Round 255

The air shifted, thickened with something that tasted wrong on the back of Abby's tongue. She stood frozen in the center of the room, her wide brown eyes fixed on Hera as the other woman stumbled backward through the shifting walls. The orbs pulsed faster now, their light bleeding into the shadows and making everything feel too bright, too sharp.

Abby clutched the sybian tighter, its smooth surface cool against her palms. She'd been told to maintain distance—don't touch anyone, don't let them get close—and she was good at following instructions. Twelve meters out, exactly. The walls breathed around them now, inhaling and exhaling in perfect synchronization that made her skin crawl. Each expansion pushed the stone outward, each contraction pulled it back.

The low hum started as a vibration through the soles of her shoes, climbing up her legs until it filled her entire body. Abby's teeth began to chatter—fear response, not cold. She'd seen what happened when the corruption touched someone. She wasn't going down like that. Not today.

Hera was shouting something about a message, but Abby couldn't make out the words over the pounding of her own heart. The orbs pulsed again, and for a second it looked like they were floating off the ground. No. That was impossible. They had to be stuck to the floor somehow. Right?

She took another step back without thinking, bumping into something solid behind her. A wall? But walls didn't feel warm. Panic flared hot in her chest—trapped between threats on both sides now—but she pushed it down. Silra said to stay calm. To trust the plan.

The plan was: don't touch anyone. Don't get too close. Follow instructions. Simple enough. Except now the walls were breathing and the orbs were moving and Hera was stumbling and everything was going wrong and—

Abby squeezed her eyes shut for a second, then forced them open again. The room hadn't changed. The distance was still there. She could do this. Just... don't panic. Don't draw attention. Be small and quiet and invisible.

The humming grew louder, and the walls flexed wider on their next inhale. Abby took another small step back, matching their rhythm. One breath at a time.