The descent deepened.
With every level they passed, the world seemed to pull taut around them. The rain outside dulled, no longer falling in sheets but in sluggish droplets that clung to the air like oil. Even sound felt stretched—warped under pressure. And above, the sky no longer looked like a sky.
It looked like something staring back.
They moved down through reinforced corridors flanked with barrier glyphs—etched lines of containment magic glowing brighter with each step. Pressure layered in waves. Not from any present enemy, but from the depth of resonance leaking through the complex itself.
The mana here wasn't calm.
It was waiting.
