Round 336

The stone beneath them groaned in protest as they moved forward, each step measured and tentative on the shifting pressure plates. The walls flexed around them, living tissue sliding over ancient stone with wet, lewd sounds that made Abby's stomach churn despite her best efforts to remain calm. She could feel the corruption seeping into the very air, thick and cloying like the fluid still coating her skin.

"Stay close," Silra hissed, her voice strained. "The walls are learning our patterns. Every step counts." Her eyes darted along the pulsating surfaces, tracking the shifting patterns with predatory focus even as her own body trembled under the strain of containing the spreading rot. Abby nodded, though she knew Silra couldn't see the gesture in the dim light.

The descent began, each step onto a new plate causing a fresh wave of groans from the stone and shifts in the walls' breathing rhythm. Abby tried to focus on the mechanics of their movement rather than the sensation of being watched, hunted, by something ancient and hungry. The air grew colder as they descended, the walls seeming to press in tighter with each step.

"Two more plates," Silra announced after what felt like an eternity of careful progress. "Then we reach the bottom." Her voice cracked slightly on the last word, and Abby saw her stumble, catching herself against the wall before quickly pulling her hand back with a muffled curse. The corruption was spreading faster now, visible tendrils of shadow writhing just beneath Silra's skin.

"Can you hold out?" Abby asked, her voice barely audible even to her own ears. She knew the answer already—knew that pushing forward might be signing both their deaths—but stopping meant facing whatever horrors awaited in the chamber above, and that felt like a fate worse than death right now.

Silra managed a tight smile, though it looked more like a grimace of pain. "For now," she said, her voice barely more than a rasp. "But we need to move faster. The thing downstairs... it knows we're coming."

Abby nodded again, her eyes fixed on the next pressure plate as they prepared to transfer their weight once more. The walls seemed to hold their breath around them, waiting, watching, as the two women descended into the depths of the ancient tomb.