Round 6

As Varrika's boots echoed on the cracked stone, she halted, her hand raised in warning, her eyes fixed intently on the gate's shifting runes. Jeane's gaze followed, her own scrutiny piercing the darkness within, as if daring the ancient magic to reveal its secrets. Halie's palm had pressed against the stone, and the air seemed to thicken, the pulsing darkness intensifying, like a living entity coursing through the stone. The blackened sparks on Jeane's forearm had died down, but the gate's power remained, its malevolent energy seeping into the air.

Varrika's voice cut through the tension, her words laced with a deep-seated wariness. "We've stirred up something nasty here." Her hand still raised, she held up a stop sign, her eyes locked on Merrin, who had been fiddling with the lock. The runes on the gate continued to shift, rearranging themselves in a pattern that seemed to hold a hidden message. Jeane's voice was low and steady, her words laced with a sense of foreboding. "Whatever power answers your call isn't here to guide us—it's here to cage us."