MORPHORCE-Chapter 47 - 46: The First Gate Raid (11)
Another hour later—
Twenty-seven survivors stood gathered before the mysterious cave.
The open field behind them was silent now.
All eyes were fixed ahead.
The cave entrance yawned wide before them.
It was so dark inside that not even the crimson glow of the twin moons could penetrate it. The light simply stopped at the threshold—
—as if swallowed whole.
A cold draft drifted outward.
Fwooooosh...
It brushed against their clothes and skin, carrying the scent of damp stone and something older. Staler.
Low murmurs spread through the group.
Unease was written plainly across exhausted faces.
“So... it really is a cave, huh,” Rayhan muttered, staring into the pitch-black abyss. He then turned toward Ishan. “It’s completely dark inside. What do we do now? We can’t just enter this dark cave without preparing anything.”
Ishan continued staring into the suffocating darkness of the cave.
For a brief moment, the abyss seemed to stare back.
Then he slowly turned toward Rayhan.
There was no fear on his face.
No hesitation.
Not even tension.
His expression was calm—eerily calm.
He gave a small nod.
“Hmm... You’re right,” Ishan said evenly. “Entering a cave like this without any preparation would be reckless.”
The cold wind swept past them again.
Fwooooosh...
A few of the survivors swallowed nervously.
Then Ishan shifted his gaze.
His eyes moved toward Soraya.
Then Afraan.
Then Rihan.
“Don’t worry.”
His voice wasn’t loud, yet it carried a strange weight—steady, reassuring.
He turned back toward the cave entrance.
A faint smile curved on his lips.
“We already have a solution.”
***
After a while, everyone was inside the cave.
The moment they crossed the threshold—
—the outside world vanished.
Darkness swallowed them whole.
Only the faint glow of torches kept the abyss at bay.
Fwoosh... fwoosh...
Flames flickered in trembling hands as the twenty-seven survivors advanced carefully, boots scraping against uneven stone.
Tap... tap... scuff...
The air was thick. Damp. Stale.
Each breath felt heavier than the last.
The torchlight pushed back the darkness just enough to reveal rough stone walls stretching along both sides of the narrow path.
But the walls were not plain.
They were covered.
Countless carvings had been etched deep into the rock—layer upon layer, as if generations had left their marks here.
Strange symbols twisted across the surface.
Monsters—grotesque, distorted things no one had ever seen before—were depicted in brutal detail. Some had too many limbs. Some had hollow faces. Some appeared to be devouring humans carved beneath them.
And beneath the images—
Lines of text.
Written in a language none of them recognized.
The deeper they went, the less it felt like a natural cave.
And the more it resembled—
an ancient tomb.
Whispers spread through the group.
“What the hell is this place...?”
“The deeper we go, the scarier it gets...”
Torchlight danced against the carvings, making the figures appear almost alive.
Then—
The group at the front abruptly stopped.
Boots scraped to a halt.
“What now?” someone from the back called out.
Silence answered.
In front of them stood a massive door.
It blocked the entire passage.
“This is...” Rayhan murmured, tilting his head back slowly.
Up.
Up.
Up.
The door towered several meters high, disappearing into the shadows above.
“It’s so... huge.”
Murmuring erupted again.
“What the hell is that?”
“Why is there a door here?”
“Is it the exit?”
The torches flickered violently, shadows twisting across the colossal structure.
Ishan turned around to face the group.
“Please don’t panic, everyone,” he said steadily. “We’ll find out in a moment.”
His calm voice eased some of the tension.
He stepped forward.
Rayhan followed.
Then Soraya. Rihan. Alok. Afraan. Sifan. Shahin.
And four other B-rank Awakeners from the Association.
Together, they approached the door.
The closer they got, the stranger it appeared.
At first glance, it resembled iron.
But... not quite.
The surface was unnaturally smooth—too refined for something ancient.
Faint patterns ran across it, barely visible—yet whenever torchlight brushed over them—
Shiiiing...
They shimmered.
As if something beneath the metal was alive.
They exchanged glances.
“On three,” Rayhan said.
They positioned themselves.
Hands pressed against the cold surface.
“One.”
“Two.”
“Three!”
Grrrrrnnn—
They pushed.
Muscles strained. Boots dug into stone.
Nothing.
The door didn’t move even a fraction.
Not a sound.
Not a tremor.
It stood firm.
Unyielding.
“Ah... Is it even possible to move this thing?” one of the Association members muttered, breathing heavily.
Sweat rolled down his temple.
“I don’t think this door can be opened by strength alone,” Ishan said, stepping back slightly.
“What do you mean?” Rayhan asked.
“I don’t know,” Ishan replied slowly. “But maybe—”
Then—
Drrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooom...
The sound cut through the cave like distant thunder.
The ground trembled.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Crk... crkkk...!
The massive door began to move—
On its own.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Opening inward.
***
Drrrrrrrrrrrrrooooooom...
The massive door continued to open on its own.
Stone trembled.
Grkkkk... grrrrr...
Dust cascaded from above as the ancient mechanism roared to life.
And then—
Silence.
A suffocating, dreadful silence.
Fear spread instantly among the low-rank Awakeners.
Whispers rose from every corner.
“What just happened?”
“How can a door open by itself?”
“I don’t think we should go inside... I have a bad feeling about this...”
The darkness beyond the doorway was deeper than anything they had seen before.
“Ishan.” Shahin’s voice cut through the noise.
Ishan turned toward him. “Ah... yes, Shahin. Let’s head inside.”
He stepped forward—
—but suddenly, a hand grabbed his arm.
Thk.
Ishan looked back. “What—?”
“Look...” Shahin gestured toward the others.
Ishan followed his gaze.
The low-rank Awakeners were visibly shaken.
Faces pale.
Breathing uneven.
Eyes wide with dread.
Some were clutching their weapons too tightly. Others looked seconds away from dropping them entirely.
The atmosphere around them carried a completely different level of fear.
“Ahem.”
Ishan cleared his throat softly.
The sound echoed faintly.
He stepped forward so everyone could see him.
“Guys... I know none of you are feeling well right now,” he began calmly. “Some of you may not even be in the state of mind to process what I’m saying.”
His voice was steady.
Grounded.
“But if we want to get out of this place, we have to go inside. There is no other way.”
He paused.
Made sure their eyes were on him.
“At least we’re all together,” he continued. “So please, stay strong. If you give up here, none of us will ever leave this place alive.”
The words hung heavily in the air.
“And to leave this place... We need everyone’s strength.”
His voice softened.
“There are people waiting for you outside... your family... the ones you love... the people you want to protect.”
A few heads lowered.
A few grips tightened.
Breathing began to steady.
The whispers gradually faded.
“...Yeah.”
“...He’s right.”
“We didn’t come this far to die here...”
Something shifted.
Not confidence.
Not yet.
But resolve.
Fragile.
Growing.
Ishan turned toward the open doorway once more.
The darkness beyond waited silently.
“So... let’s not waste any more time,” he said firmly.
“It’s time to move forward.”
No one argued.
One by one—
Step.
Step.
Step.
Boots crossed the threshold.
Torches were held tight in trembling hands.
And together—
They stepped through the massive doorway.
Into the darkness beyond.
Fwsssshh...
The sound of flames flickering was swallowed by the abyss.
