Round 206

The chamber air pulsed with a low hum that felt less like sound and more like vibration against Hera's skin. The walls had stopped their grotesque breathing entirely, the silence somehow more unsettling than the previous rhythm. A low hum filled the air, pulsing like a heartbeat counting down seconds until whatever was happening next began. Halie stumbled into the chamber, her movements jerky and uncoordinated—clear signs of the corruption spreading through her system faster than they'd anticipated. Her voice, when it came, was strained with effort and barely controlled panic. "Hera! Don't go through that door!" She shouted, words echoing off the stone walls. "I'm maintaining distance for a reason—physical contact accelerates this shit dramatically." Her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides, fingers twitching uncontrollably as she fought to keep them functional. The divine light around her was dimming now, struggling against whatever malevolent force had taken root in her system.

Hera paused at the threshold of the doorway, one hand still gripping the metal handle. She glanced back at Halie, then down the stairs leading into darkness below. "What if Abby's down there? We can't..." The walls around them pulsed faster, their breathing synchronized like some monstrous heart beating out of time. She could feel the corruption spreading through Halie's body, see it in the way she staggered and twitches. We're running out of time - both to save...