Adrian drifted slowly out of sleep, though calling it sleep felt wrong. It was more like his body had simply shut down for a while before forcing itself awake again. His limbs felt heavy and stiff, and when he swallowed the dryness in his throat burned like sandpaper. For a moment he didn't move, he just lay down there on the cold stone, staring into the darkness that filled the cave

  Something felt wrong

  It wasn't a sound or a movement. Just a quiet pressure sitting at the edge of his mind, something subtle but persistent. Adrian frowned slightly, his tired thoughts struggling to focus. The feeling grew stronger the more he paid attention to it

  It felt like someone was looking at him

  Watching him

  His eyes slowly shifted toward where he thought Soren was sitting. The cave was completely black. The faint light that had once filtered down through the hole above them had long since disappeared, leaving only a thick darkness that swallowed everything whole. No shapes, no outlines, nothing but an endless void of stone and shadow

  Adrian squinted anyway, straining his eyes

  He couldn't see a thing

  After a few seconds he let out a slow breath and rubbed his face with trembling hands. His fingers felt dry and weak, the skin tight from thirst

  I'm just losing it

  It wouldn't be surprising. After everything that had happened, after days of running from that monster, after watching their friends die one by one and then falling into this cave with no food and barely any water. Anyone would start imagining things in a place like this. The human mind could only take so much before it started playing tricks on itself

  Still, the uneasy feeling lingered for a moment longer before finally fading

  Adrian pushed himself upright against the cave wall, the rough stone scraping against his back. His muscles protested immediately, weak and sore from hunger. He swallowed again, wincing as the dryness in his throat flared

  "Soren?" he muttered quietly into the dark

  There was a short pause

  Then a voice answered from somewhere nearby

  "Yeah"

  The simple response loosened something tight inside Adrian's chest. He hadn't even realized how tense he was until that moment. Just hearing Soren's voice grounded him again, reminding him that he wasn't completely alone down here

  Adrian leaned his head back against the stone and closed his eyes for a second

  Good. He was still there

  As long as Soren was here things weren't completely hopeless. They had survived everything else together so far. The forest, the endless running, the monster hunting them through the trees while their friends fell one after another

  Through all of it, Soren had always seemed stay reasonably calm

  Throughout his entire time spent with Soren he has always remained someone he could trust and depend on. Even when they were kids he still provided Adrian with a strong sense of trust and friendship which has continued with him till this day. They have been together their whole lives through thick and thin, always around each other. He was truly his best friend

  That was why Adrian trusted him

  A memory slipped into his mind then, uninvited and sharp

  Vera's voice

  You tripped him! Lukas… he's gone because of you!

  Adrian's brow tightened as the echo of those words resurfaced. For a moment the cave felt colder

  He remembered that night clearly. The frantic running, the darkness between the trees, the sound of the monster behind them. Everything had happened so fast that it was hard to remember the exact order of things. People were screaming, stumbling, pushing forward just to stay alive

  And Vera had been the only one who said she saw something

  Adrian rubbed his forehead tiredly, trying to push the memory away

  She was panicking

  Everyone had been. Fear did strange things to people. The monster had been messing with their heads from the beginning, whispering in their friends' voices, twisting their thoughts until nothing felt real anymore. It wouldn't be strange if Vera had simply misunderstood what she saw in the dark

  Besides Soren wouldn't do that

  Adrian shook his head slightly at the thought

  No. That was ridiculous

  Soren was his best friend. They had known each other longer than anyone else in the group, long before they had been dragged into that castle and forced into this world. If Soren really wanted to sacrifice someone to the monster, he could have done it dozens of times already

  But he hadn't. That was what mattered

  Through everything that had happened: the running, the screaming, the monster tearing through their group, Soren had still been there at the end of it. When the others had fallen, when everything had collapsed into chaos, it was Soren who had kept moving forward. Soren who had pulled them through the forest until they stumbled into that cave

  If there had been even a moment where Soren had wanted to abandon him, he could have done it already. Adrian knew that. There had been too many chances. Too many moments where survival had come down to a single choice

  Yet Soren was still here, like always

  Somewhere in the darkness beside him, breathing the same stale air, trapped in the same hopeless pit

  Adrian tightened his arms around his knees and rested his head against them. His body felt hollow from hunger, but that familiar presence nearby was enough to steady his thoughts. Out of everyone who had come to this world with him, Soren was the only one left. The only person who still connected him to the life they had before all of this madness

  Adrian forced himself upright, though the effort made his head spin. The cave tilted for a moment before settling again into its endless darkness. His stomach twisted violently, hunger gnawing at him so fiercely it almost felt alive. Every breath felt dry and heavy in his chest. He pressed a hand against the stone beside him just to steady himself

  For a while he didn't speak

  The silence inside the cave had become something else entirely. It wasn't peaceful. It pressed in on him, thick and suffocating, broken only by the slow drip of water somewhere deeper in the rock. Across from him, Soren sat in the dark, like always

  Adrian could barely see him, just the faintest outline where a thin strip of dim light touched the cave floor and climbed weakly up the wall. It was enough to reveal the shape of him sitting there, knees slightly bent, shoulders forward and his head tilted down

  Watching

  Adrian felt a strange unease stir in his chest. Soren hadn't moved since he woke up. Not once. No shifting, no rubbing his eyes, nothing that suggested he had just come out of sleep

  It was as if he had been awake the entire time

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  Waiting

  The thought made Adrian swallow, though his throat was so dry it hurt

  "Soren?" he said quietly

  There was a pause before Soren answered

  "Yeah"

  His voice sounded normal. Calm. But something about the way it came out felt… hollow.

  Adrian rubbed the back of his neck. "You… been awake long?"

  Another pause

  "Long enough, don't you feel tired"

  The answer made Adrian's stomach twist harder than the hunger. He tried to laugh it off, but the sound came out weak and thin. The silence returned, stretching between them. Adrian couldn't stop glancing toward him. The longer he looked, the more something about Soren felt wrong. It wasn't just that he was quiet. Soren had always been quiet. But now his stillness felt unnatural

  Predatory

  Like the way the monster used to stop in the forest sometimes. Watching them run. Adrian shifted uncomfortably and then Soren spoke again

  "Adrian"

  His voice was low

  "I need to ask you something"

  Adrian looked up, surprised by the sudden seriousness in his tone, "What?"

  For a moment Soren didn't answer. Adrian could just barely see his face now, faintly illuminated by that thin streak of light. His eyes were dark and fixed entirely on him

  Too focused

  Then Soren said slowly, carefully, "Say you and your pet dog… the one you've raised since it was born. The kind that's basically family"

  Adrian frowned slightly

  "Okay…"

  "You and that dog get trapped in a desert," Soren continued. "Just the two of you. No food. Barely any water. Days pass and you're starving. Your body is starting to shut down"

  The cave seemed to grow colder as he spoke

  Adrian stared at him

  Soren's eyes never left his face

  Then he asked quietly,

  "Would you eat the dog to survive?"

  For a second Adrian thought he had misheard him

  "What?"

  Soren didn't repeat the question. He just kept looking at him with that same calm, unwavering stare. Adrian let out a small, confused laugh

  "That's… that's a weird question"

  But Soren didn't smile. Didn't react. He was just watching him. Adrian's laughter faded quickly. Something in the way Soren was looking at him made his chest tighten. It wasn't curiosity. It wasn't hypothetical. It felt like he was measuring something. Waiting for an answer

  Adrian rubbed his arms uneasily. "I mean… I don't know. That's messed up"

  Soren tilted his head slightly

  "But you'd die otherwise," he said

  The words hung in the cave and Adrian suddenly felt very aware of how empty his stomach was. How weak his arms felt. How thin his own voice had become over the past few days

  He looked at Soren again and for the first time since waking up, a cold thought crept into the back of his mind. Soren wasn't asking that question out of curiosity

  Adrian looked at Soren again. Before he could say anything, Soren spoke

  "Answer"

  The word came out sharp and commanding, cutting through the silence of the cave. It wasn't loud, but there was something in the tone that made Adrian stiffen slightly. It didn't sound like a casual question anymore. It sounded like a demand

  Adrian blinked, taken off guard, "Why does it matter?" he muttered weakly, rubbing his dry lips with the back of his hand, "It's a stupid question"

  Soren didn't move

  "Answer"

  The repetition made Adrian uneasy. The way Soren said it felt wrong. Too controlled. Too focused. Adrian shifted where he sat, his stomach twisting again from hunger and discomfort

  "I… I don't know," he said after a moment. "I guess… if it was the only way to survive…"

  His voice trailed off. Even saying the words made something inside him recoil

  "That'd be horrible," Adrian continued quietly. "But if you were really going to die otherwise… maybe. I mean… I don't know. You'd hate yourself for it, right? But people do horrible things when they're desperate"

  The cave fell silent again

  Adrian risked another glance toward Soren

  Even in the faint light he could see that Soren hadn't moved at all during his answer. His eyes were still fixed on him, unblinking, studying him with an intensity that made Adrian's skin crawl. For a moment neither of them spoke and then Soren exhaled slowly

  "I see"

  Something about those two words made Adrian's chest tighten, because the way Soren said them didn't sound like someone who had just been curious about a random thought, It sounded like someone who had just confirmed something. Adrian suddenly felt very cold

  He shifted again, trying to push himself up slightly, "Why are you even asking stuff like that?" he muttered, attempting a weak laugh that didn't quite work, "It's not like we've got a dog down here"

  Soren didn't laugh

  He just kept staring

  And in that moment Adrian realized something that made his blood run cold. Soren wasn't looking at him like a friend anymore. He was looking at him the way the monster used to look at them in the forest

  Hungry

  Adrian's breath caught in his throat

  "Soren…?"

  For a moment there was no answer

  Then Soren shifted

  It was the first real movement Adrian had seen from him since waking up. The sound of fabric scraping lightly against stone echoed in the small cave, and Adrian felt his chest tighten instinctively. Something about the movement felt deliberate, slow, controlled in a way that made his stomach twist

  Soren lowered his head slightly, almost like he was speaking to himself rather than Adrian

  "I'm sorry," he muttered quietly

  The words barely carried through the darkness

  "I didn't want to do this while you were awake… but I can't wait any longer now"

  There was a pause, and Adrian heard him take a slow breath

  "Not now that you're starting to catch on"

  For a second Adrian didn't move. The meaning of those words crawled slowly through his mind, each piece falling into place one by one until the full weight of it hit him. His heart lurched violently in his chest

  "Soren… what are you talking about?" Adrian said, his voice suddenly tight with fear. He tried to laugh but it came out broken, "You're joking, right? This isn't funny"

  Soren didn't answer

  Adrian could hear him moving again

  Closer

  A cold panic surged through Adrian's body, adrenaline cutting through the fog of hunger and exhaustion

  "Hey-hey wait," Adrian said quickly, scrambling backward on the rough stone. His hands slipped against the ground as he tried to push himself away, "Soren, stop. What are you doing?"

  His breathing started to come faster now

  "We're friends, man. We-we've been through all of this together. You said we were going to survive, remember? We'll figure something out. We always do"

  The darkness shifted again as Soren moved forward

  Adrian's back suddenly hit the cave wall

  There was nowhere left to go

  "Soren… please," Adrian whispered, the fear in his voice no longer hidden

  "You're scaring me"

  Adrian looks up as his eyes frantically dart around refusing to focus on a single place, his jaw widening, his breathing heavier, hands trembling, sweat dripping off his brow, heart racing as he came to a realisation as his eyes finally focus of Soren face, his terrified gaze matching Soren's emotionless gaze

  'She was right, I should have listened to Vera'

  Soren now looms over Adrian who is scrambled against the stone wall of the cave, his back pressed against the wall and his legs pushing down at the floor, whilst his arm is raised in front of himself. Soren like a beast pounces on Adrian pinning him down his hands

  lawed at Soren's chest, nails breaking skin, biting into fabric and flesh alike. His legs flailed wildly, heels striking against Soren's knees and ribs, kicking up dirt and loose stones from the cave floor. Each movement sent shooting pain through his bruised limbs, but it was useless. Soren's hands were unyielding, squeezing his throat like cold iron, cutting off every desperate gasp

  Blood hissed from Adrian's mouth, a thin line trickling down his chin as he tried to scream. His tongue pressed uselessly against the pressure, scraping against his teeth as if trying to force the air back in. Each breath felt like molten fire, every inhale a battle with a hand that refused to relent. His eyes bulged slightly, veins dark and pulsing, and a strange metallic taste flooded his mouth, mixing with the coppery tang of his own blood

  "Stop… Soren!" he rasped, voice barely audible, broken into wet, strangled gurgles. His nails tore at Soren's skin, leaving shallow crescents of blood, but the boy didn't flinch. Every struggle only seemed to tighten Soren's grip, pressing harder, colder, more final. Adrian's vision flickered at the edges, black spots dancing and swirling. Panic and raw, animal desperation clawed through his chest, making him flail with the last remnants of strength

  He could feel ribs pressing under Soren's forearms, shoulders grinding into his collarbones, each movement bruising him further. His own spit mixed with the blood in his mouth, and a faint tearing sound followed a sudden kick

  Adrian's fingers dug into Soren's arms, nails breaking under the pressure, leaving small arcs of blood on stone and skin alike. Every strike, every scratch, every kick was ignored. His lungs screamed in vain, and the metallic, bitter taste of blood filled his mouth as his strength continued to drain, leaving him a trembling, gasping mess

  His eyes, wide and terrified, met Soren's one last time. And in those eyes Adrian saw not the friend he knew, not the boy who had fought beside him in every nightmare, but the cold, unrelenting predator that had been hiding there all along

  Adrian's hands continued to claw uselessly at Soren's arms, his vision swimming with black spots and blood. Every breath was a battle, every heartbeat a drum of panic in his ears. His lungs screamed, his throat burned, and he knew he was seconds from suffocating

  Then, almost blindly, he sank his teeth into Soren's hand, clamping down as hard as he could. A sharp hiss escaped Soren, and his grip faltered for just a fraction of a second. Adrian gasped violently, lungs filling with precious, stolen air, wheezing as the metallic taste of his own blood mingled with the bitter tang of fear

  Soren's eyes flicked down to the bite, a dark shadow passing over his expression. That split second was all it took for Adrian to feel hope, fleeting and desperate. He twisted, kicked, scratched, anything to break free, to survive

  But Soren didn't panic. Soren never panicked

  With a swift, terrifying motion, Soren yanked a jagged rock from the cave floor. It was heavy, coarse, and unforgiving. Adrian's mind registered it too late, fear spiking as Soren swung it down. The impact smashed into the side of Adrian's skull with a sickening crunch. Pain exploded behind his eyes, radiating through his temples and jaw. Stars erupted in his vision. Blood sprayed into the darkness, hot and coppery, mixing with his sweat and tears

  Adrian's arms fell uselessly to his sides, his strength gone, replaced by fire and numbness. His knees buckled, chest heaving, throat rasping. The world tilted violently, and the faint sounds of the cave, the dripping, the distant echo of their struggle became muted, distant, swallowed by ringing in his ears

  He tried to speak, tried to cry out, but only a garbled, gurgling noise escaped

  Soren's eyes remained locked on him, cold and unyielding, as though this was inevitable, as though Adrian had already been claimed. The rock raised again in Soren's hand, poised, deliberate, the faint glint of cave light reflecting off its rough surface

  Adrian's mind had one last thought, 'Out of all people, Soren. How could you?'

  And then the world went black