SWNOVELXO Chapter 35: Shrine of the Spiral
July 16th. 6:10 AM.
Kael didn't speak much that morning. He just stared at the spiral he had sketched over and over into the map's worn surface. His fingers moved like they were tracing something real, not just ink. His brothers had learned not to ask what he was thinking. Elle didn't bother either. She just packed her rifle and waited at the northern gate.
By the time they moved out, the sun hadn't fully risen. Fog drifted low across the ruins like a warning. Crows watched from twisted streetlights, unmoving.
No one asked why they were going.
They just followed Kael.
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8:15 AM – Ruined Highway
The spiral symbols became more frequent.
One was scrawled across a burned-out truck. Another carved into pavement with such precision it looked milled. At first it seemed random. But Armin noticed the pattern.
"These spirals… they're spaced evenly."
Elle raised an eyebrow. "You saying they're… measured?"
"Exactly twenty-eight steps apart. Every time."
Kael didn't look back.
"They're leading us somewhere."
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10:30 AM – Forgotten Station
They found it behind a collapsed shopping center.
An old subway station, overgrown with vines. The entrance was cracked open, rusted gates barely hanging. On the concrete above, burned into the stone, was a giant spiral. It pulsed faintly under the shadow.
Kael placed his hand on it.
It was warm.
Dain shifted uneasily. "What even is this place?"
Kael's voice was quiet. "The oldest mimic site I've found. It predates the outbreak."
Elle stepped beside him. "And you want to go inside?"
"I need to."
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11:00 AM – Descent Begins
The stairs spiraled downward in silence. No graffiti. No mold. Just clean, cold stone.
The deeper they went, the harder it became to breathe. Not from lack of oxygen—something else. The air felt full, like they were walking through someone's lungs.
Elle raised her rifle, eyes sharp. "This isn't mimic territory. This is mimic design."
Armin frowned. "They built this?"
Kael paused on the final step. "Or something else did."
---
11:17 AM – The Shrine
The stairs ended in a wide, circular chamber.
The walls were stone, but polished smooth. Black spirals were carved along every surface—floor, ceiling, even the backs of the old rusted benches scattered around.
At the center was a single altar, no taller than a chair. On it sat a metal plate, flat and circular, covered in mimic script that shimmered slightly.
Kael stepped forward slowly.
Elle hissed, "Wait. It could be—"
He touched it.
---
Flash.
Kael saw himself—standing in this same chamber, but alone. His reflection in the metal wasn't current. It was from months ago. Bloodied. Desperate. Haunted.
The spiral on the plate turned red.
A voice whispered, deep and feminine:
> "You carry the Echo.
But do you listen to it?"
---
11:19 AM – First Trial
From the shadows, they came.
Not mimics. Not even close.
Figures stepped out of the spirals carved in the walls—tall, bone-thin, and maskless. Their faces were blank skin. No mouths. No eyes.
Armin raised his spear. "What the hell are those?"
Kael didn't answer. He was already moving.
Two of the creatures lunged at Elle—fast, silent, efficient.
She pulled her trigger—click. Nothing.
"Damn it!"
Kael's hand snapped up.
>routine serge with his daggers.
The moment shimmered.
[Divine echo] Elle's gun lit up faintly. Cooldown—gone.
She fired point-blank—one clean shot to the head of each.
Both creatures dropped.
---
11:22 AM – Fight for Control
More came—six, maybe eight. Surrounding them.
Kael moved through the chaos like he'd been here before. He wasn't faster. Just calmer.
Every time his brothers needed a moment—Dain's shoulder flared with pain after a misstep, Armin's shield arm slowed—Kael used Divine Echo again to remove their cooldowns. Brief flickers of white light sparked each time, barely visible.
"Be more careful!" Elle shouted, firing at the far wall.
Kael killed a few of the monsters.
---
11:30 AM – Aftermath
The last creature fell with a slash to the throat.
But as it collapsed, it whispered:
> "You remember too much."
Kael froze.
The room went still again. Everyone stood covered in ash and dust. Dain's hands were trembling. Armin's mouth was tight. Even Elle looked shaken.
"What the hell was that?" Dain asked, wiping his blade.
Elle turned to Kael. "You've been here before, haven't you?"
He didn't look at her.
"I've dreamed of it. Since the first time I wore the mask."
She narrowed her eyes. "That plate… it showed you something."
Kael didn't answer.
Instead, he walked toward the far wall. There was a spiral there, slightly recessed. He reached out and pressed into it.
The wall shifted.
A panel slid open, revealing a narrow tunnel lined with mimic teeth and glowing threads. It hummed like a heartbeat.
Armin stepped back. "Kael—"
Kael turned.
"There's something below. Something old. Maybe the first."
Elle stared into the dark tunnel.
"And you want to wake it?"
"No," Kael said. "I want to ask it why."
---
11:35 AM – Cliffhanger
Kael stepped inside first. The tunnel seemed to swallow him.
One by one, the others followed.
Just before the passage sealed behind them, Elle glanced back at the shrine.
The plate on the altar flickered red again.
And the whisper returned:
> "He was not the first Echo.But will he be the last."
To Be Continued…
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