Round 161

The walls breathed in unison now, each expansion drawing more of that sickly grayish-pink growth across the ancient carvings. Halie stumbled forward, her right arm flailing as if possessed by some unseen force—corruption had reached 98%, leaving her fingers barely able to grip the sacred text she clutched against her chest. The stone itself seemed alive now, grinding and groaning like a beast preparing to devour them all.

Jeane stood frozen twelve meters away, arcane flames dancing uselessly around her fists as she watched Halie's descent into madness. They'd come so far, faced horrors beyond imagining... but this? This was different. The walls breathed in unison now, each expansion drawing more of that sickly grayish-pink growth across the ancient carvings. And beneath it all, a low pulsing hum grew stronger with every passing second—a heartbeat counting down until whatever waited downstairs finished adapting to their divine magic.

Halie's voice cut through the oppressive silence, clinical and detached despite her obvious terror: "Maintaining tactical positioning..."