CHAPTER 240: THE SENTINEL’S CHOICE

The helm of the colossus pivoted again, its slit of shadow sliding slowly over Elisa, over Zirel, over Inès—but it did not linger on them. No. Its attention returned to Maggie. As if, in that mute and crushing gaze, something ancient had found its echo.

The chains of energy finally broke in a muffled crack, dissolving into a myriad of pale embers that drifted in the stagnant air. The colossus shifted, its weight growling against the stone, and for an instant, the chamber trembled as though it could no longer contain him.

He rose.

The movement was inexorable, every joint of stone and shadow groaning like tectonic plates grinding back into motion after centuries of slumber. Upright, he towered over everything, a mountain incarnate, and the air around him thickened, saturated with the taste of iron and dust.

Then, he advanced.

Not toward Elisa, whose hand still smoked after her cursed touch.

Not toward Zirel, whose greedy eyes gleamed with unspoken schemes.

Not toward Inès, frozen in panic.

But toward Maggie.

The halberd was still lodged in the wall, out of reach. She stood there, unarmed, breath short, every nerve braced to fight to the death—even barehanded. And yet, she did not retreat as the giant approached, each of his steps resounding like thunder shaking their bones.

When he reached her, he stopped.

The chamber held its breath. The colossus loomed, helm inclined toward her, his mere presence suffocating. Then, with an almost ritual slowness, he lowered himself to one knee before her.

It was not submission. Not entirely. It was recognition.

The beast of war bowing before another beast.

And in that gesture, he shifted subtly—interposing his immense bulk between Maggie and the rest of the group, as if to shield her. A living bulwark. A declaration.

Maggie blinked, unsettled. She glanced toward Elisa, who answered only with pale silence, her lips parted but unable to form a word.

It was Zirel who broke the enchantment, his voice high-pitched, almost panicked.

"This is madness. He... he chose her?!"

The head of the colossus turned slightly, and the slit of his helm glowed with an inner light. The temperature dropped at once, the air whistled in their lungs. The giant’s attention alone was crushing. Zirel swallowed his words and stepped back, his eyes blazing with a fear he refused to admit.

Maggie swallowed hard, her throat dry. She had never sought command, never begged for followers. And yet, there, before her, knelt a forgotten relic of war—an army condensed into a single body.

"What do you want from me?" she whispered, more to herself than to the creature.

The giant did not answer. He remained motionless, colossal presence taut like a beast awaiting its master’s signal.

And Maggie understood. It was not words. Not thoughts. It was a brutal certainty. This creature did not serve the weak. It did not bend to prayers or lies. It anchored itself only to strength. And in her, it had found its anchor.

At last Elisa spoke, her voice hoarse, haunted:

"He has chosen. No one else will be able to approach. Not even me."

Her words fell like a sentence. Inès stepped back, shaking her head, murmuring prayers between trembling lips. Zirel clenched his jaw, his eyes already crossing with impure calculations. And Maggie... Maggie tightened her fists, her gaze locked on the titanic silhouette that had just bound itself to her.

The chamber shuddered again, as if the tunnels themselves sensed the shift of fate. Dust fell from the ceiling. In the depths of the earth, distant thunder rumbled.

The colossus remained still, sentinel of stone and shadow.

And Maggie, despite herself, felt upon her shoulders the weight of a bond cold, inescapable.

A bond she had never sought.

A bond she might never escape.

———

A heavy silence, more oppressive than the colossus’s presence, settled over the chamber. The rumbling had ceased, leaving behind the deafening roar of silence buzzing in their ears. All eyes were fixed on Maggie and the stone sentinel kneeling before her.

It was Elisa who moved first. With a grimace of pain, she pressed her burned hand against her chest and nodded toward the arch they had entered through.

"We can’t stay here." Her voice was raw, frayed. "This... change of ownership will not have gone unnoticed."

Zirel let out a dry, nervous laugh.

"Of course. Let’s leave. Let’s stroll through the tunnels with a three-ton giant who’s decided Maggie is his new queen. What could possibly go wrong?" His dark gaze swept over the colossus, tinged with sickly greed and raging fear.

Inès said nothing, merely staring at the giant with religious terror, her lips ceaselessly moving in silent prayer.

Maggie ignored Zirel. She drew a deep breath, feeling the weight of the helm’s empty gaze upon her. She pointed a trembling finger toward the arch.

"Let’s... let’s go," she murmured, not truly expecting an answer.

The colossus rose.

Once again, the movement was a miniature earthquake, a groan of stone and pent-up force. He straightened, towering over the chamber, and his helm slowly pivoted toward the indicated passage. Then he moved forward, his heavy, steady steps shaking the ground. He never looked back.

The group followed in his wake, a ragged little procession trailing behind a war machine.

Their march was strange, tense. The colossus advanced with deliberate slowness, forcing the others into a funereal pace. The sound of his steps nearly drowned Inès’s ragged breathing and Elisa’s pained groans.

Zirel, impatient and arrogant, tried to overtake the giant to seize the lead. He edged along the right wall, attempting to slip past.

He had barely taken three steps when the helm of the colossus pivoted sharply. No sound, no growl. Only the faint scrape of stone. The slit of the helm glowed with a pale, menacing light, and the temperature dropped brutally. The giant’s arm—a beam of rock and shadow—moved with surprising speed, not to strike, but to bar Zirel’s path. The very air itself seemed to solidify before him, charged with crushing intent.

Zirel froze, breath caught. The fear he had been repressing finally iced his blood. He stumbled back a step, and the colossus’s arm returned to its place, as if nothing had happened. The light in its helm faded, and the temperature returned to normal.

The message was clear: no one walks ahead of Maggie. No one approaches her without leave.

Elisa exchanged a glance with Maggie, a mixture of wary respect and warning. Maggie clenched her jaw. She had never asked for this, but she understood the rules. This thing obeyed her—but in its own way. It was both her protector and her jailer.

"Stay behind me," Maggie ordered, her voice steadier than she expected.

They pressed on, into a narrower corridor. The colossus filled it entirely, scraping the walls with his massive shoulders, sending down showers of stone and dust. He was clearly too large for the passage, yet he advanced all the same, inexorable, carving his way like a glacier.

When a side branch appeared to their left, dark and narrow, Zirel stopped.

"Wait. This path is more direct. I mapped it."

Elisa shook her head, gesturing to the colossus.

"He’ll never fit. It’s too tight."

Zirel rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"Then let him wait! We can—"

He stepped toward the branch. The colossus stopped instantly. His helm did not even turn. He simply raised one massive hand, palm open, and pressed it against the wall, physically blocking the access. The gesture was final. No discussion. No negotiation.

Maggie felt the tension rise. She had to take control back.

"No. We stay together. We follow the main path." She addressed the colossus. "Go on."

The hand withdrew from the wall. The giant resumed his heavy march, ignoring Zirel, flushed with frustration.

They advanced, prisoners of the stone rhythm of their new guardian. Maggie walked just behind him, feeling the cold heat radiating from his frame, listening to the grinding of his mineral joints.

Each step was a reminder of the bond tethering her to this primal force. A bond she had not chosen, but one she would have to master—or risk seeing them all broken beneath its stone temper.