Round 102

The walls' intelligence was evident in how it adapted the trap mechanism to learn their patterns and synchronize with Jeane's heartbeat, matching her magic signature exactly. The grinding sound stopped completely, replaced by a low pulsing hum that was definitely a heartbeat counting down—probably the building's own corrupted organ system measuring time until next phase activation. Silra's right arm had reached fifty-eight percent necrosis now, cold dead tissue spreading up her limb with visible blue veins turning black underneath.

Jeane maintained maximum distance while maintaining her flame magic at barely sustainable levels, arcane energy flickering dangerously low at only fifteen percent output capacity. She spoke across the space between them, voice tight with controlled panic: "We need to decide now. If we execute containment strategy immediately, it risks accelerating my contamination timeline faster than walls learn more of our tactics. But if we wait, they'll adapt again, and their trap will become even more deadly."

Silra's teal eyes locked onto Jeane's, her gaze filled with a mix of desperation and tactical calculation. She spoke in measured tones despite the panic evident beneath: "I calculate the walls' next move before they make it. The pulsing rhythm isn't just counting down—it's matching your heartbeat because your fire magic is what they want most. They're learning faster than we anticipated, adapting the trap mechanism to separate us efficiently: crush me between plates while you're still functional enough to contain their corruption but too weakened to maintain distance protocols."

The elf technomancer's right arm hung limp at her side, fingers already turning black at the tips while cold sensation spread up past her elbow. She continued clinically: "My arm is dead tissue now at fifty-eight percent coverage which means ten minutes coordination remain functional before complete motor failure, and that timeline was calculated already when I initiated proximity grab to accelerate transmission timeline seven minutes ahead."