They stepped past the panels and into a stretch that felt distinctly different.

The floor shifted first,springy beneath their feet, reminiscent of walking over a hollow space.

The ceiling dipped slightly, compressing the air around them, while the scents transformed: less metallic and more earthy dust mingled with a faint tang of aged oil.

Arthur slowed his pace once more and pulled out the map.

Three circles were drawn one above the other, connected by narrow rectangles. No notes accompanied them,just those enigmatic circles.

A frown tugged at his lips.

"Trouble?" Gunner asked, glancing sideways.

"Unknown," Arthur replied. "But we can assume yes."

Ethan leaned in closer to peek over Arthur's shoulder. "Very scientific of you."

"Shut up and step where I step," Arthur retorted.

"Yes, Dad," Ethan quipped back with a smirk.

The next ten meters felt like they were tiptoeing across thin ice on an untrustworthy lake.

Not a single toe was scuffed as they moved cautiously forward.

The grooves on the walls thinned out, then thickened again before tapering off once more.

Twice, Adrian whispered something excitedly only to swallow it back down; this room did not seem like a place that welcomed exuberant voices.

Then, as if they had crossed an invisible threshold, the corridor spat them into a hall.

While it wasn't the largest chamber they would encounter,it would soon be dwarfed by others,it held an intentionality that made it feel monumental.

The space soared high and stretched long, with pillars standing at deliberate intervals.

Each pillar was intricately carved with unique repeating patterns: braided ropes intertwined with stacked shields, alongside an unbroken line twisting endlessly without crossing itself.

The ceiling arched into a shallow vault above them, while lines extended from each pillar upwards like rigging on a ship's mast.

Below their feet lay a flawless grid of stone squares framed by delicate seams.

At the far end stood three imposing doors.

These weren't your typical rough-hewn slabs found in mountain tombs; these were crafted with surgical precision,thirty feet tall and hand's breadth thick,with faces engraved so densely with scenes and symbols that one had to choose just one to follow before making sense of it all.

The left door depicted rows of soldiers marching under a storm of arrows; the middle showcased a ship cleaving through black seas with oars braced and prow lifted; while the right door illustrated a mountain crowned by a spiraling road leading up to an opulent palace.

No handles or hinges adorned these doors, just an unmistakable promise of being locked stamped into their heavy presence.

As if drawn by unseen strings, the team drifted apart without breaking formation,each member captivated by different surfaces around them.

Mireille traced her fingers along the pillar line, observing how each groove met the ceiling's edge.

Rask and Vos scanned the shadows flanking the corridor, their muzzles slicing through the gloom in thin arcs.

Marek and Holt moved methodically across the grid floor, bending low to inspect every seam with squinting eyes.

Meanwhile, Lyra set up a small lantern at the center, conserving their precious torch fuel for whatever lay ahead.

Arthur approached the doors, halting six paces back.

He unfurled the map once more, flipping through its pages until he found what he was searching for.

He had hoped for a label or a warning but all he found was a block of cryptic symbols copied from an earlier document: three identical rectangles adorned with different knot-marks above them.

The notation beneath read in careful script: THREE GATES..ONE TRUE, ONE LONG, ONE DEAD.

The last word sent a chill down his spine.

Behind him, the archaeologists were already engrossed in their work.

Professor Adrian and Marta exchanged insights on glyph clusters, their voices quick and animated.

"Look here,those doubled spearheads? They signify recruitment, not battle," Adrian noted.

Marta pointed to a carving on the central gate. "Check out that ship design! Oars count to forty,that's definitely an Azurian longship. The hawk motif is prevalent in coastal archives."

Kaelen crouched by the right door, scrutinizing the lower band of text. "This isn't mere decoration; it's either instruction or a warning cloaked as praise."

Josef paced back and forth with a strip of cord measuring dimensions. "Widths are precise, but this carving's depth varies,the left door is shallower. Is it for speed or to reduce weight?"

"Stone density," Helena replied flatly while jotting notes. "Heavier stone results in better acoustics."

Ethan was about to comment on "better acoustics" when Mireille raised two fingers to signal silence.

They froze.

In that stillness, they heard it,a soft tick-tick emanating from above where pillar ropes met stone; it was reminiscent of weight shifting on an unseen scale.

Arthur turned slowly, taking stock of their surroundings: floor seams, pillar patterns, rope lines,all leading to doors devoid of handles.

"Pressure network," he concluded aloud. "These pillars measure weight; the floor redistributes it."

Gunner glanced at the grid below them. "So if we crowd one area…"

"The room makes decisions for us," Arthur finished grimly.

Ethan pointed toward the left door decisively. "Let's make our choice clear,I vote against 'arrow-rain' door; that sounds downright rude."

"Hold on," Arthur said as he lifted his map again before lowering it once more to survey the far wall carefully.

"Mireille, walk along those pillars and identify which pattern appears most frequently near the central axis."

Mireille moved through the dimly lit hall, her voice barely above a whisper as she counted under her breath.

"Braids, shields, braids, knots… it's the knots. Center line pillars all share the same knot: double-overhand. Each one is carved with a break every seventh loop."

"Every seventh," Arthur echoed, his gaze shifting to the intricate door carvings.

The central door displayed a repeated motif of hawks at its base,six hawks followed by a gap and then another six.

On the right door, switchbacks of the mountain were marked in sevens.

"Kaelen," Arthur asked, "does Azurian numerics hold any significance for seven?"

Kaelen nodded knowingly. "It symbolizes cycles and completion but also cost. When you finish something, there's always a price."

"That makes sense," Ethan chimed in. "These folks seem to charge admission with limbs."

Gunner planted his boots firmly on a grid square and leaned down to inspect it closely. "These tiles float; I can feel them give."

"Don't test it," Arthur warned sharply.

Rask cleared his throat respectfully. "Boss, with all due respect, the men are rattled. We can hold here for a few minutes, but Jace can't bleed forever."

Ren lifted his chin defiantly. "He won't bleed out; he's stable. But we shouldn't force a wait if we don't need to."

Arthur took a deep breath; the cool air of the hall smelled faintly of chalk.

His visor displayed heart rates settling,except for Jace's, which thudded high and fast like an anxious drumbeat.

Ethan's spiked momentarily before smoothing out again while Mireille maintained a calm flatline that he trusted completely.

"This room will punish haste," he announced firmly to everyone present. "And it will punish crowds too."

He continued with authority: "We'll probe it without committing fully. Holt, Stone,sandbags."

Holt exchanged glances with Stone before shrugging off his pack with determination.

They emptied a sack of fine grit used for stabilizing tripods into four smaller bags while Arthur took two and approached the grid cautiously.

"Stay exactly where you are," he instructed them firmly. "Count your squares, don't shift your weight,breathe slowly."

With meticulous care akin to placing a delicate cup on a scale, he set one small bag on a corner tile,nothing moved beneath it.

Then he placed the second bag on an adjacent tile; suddenly, the tick-tick from above changed,a subtle sound like someone clearing their throat behind closed doors.

Marta pointed discreetly towards something above them: "There,above the third pillar from the left."

Arthur nodded and retrieved both bags before placing one four squares in and another eight squares along the center line, the tick-tick climbed half a note higher as if responding to their actions.

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