The circle didn’t move.
But the weight in the air shifted.
Every breath felt thicker. Like the jungle was holding its breath — waiting to see who broke next.
Rell forced himself up.
His ribs screamed. His hand trembled.
But he walked.
Back toward the circle.
---
The next bone he chose was small. A knuckle.
He didn’t touch it yet.
He spoke.
**[SPEAKS] (quietly)**
“Nia called …that night. I ..no.. answer.”
Silence.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
He pulled the bone.
It came free.
No pain.
The totem shimmered again — two lights now glowing around the circle’s edge.
Selena watched.
Eyes unreadable.
But her grip on her staff relaxed.
---
She stepped forward.
Chose a femur wrapped in moss.
Paused.
Then said:
“I thought… maybe I deserved it.”
She pulled.
No pain.
Rell turned his head away.
Not out of shame.
But out of respect.
---
The next two came slower.
Rell admitted he once stole from someone who trusted him — just to survive.
Selena confessed she almost let someone else take the blame for her attack, because the silence was safer.
Each truth landed like a stone in water.
Small. But deep.
The creature never spoke again.
But the bones kept reacting.
---
At the halfway mark, a larger bone pulsed brighter than the rest.
Selena pointed to it.
“Needs two hands,” she said.
Rell nodded.
They stepped forward together.
He placed his right hand.
She placed her left.
Neither spoke at first.
Then:
**[SPEAKS] (together)**
“…We don’t trust each other. But we want to.”
The bone lifted itself.
Floated between them.
Then shattered — into harmless dust.
The totem **flared** — a full third of the circle now lit.
---
They rested after that.
Didn’t talk.
Just sat at the edge. Breathing. Bleeding. Thinking.
**[THOUGHTS]**
This ain't magic.
It’s a confession box with fangs.
And I’m still in it.
Selena looked over at him.
Didn’t smile.
Didn’t scowl.
But nodded once.
For now — that was enough.