Alex gestured for Lumi to follow Frey, then stepped forward himself, his sharp gaze fixed on the dark descent.
As they descended into the hidden passage, the air grew cooler and the walls tighter, the dirt beneath their feet soft and uneven. It was clear that this part of the mansion had been left untouched for years—perhaps even centuries—its condition far worse than the rest of the well-maintained estate. The walls were nothing more than rough, dirt-packed earth, with no signs of masonry or any form of structure. The further they went, the more the darkness seemed to close in around them.
Alex could hear the soft shuffle of feet behind him, but the silence of the underground space was almost suffocating. Wisp walked ahead, her ethereal glow casting faint shadows on the walls, but it wasn't enough to fully illuminate the passage.
"Dark down here," Lumi whispered, her voice barely audible in the heavy silence. "Is this... safe?"
