended.
The light touched the nearest figure.
A man.
Gaunt. Filthy. Shackled by the wrists to a metal ring embedded deep into the stone wall. His face was hollow. His eyes sunken.
Alive.
Barely.
Li Wei's stomach twisted. "Prisoners."
Zhang turned pale. "Scouts. These are the missing scouts."
Not just scouts—some wore scraps of militia uniforms, others worker tunics. Men who had vanished over the past weeks, presumed dead.
Yan Xiu's expression tightened. "These are captives… but not tortured."
Li Wei approached one prisoner carefully.
The man lifted his eyes weakly. "Help… us…"
Li Wei knelt beside him. "Can you walk?"
"No…" The man coughed violently. "Water… please…"
Li Wei motioned to Peng, who quickly brought his water flask. The man drank in small, desperate sips.
"Why did he keep you alive?" Li Wei whispered.
The man's lips trembled. "Not… for torture…"
Li Wei leaned closer. "Then for what?"
The man whispered:
"For you."
Li Wei froze.
Yan Xiu stiffened. "What does that mean?"
The prisoner rasped, "He said… 'When the builder arrives… he must choose.'"
Peng's voice cracked. "Choose… what?"
But Li Wei already knew.
He turned toward the center of the chamber—where a large iron lever stood implanted into the ground. Two channels branched from it:
One path leading to the chained prisoners.
Another path leading deeper into the tunnel.
Zhang swallowed. "Brother… that lever controls something."
Yao crouched beside the mechanism. "It's a release system. Mechanical. If pulled… one of these channels will open. The other will seal."
Yan Xiu's face hardened. "A choice."
Peng whispered fearfully, "A choice between who lives and who dies."
Li Wei approached the prisoners again.
"How long have you been here?"
"Days… weeks…" one muttered. "Time has no meaning here."
Li Wei asked the question that burned through him. "Did he harm you? Torture you?"
They shook their heads.
"No…"
"He fed us…"
"He kept us alive…"
"For you…"
Li Wei clenched his fists.
This was worse than torture.
This was manipulation.
Mei Lin's voice echoed again in his memory:
"He wants to shape you."
Li Wei turned toward the lever.
On the stone base beneath it, carved words:
CHOOSE WHO DESERVES THE LIGHT.
Yan Xiu hissed, "He wants you to kill one group and spare another."
Peng backed away, shaking violently. "We can't—no one can make that choice—"
Zhang grabbed his arm. "Calm down!"
But Peng was right in a terrible way. This was not just a test of intelligence or survival.
It was a test of character.
A moral trap.
Yan Xiu stepped beside Li Wei. "If you free the prisoners, the path deeper closes. We leave. Mission over."
Li Wei shook his head. "Feng sent us for answers. If we stop here, we fail. And he'll send another team. More men will die."
Yan Xiu whispered, "If you choose the deeper path, you doom these men."
The prisoner closest to him coughed violently. "Leave… us… Live…"
"No," Li Wei said sharply. "You deserve to survive."
Another prisoner whispered weakly, "Not at the cost… of your mission."
Zhang approached the lever, examining the mechanism. "If we force it open with tools—"
Yan Xiu cut him off. "Impossible. The channels are sealed with a counterweight. One route only."
Yao crouched near a stone plate with three symbols etched on it.
"Look," he said. "Three options. Not two."
They gathered around.
The first symbol: A man holding many hands — free the prisoners.
The second symbol: A blade pointing downward — free the path deeper.
The third symbol: A broken circle — collapse the chamber.
Peng paled. "Collapse—?! That kills us AND the prisoners!"
Yan Xiu muttered, "A reset option. For the unworthy."
Li Wei's pulse hammered.
Three choices.
1. Save the prisoners and abandon the mission.
2. Advance deeper and leave the prisoners to die.
3. Collapse the chamber and kill them—and possibly themselves.
The Hunter-General's voice echoed in the chamber.
Not through sound—but through memory.
"To be my successor, you must choose without hesitation."
"To be my enemy, you must choose knowing the cost."
Li Wei stepped toward the prisoners. "Did he tell you anything else? Anything about the tunnels beyond?"
One shook his head. Another whispered, "He said… 'Your fate depends on him.'"
Not helpful.
Zhang whispered, "Li Wei. Decide."
Yan Xiu said nothing. She watched him closely—eyes sharp, searching his face.
Li Wei closed his eyes.
He saw the garrison.
Feng.
Mei Lin's trembling voice.
His soldier, his friend, Zhang.
His path—from slave to something more.
He whispered to himself:
"I will not be shaped by him."
He opened his eyes.
And stepped firmly toward the first symbol.
Yan Xiu blinked. "You're… freeing the prisoners?"
Li Wei nodded once. "We take them with us as far as we can. Even if the deeper path closes, we can find another way forward."
Zhang grinned, tears in his eyes. "That's the man I know."
Peng sobbed with relief. "Bless you…"
Li Wei grabbed the lever.
"Help me."
All four of his teammates put their hands over his.
"Pull," Li Wei whispered.
Together, they pulled the lever toward the symbol of many hands.
The mechanism roared.
Chains snapped open.
Locks fell away.
Prisoners collapsed onto the stone floor, gasping in shock.
And behind them…
A grinding noise.
Yan Xiu's head snapped up. "The path deeper—!"
The tunnel ahead sealed with a thunderous clang.
But at the same time—
A hidden panel on the opposite wall slid open.
Zhang shouted, "A second passage!"
Yan Xiu's eyes widened. "A contingency route. Only accessible if you choose mercy."
Li Wei exhaled shakily.
He had chosen right.
For himself.
For the men.
And for the mission.
Yao led the freed prisoners toward the newly open passage.
Yan Xiu placed a hand briefly on Li Wei's shoulder.
"Good choice," she whispered. "But don't expect the next one to be so forgiving."
He nodded.
"I won't."
The team moved toward the new passage, carrying the prisoners who couldn't walk.
Li Wei turned back once.
The mask chamber was gone.
The guardians silent.
The trial complete.
As they crossed into the new tunnel, the torches lit automatically, one by one.
And carved on the wall ahead, waiting for them, were new words:
"Mercy is weakness."
"Or strength."
"Let us see which you are."
Signed beneath it:
— The Hunter-General
Li Wei stepped forward, jaw set.
"You want to test me?" he whispered. "Fine. I'll show you who I am."
They continued deeper into the lair.
And the darkness welcomed them like an old friend.
---
Teaser:
The new passage leads to a horrifying discovery—a living map of the frontier, carved from the bodies of the dead.
---