Round 5

As Jeane's eyes closed, her gaze became one with the pulsing runes, her crimson eyes burning with an inner fire. The dark energies emanating from the gate's sigils seemed to resonate with an ancient heartbeat, a power that stirred within her. Varrika stepped back, her hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of her sword, while Merrin's fingers hovered over the lockpicks, his dark eyes fixed on the runes with a mix of awe and trepidation. Seraphine's voice cut through the air, her words laced with a deep unease, "Jeane, what do you mean 'dormant'? This magic feels anything but." The air around them crackled with an energy that made their skin prickle, a primal warning system screaming at them to flee. Yet, they had come too far, risked too much, to turn back now.