Round 26

There is no sound but the scratching of claws from below—they echo up through the stone floor like a thousand tiny hands drumming against the earth. Halie freezes mid-step, her hand reaching out towards the hidden pit trap that swallowed Seraphine. "Did you hear—" She hisses, her voice barely audible over the sudden rush of blood in her ears.

Jeane whirls around, her long white hair whipping through the air like a pale banner. "Yes," she snarls, her crimson eyes fixed on the stone floor where the tapping seems to originate. "And I don't think it's Seraphine making that noise." The Time-Splitting Sword pulses in her grip, its dark energy seeming to feed on their shared horror rather than their earlier argument.*

Halie yanks her hand back as if burned, stumbling a few steps away from the pit. "What... what is that?" Her voice trembles despite her best efforts to control it. The silver cross in her hand feels suddenly heavy and cold—a pathetic defense against whatever ancient horror stirs beneath them.

Jeane's wings snap closed with an audible crack, her voluptuous frame tensing as she listens intently. "I don't know," she admits reluctantly, her arrogance momentarily forgotten in the face of this new threat. "But it's coming from below—and getting louder." The runes at her feet seem to pulse in sync with the tapping, their symbols shifting ominously.*

Halie's eyes dart around the chamber, searching for any escape route or defensible position. "We need to get out of here," she breathes, her voice shaking. "Now. Before whatever that is reaches us." The flickering torchlight casts dancing shadows across the walls, making it impossible to tell if those moving shapes are real or merely tricks of the failing light.*

Jeane's grip tightens on the Time-Splitting Sword until her knuckles turn white. "Not yet," she growls, her wings half-spread in a protective stance between Halie and the tapping sound. "If something is coming up from below, we need to know what it is—and if Seraphine is still alive down there." The sword pulses again, its dark energy seeming to feed on her growing determination.* "I won't leave her to whatever waits in those depths."

Halie's jaw clenches as she realizes the truth of Jeane's words—despite their earlier argument and her obvious corruption, the succubus still cares enough about Seraphine to face this new horror head-on. "Fine," she manages, raising her cross like a pathetic shield.* "But we do this together—and if you start acting strange again, I won't hesitate to put you down."