Round 161

Hera pressed herself flat against the wall, her hands splayed wide for balance on the smooth surface. The corridor stretched ahead into darkness punctuated only by the faint pulse of energy from deeper within the suite—a rhythm that seemed to match the hammering in her chest. Each beat felt like a countdown.

The wardstone's power was bleeding through now, no longer contained by distance or intervening walls. She could feel it clawing at the edges of her mind, trying to worm its way inside and twist her thoughts into something alien. She gritted her teeth, focusing on the cold stone against her back rather than the insidious tendrils of corruption that seemed to caress her skin.

"What's happening?" Halie hissed from her position near the barricade, her grip tight on the heavy mirror propping up the door. The makeshift barrier creaked ominously with each new pulse, wood straining against weight and pressure. "Jeane—"

"I don't know!" Jeane's voice cut through the darkness, strained with effort. "It's... it's getting stronger. I can feel it pulling at me." Her breathing came in harsh gasps between words, each syllable ripped from her throat as she fought to maintain control over the ancient power coursing through her.

Silra moved closer to Jeane, her movements careful on the slick floor. "Can you hold it back much longer?" The wardstone's energy pulsed again, and this time Hera felt a jolt run through her own body—a sympathetic resonance that made her stomach churn. She knew they were running out of time.

"I don't... I don't think so," Jeane admitted, her voice trembling. "It feels like it's growing, not fading. Like something's feeding it." Another pulse hit, harder than before, and the entire corridor seemed to groan around them. Dust rained down from the ceiling, and Hera could hear the distant sound of concrete cracking somewhere above.

Panic clawed at her throat, but she pushed it down with sheer force of will. They couldn't afford to fall apart now—not when every second counted. "We need to find another way out," she said, her voice barely steady. "Before this whole place comes down on our heads."