Civilian stared at the screen, unmoving, a heavy weight settling in his gut. What he was looking at shouldn’t exist. And if it did exist, it definitely wasn’t something they should be approaching. But here they were, on the doorstep of answers he had never wanted.


“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he said finally, his voice low and hard, almost hostile.

“I know what that is. That’s the Path. If you were looking for a way to die, you didn’t have to drag us all the way here. You could’ve done it this morning. In the camp.”


Soldier gave a weary smile, the kind that said he’d expected exactly this.


“I figured you knew,” he said quietly. “Honestly, what else would we be looking for in this city?”


Civilian pressed his lips together. Of course he knew. Deep down, he’d always known. But he’d kept hoping he was wrong. That Soldier was after something else. Something understandable. Something with even a chance of ending well.


“So what are you gonna do with it?” he asked, trying to mask the dread in his voice.


Soldier shrugged, like it was the simplest question in the world.

“What do you think? It’s time to shut it down. For good.”


Civilian’s stomach twisted.

“You think you know how?”


“I do,” Soldier said calmly. “I wouldn’t have come this far otherwise.”


“And what if you’re wrong?” Civilian wiped his clammy hands on his pants.

“What if you just open it wider?”


A flicker of frustration crossed Soldier’s face. He didn’t like being second-guessed, especially not about something he’d already made up his mind on. They both knew next to nothing about the Path, apart from the fact that it existed. But Soldier… Soldier had been given something. More than whispers and old stories.


“Trust me. This isn’t a guess. I was given instructions. I know what I’m doing. But I get it. You’re scared.”


“Scared?” Civilian let out a dry laugh. There was no humor in it.

“Scared is putting it lightly. That thing... It’s not meant to be understood. Maybe it’s open for a reason. Maybe it’s some kind of divine punishment...”


“It’s a mistake,” Soldier cut in.

“A human mistake. Some idiots poked their noses where they didn’t belong. And now, if there’s even a chance to undo it, we take it. Maybe I’m the last one who’ll ever get this far. The next guy might not make it. Hell, remember the one we found just outside? He didn’t.”


Civilian shut his eyes and took a long, deep breath. Then he opened them and said,

“If we wait till nightfall, most of the Shadows come out. Maybe we could slip through to the Path... But I’m not betting my life on it.”


Soldier snorted.

“Don’t. Because I’m sure it won’t be that simple.”


They both turned their gaze back to the screen. In the bluish glow of the Path, shapes flickered, things that had no names before this place. Now they called them Shadows.


And they were close.


Far too close.