Round 185

The sweet rotten stench intensified as the walls' breathing pattern fractured completely—dozens of independent surfaces now pulsed in irregular rhythms that seemed almost... deliberate. Halie documented the shift with trembling hands, her right arm's corruption climbing past 97%. Every surface had become an eye watching them, a mouth breathing their shared air thick with decay and something else—something sweet like spoiled fruit mixed with...

Jeane fought to maintain altitude above the pressure plates, her wings straining against the increasing pull. The arcane cost mounted with each beat—her flame resistance was already below 40%, critical failure approaching in minutes she didn't have to spare. Forward movement meant descending those stairs where whatever intelligence controlled this place waited... but staying put meant playing into its hands as easy separate targets.

The low pulsing hum intensified, vibrating through the stone itself now like a heartbeat counting down seconds until the next phase began. Something massive shifted beneath them—foundations groaning under immense pressure building below. The walls' tissue had tightened around Jeane's ankles with terrifying precision, holding her suspended exactly twelve meters above the pressure plates despite her desperate struggles.

Halie needed to maintain formation cohesion while keeping maximum distance from Silra's corruption—every second counted toward complete consumption timeline accelerating faster than expected. Her fingers dislocated backward in their sockets, useless for wielding weapons now anyway as the cold spread up past her elbow toward her shoulder joint. The sweet rotten smell mixed with copper tang of her own blood, a nauseating perfume that filled the room while something below pulsed hungrily waiting.

The intelligence behind this place was learning—adapting its tactics between breaths instead of following any predictable pattern. Every surface had become an organ in some vast living machine now focused on containing them until whatever waited downstairs finished preparing.