Round 355

The walls' synchronized breathing stopped completely, every surface going rigid and silent except for that low pulsing hum growing stronger like a heartbeat counting down seconds until next adaptation phase. The air crackled with electricity, and I sensed it—the corruption's tendrils slithering up my skin like living shadows responding to Halie's touch. I recoiled instinctively, slamming my back against the opposite tunnel wall hard enough for the impact to echo. My exposed skin had taken on an unsettling crimson hue now, veins tracing dark patterns beneath translucent flesh as the corruption pulsed visibly with each beat of my accelerated heart. "Fuck! FUCK!" The words tore from my throat in a harsh whisper that seemed to make the very stone around us vibrate...