This is part of an original serialized fiction project written and edited by the author. All story elements and characters are fictional.

It's 100% original.

The tunnel finally led them to a narrow, dust-covered room filled with rusted pipes and old machinery parts. In the middle of the floor, there was a shallow pit — just big enough to hold the box.

“This is it,” Teodora said, pointing to the hole. “We can hide the fragment here and seal the entrance so no one finds it.”

Lucía carefully placed the box inside while Leo scanned the walls, looking for anything they could use to block off the space.

“How do we close it?” he asked.

Teodora pulled a small bag from her purse. Inside was a fine gray powder.

“This is fast-drying cement. If we mix it with water, it should be enough to seal both the pit and the tunnel entrance.”

Lucía watched as Teodora got to work, mixing the powder with water from an old pipe that still trickled a bit.

“Are you sure this will hold?” she asked.

“For now, yes,” Teodora replied. “But we’ll need more protections later.”

Just as they were starting to work, another sound echoed from the tunnel — louder this time, like something heavy being dragged.

“There’s definitely someone there,” Leo muttered, picking up a rusty tool to use as a weapon.

Teodora stood up fast, flashlight aimed at the darkness behind them.

“If it’s Méndez, we can’t let him get this far.”

Lucía grabbed a metal rod from the floor, her heart pounding. “And what if it is him?”

Before Teodora could respond, a figure stepped out from the tunnel’s shadow. It wasn’t Méndez.

It was a man in worn-out clothes, his face lined with age and hardship.

“Who are you?” he asked in a rough voice.

Leo raised the tool, tense. “We could ask you the same.”

The man lifted his hands in a peaceful gesture, though his eyes stayed sharp and guarded.

“I’m not here to cause trouble. I’m... looking for something.”

Teodora didn’t take her eyes off him. “What exactly are you looking for?”

The man nodded toward the pit where they had just hidden the box.

“That.”

The room suddenly felt heavier. All three of them shifted slightly, defensive. The stranger’s eyes were locked on the spot where the fragment now lay hidden, his stance steady, ready for anything.

Leo stepped forward, gripping the tool tighter. “Who are you, and what do you want with it?”

The man slowly lowered his hands. “I’m not here to fight. My name is Gregorio. I was… part of the original group that protected this building.”

“A Custodian?” Teodora asked, narrowing her eyes.

Gregorio nodded.n

“I was. I left when things got too dangerous. This place holds secrets that should’ve stayed buried — and now someone’s stirring them up again.”

Lucía looked to Teodora, unsure what to believe.

“How do we know he’s telling the truth?”

Teodora stepped closer, eyeing Gregorio carefully. “If you really were a Custodian, you’d know something no one else would.”

Gregorio let out a slow breath and lowered his gaze for a moment.

“The Echo Chamber… it wasn’t built to use the artifact. It was meant as a last resort. A place to keep the darkest secrets from ever seeing the light again.”

Teodora nodded slowly. “That much we know. But what’s your connection to it now?”

Gregorio pointed at the pit again.

“That fragment. When the group split up, some wanted to destroy it. Others wanted to use it. I was one of the few who believed it had to be hidden — far from everyone. Looks like you found something that was meant to stay lost.”

Leo exchanged a glance with Lucía, both still cautious.

“Why should we trust you?” Leo asked.

Gregorio met his eyes.

“You don’t have to. But believe me — if that fragment ends up in the hands of Méndez or anyone like him, this building will just be the beginning of what gets destroyed.”

Teodora folded her arms, her expression unreadable, clearly weighing every word.

“How do you know about Méndez?”