The cave's pulse got stronger.
Slow.
Deep.
Ancient.
Every thump ran up through their shoes, shaking dirt from the gaps overhead. It bounced around in Ayla's chest, matching her heart till she didn't know if it was her beat or the walls trembling.
The monolith lit up more - light streaks moved across the etched marks, almost like glowing rivers spreading fast.
Jalen moved first.
Yep, he sure did.
He moved Ayla a bit back behind him, shifting his stance like a shield while scanning the room fast. "Back off now - take it slow."
No one argued.
Even Kade - normally quick to snap back - stood still, staring, fingers clutching Mira's arm tight, like a kid clinging to a parent when lightning hits.
A split showed up near the bottom of the tall stone.
A faint glow appears slowly.
But it widened.
And widened.
Then came a crack - stone breaking, echoing through the cave, sharp as thunder caught below.
Mira sucked in a breath. "It's starting - " she whispered
"Time to go," Eli said quietly, his voice trembling so much it nearly broke.
Ayla didn't leave.
She didn't move, held still by some unseen force pulling deep inside - on her bones, her breathing, her mind. Light poured from the stone structure, glowing soft and strange, drawing her close even though it scared her, yet calmed her, too.
Jalen saw that she stayed still.
Ayla," he murmured - soft, low. Yet clear enough.
That voice - soft yet firm, shaped just for her - tugged inside. It wasn't loud, still it reached deep. Not harsh, but unbreakable somehow. Made her lean closer without thinking.
She took it down. "No way."
Jalen's eyes hardened. "What do you mean you can't?"
Eli's voice cracked. "We can't stay here while something alive wakes up!"
"It's not hostile," Ayla whispered.
"How do you know that?" Mira hissed.
Becoming quiet now, that inner voice no longer hissed warnings.
It kept saying her name softly.
Softly.
Reverently.
Like it'd waited forever - just to speak those words.
Ayla…
Her breath trembled.
Kade groaned. "Oh, great. The creepy rock pillar knows her name. This is officially above my spiritual pay grade."
The big stone's light jumped.
And then—
Silence.
Complete, crushing silence.
The heartbeat stopped.
The trembling stopped.
Even the dust floating in the air just stopped.
Jalen's jaw tightened. "Everyone behind me. Now."
Ayla stared at the growing split - her gaze stuck there, not moving.
Light spilled out - bright enough to turn their faces yellow like old paper.
A heavy noise came rumbling up from inside. Not like a snarl - more distant than that. Nothing mechanical either, nothing familiar at all. Just... unknown.
A breath.
Like whatever was past the rock took its first breath after a long while.
The big stone split wide apart.
Ayla's heart stuttered.
Inside sat a room full of glowing mist - gentle, moving, kind of like being inside a sun. The shine twisted, folding into something close to human form, nearly real… then gone in an instant.
The glow spread out, much like water when something jumps in.
Then a person came out.
Tall.
Luminous.
Not made of skin - more like a mix of glow and stuff, outline and power. One moment clear, next fuzzy, like the world wasn't sure how to draw it. The look shifted - not quite solid, not quite gone, as though rules kept changing mid-thought.
Everyone stumbled back.
Except Ayla.
As soon as their gaze hit hers, everything shifted.
Not with fear.
Not with pain.
But recognition.
Warm.
Certain.
Eerie.
As if seeing a face from her sleep, but it slipped away.
The creature spoke - its words didn't float in the air; instead, they formed right in her head.
Found you.
Ayla jerked back, her breath snagging. Not you - stay outta my mind -
Kade let out a choked whisper. "Oh, this is it. This is where we die. Crushed by glowing space Jesus or evaporated by canyon spirits."
Mira shoved him back, eyes locked on his. "Zip it, Kade."
Jalen moved right in front of Ayla, hands up, every muscle tight, braced to stop something that shouldn't happen. He stood like a barrier - firm, unshakable.
"Keep away," he told the creature, his tone calm even though his hands wouldn't stop shaking.
The creature cocked its head, eyeing him like you'd watch a flicker that won't die - steady, quiet, almost grinning.
As it talked out loud, its sound flickered - built up, tuned together, almost like several pitches moving in sync.
"You cannot harm me."
Jalen clenched his teeth. "Maybe I'll give it a shot."
A soft flicker of glow passed over the creature's features. Maybe a grin? Or just the hint of one?
It looked back at Ayla.
"You hear me."
Ayla took a deep breath. "Yeah."
"You answered."
"I didn't—"
"You followed."
Jalen moved ahead, getting in the way of its sight. "Keep your distance from her."
The being blinked, unbothered. "You are not her protector."
Jalen tensed—visibly, dangerously.
Mira whispered, "Oh no. That thing is about to get punched by the most disciplined man alive."
Eli shook his head frantically. "Jalen—please—maybe don't hit the ancient light entity that woke up from a rock coffin?"
Yet Ayla hardly listened. She was somewhere else.
Becoming nearer - step by step, quiet-like, while the glow nearby flickered calmly.
"I knew you would come," it murmured. "I knew you would be the one to hear."
Ayla's heart raced. "What makes it my turn?"
The cave got a bit darker.
The figure lifted a hand - no threat, just hanging near Ayla's face. Light crept closer to her skin, oddly warm, sending a small chill down her spine.
"Because you are the last," it said.
Ayla froze. "The last what?"
Just as the creature was about to reply -
The ground inside the cave jolted hard.
Eli stumbled ahead. Then Mira yanked his arm back. Meanwhile, Kade yelled out a raw, messy shout.
Jalen yanked Ayla back without thinking, moving her from the stone structure fast.
The tremor deepened.
A loud boom - so strong it seemed to tear the ground - echoed across the ravine.
A noise familiar from the past.
A noise Ayla sensed deep within her head.
It followed.
Sand trickled down from a gap up there, pouring out just like water does when it falls fast.
Kade's voice broke. "THE THING FROM THE DUNES—IT FOUND US—?!"
The creature's face changed - finally revealing a hint of feeling.
Fear.
"Move," it snapped. "Go."
Jalen grabbed Ayla's wrist. "Move!"
Yet the creature's shout boomed -
"NO—NOT AWAY."
It pointed downward.
Toward the inside of the towering structure.
Toward the spinning glow.
"Inside. All of you. NOW."
Ayla stood still, shaking. "In there?"
The being nodded once. "It is the only path you survive."
The roof cracked wider - grains tumbling down hard, while a huge shape moved overhead.
Jalen didn't hesitate.
"Move!" he shouted.
He shoved Mira ahead, then Eli right behind. Kade bolted after, yelling nonstop from the start. Closer they got - the glow intensified, hot and harsh, pulsing like something breathing. A deep hum filled the air, steady, unrelenting.
Ayla hesitated.
Just one second.
In that instant, the beast on the surface let out a roar - packed with rage and craving, bouncing through the gorge like doom calling.
The figure stretched out toward her.
Ayla - that soft sound crept into her thoughts, low and pressing,
"Come home."
The ground cracked.
The cavern collapsed.
Then she leaped toward the glow.