Just as a collective dread settled upon us, that ominous creaking sound echoed again from the ceiling of the cavern. Boulders the size of tires, dislodged by the vibrations, tumbled down onto the stone walkway circling the abyss, shattering with sharp crackles.

A sudden, violent thump hammered in my chest; an intensely ill premonition washed over me.

Indeed, seconds later, three colossal shadows materialized overhead, plummeting down with a shriek.

The world erupted in a cataclysm of falling rock and deafening noise.

One of those immense shadows struck with the force of lightning, instantly collapsing several tiers of the walkway above us, driving relentlessly toward our precarious position.

*There was no time left to shout anything; he grabbed my arm and broke into a desperate sprint.

As we ran forward, we could hear the unsettling crack-crack from above, the sound of the walkway splintering growing closer, the fear of imminent death gripping everyone.

We bolted twenty meters ahead when, suddenly, a perfectly square doorway appeared in the stone wall before us. *He pulled me through, one right after the other, scrambling inside.

The people behind us poured into the opening immediately after—seven or eight of us made it—but five were delayed, trapped by the cascade of rubble.

*He gritted his teeth, poked his head out, and beckoned, shouting, “Quickly…”

The word "Quickly" barely left his lips before a thunderous boom roared from above. A massive object, trailing countless shards of stone, crashed down, kicking up a violent gust of wind that slammed *back against the stone wall.

I staggered back in shock and rushed forward to steady *him.

His dark face was now shockingly pale, like parchment, scored by several bloody gashes from flying grit. His eyes were bloodshot, appearing almost ready to bleed.

The others gathered around. After a moment, *he stabilized, then spoke with a distant stare, “They… they were crushed flat…”

Watching the heartbroken expression bordering on a sob on *his face, everyone fell silent. Five young lives had been extinguished. I had just witnessed the skill of these men; they were all highly trained experts. For even such capable individuals to perish so easily was heartbreaking for anyone, let alone for these men who were *his trusted subordinates.

Silence descended once more. The dim darkness ahead seemed like a black hole, pulling one downward; to stare into it was to risk being involuntarily seized by that ghostly, demonic power and plummeting into an inescapable abyss.

A distant wind whispered through the vast, empty cavern, stirring a mournful, wailing melody of sorrow.

After a prolonged silence, *he rubbed his face and pushed himself to his feet.

He slapped a bandage over the scrapes on his face and then silently started walking back toward the collapsed section of the walkway.

Fearing he might lose control, we all followed cautiously.

We crept up to the edge of the precipice and peered down. The object that had fallen was indeed a colossal excavator, jammed and halted on the walkway three or four levels beneath us.

Strangely, despite the impact through layers of rock scaffolding, the deformed excavator’s headlights flickered faintly, a stark anomaly against the boundless darkness below.

Just as we wondered how this rusted-out machine could still illuminate its lamps after decades perhaps, an even more bizarre spectacle unfolded.

In the rhythm of the flashing headlights, the warped driver's side door slowly began to be pushed open by something inside. Then, a black silhouette painstakingly crawled out of the vehicle.

*He and I exchanged a look; it was clearly unbelievable. This wasn't just a simple case of the machine being brought down by strong winds. What exactly was climbing out of that cabin?

If it had been a normal person, falling from such a height, even secured inside a vehicle, they would surely have been reduced to pulp.

The others had clearly reached the same conclusion, keeping their mouths shut, staring intently at the unfolding scene below.

But if it wasn't human, what could possibly activate a car's headlights? Could some animal have accidentally bumped the switch?

The thought had barely formed in my mind before the scene before us brutally negated it.

Under the intermittent beam of the headlights, a humanoid figure clad in a long white robe slowly emerged from the door.

We watched as it crawled out, then straightened up, walked to a large piece of nearby rubble, and sat down.

A slight breeze stirred the "person's" garments, and it seemed to lift its head, casting a glance in our direction.

Seeing the figure look toward us, *he frowned, finally unable to hold back, and shouted, “Who’s there!”

Perhaps the wind was too loud, or the distance too great, or perhaps the figure simply chose to ignore us. It merely turned its head back silently, then stood up and walked to the wreckage of the excavator, beginning to search for something beneath it.

*He was visibly frustrated. Since our own lighting equipment had been smashed in the accident, he rummaged through his pack until he found a few glow sticks.

*He didn't deliberate; he snapped one to life and tossed it toward the figure.

The faint crimson light bounced a few times in the pile of rubble before landing near a rock not far from the excavator’s remains.

In the dim light, we saw the one in the white robe fumbling beneath the machine for a moment before locating a bloody arm, which it began to drag out forcefully.

“What? Is he trying to save someone?” I asked *him.

At that moment, a young man standing beside me whispered, his voice trembling, “No… he seems to be looking for something…”

*His eyes were already burning with fury. His subordinates had just died horrifically, and now he could not tolerate this strange person tampering with their bodies. Ignoring the risk of further collapse, he secured a rope with a grappling hook, tossed it down, and began to rappel into the void.

My strength had failed me, and I couldn't follow, but four others descended with him.

The five of them landed softly and began to cautiously encircle the figure in white. I saw that *they had their guns tightly gripped, but a sliver of worry still pricked at me.

The glow stick was fading, its light barely competing with the erratic flashing of the excavator’s headlamps, causing the scene to swing between visibility and darkness.

*He was impatient and rushed ahead alone, quickly closing the distance to the figure.

When he was about ten meters away, *he raised his pistol and commanded, “Stand up! Who are you? What are you doing here?”

The figure froze for a beat, then slowly stood up, turning its face toward us.

The headlights flashed, making my vision extremely blurry. For two seconds, *he and the figure faced each other in absolute stillness. But through the flickering light, I vaguely saw *his gun hand tremble, and his face turned frighteningly ashen.

The men behind *him seemed equally frozen; the silence in the clearing was terrifying.

After a long, strained moment, *he finally choked out, his voice raspy, “Damn it… what the hell is that thing!”

Then came a sharp crack as *he fired a shot directly at the figure.

The gunshot echoed in the vast cavern, lingering long after. However, when my eyes finally focused clearly on the scene below, the man in white had vanished.

Just as I was wondering where he had gone, an even more unsettling phenomenon occurred.

The bloody corpse lying on the ground suddenly convulsed, its body twisting as it slowly began to push itself upright.

I knew with absolute certainty that the corpse was irrevocably dead; its bones and sinews had been crushed by stone. Only a vague human shape remained, frankly resembling nothing more than a pile of spoiled meat.

How could such a thing possibly stand again? It was utterly unbelievable.

This shock was so profound that it momentarily eclipsed any fear. Clearly, *he and the others were similarly stunned, freezing on the spot as the thing slowly rose.

But *he was, after all, an old hand at tomb raiding, and his reaction was marginally quicker. Seeing the body writhing and lunging toward him, he immediately pulled the trigger. With a *thud, the impact of the pistol sent the lump of mud-like matter staggering back two steps.

Yet, the thing emitted no scream recognizable as human pain. Instead, it immediately straightened its posture and lurched back toward *him and the others.

Though I couldn't see *his expression, I knew it must have been grim. He croaked hoarsely, “Retreat! Fall back to the cliff face!”

The men backed away while pulling back, their guns spitting occasional jets of fire to push the advancing thing away.