Round 368

The walls' synchronized breathing stopped entirely now—a sudden silence more unsettling than any rhythm could be—as the entity's grip remained insistent, guiding them deeper into the depths where the floor undulated beneath their feet, living stone responding to their presence with unsettling animation. Silra felt the corruption spreading through her system with each beat of her heart, but she maintained her focus on the task at hand—finding those damned Starheart fragments before the entity consumed them both entirely.

The door's surface began to dissolve, revealing a network of glowing, fiber-optic-like tendrils that stretched out towards them like hungry fingers reaching for prey. The creature's grip on her waist tightened, its dark eyes fixed intently on the door as it leaned in closer, its breath whispering against her ear. "We should back away slowly."