Round 140

The stone walls' synchronized breathing resumes immediately after Halie's seal dissipates, but something has changed—their rhythm is more complex now, almost... learning from the exposure? The low hum intensifies into a steady pulse that seems to match the grinding sound of mechanisms preparing to crush us between plates. Jeane maintains her containment field around Silra with visible strain, sweat beading on her forehead as arcane energy crackles dangerously close to instability. "Halie," she hisses without breaking concentration, "how long before your arm fully corrupts? We need to know exactly what timeline we're working with here."