Round 90

Gravedigger Renn's body remained frozen, his legs no longer trembling as the ground lurches upward, sending him tumbling to his knees. The pressure plates continued their maddening rhythm, each tremor a heartbeat away from unleashing a new burst of energy. Sister Hale's eyes widened in alarm, her hand instinctively going to the hilt of her dagger as she whispered across the plates to Silra and Gravedigger, "What's happening?" The runes pulsed faster around them, their ominous glow illuminating the dark tunnel.

Silra felt it before she saw it—the plates lurching upward in defiance of the rhythm they'd maintained for so long—and whatever was buried down there had just made its decision. Whatever was deliberating about their Intent had been replaced by pure kinetic force, and now they were off balance on shifting ground while Gravedigger Renn stood perfectly still like a broken doll. The plates pulsed wildly under her feet, each tremor a reminder that whatever was down there wasn't breaking formation yet—that suggested deliberation, not system failure or disinterest.