Round 288

The walls flexed and writhed as if alive, a faint blue-green glow emanating from their surface. The air grew thick with an otherworldly energy that made Abby's skin crawl. The hum of the entity's power grew louder, more insistent, until it was all she could feel. She pressed herself back against the cold stone wall, her heart hammering so hard she could feel it in her throat. The creature that was once Hera loomed before her, its elongated fingers extending toward her face, sharp claws glinting in the faint light seeping from the cracks in the wall. Its eyes were no longer human, but glowing orbs of pure malevolence, seeming to bore into her very soul.

I can feel the vibration of the low humming sound through my entire body, she thought, making every nerve ending scream with...

The walls' synchronized breathing stopped completely—everything except that low pulsing hum growing stronger like heartbeat counting down seconds until next adaptation phase. The ground beneath her gave a slight tremor, and the sound of distant stone grinding against stone echoed through the tunnel. A faint, flickering glow began to emanate from the walls, casting eerie shadows on the stone floor. The light was soft and blue-green, like bioluminescent fungi, but it was impossible to tell if it was natural or part of the entity's influence.

Abby must decide whether to press forward, despite the growing danger, or attempt to find another path back to the chamber and the sybian.