Round 3

The sound was like nothing they'd heard before—a shriek that seemed to peel the skin from their bones and curdle their blood. It ripped through the air, tearing apart the night's silence with an unholy fury that spoke of something ancient, powerful, and very much alive behind that sealed gate.

Jeane reacted instinctively, her hand flashing up in a warding gesture as arcane energy crackled around her fingers before she forced it back down. Her wings fluttered involuntarily, ready for flight even though there was no space to take off. That sound... it wasn't human. It wasn't skeleton. Whatever was behind that gate... it was awake now.

Halie clutched her silver holy symbol tightly, feeling the cold metal against her palm as if it were trying to seep right through her skin. She backed away instinctively—religious reflex more than tactical calculation—as the hissing intensified into what sounded like a thousand voices all speaking at once. The crack in the gate groaned louder, and she knew they'd woken something ancient and terrible.

Merrin's heart hammered against her ribs as adrenaline surged through her veins. She knew that sound—the unmistakable cry of something ancient, powerful, and very, very angry. Whatever was behind that gate... it was awake now. And from the looks of things, not happy about its rude awakening. The rogue's mind raced as she tried to process what this meant for their situation.

Seraphine felt her heart hammering against her ribs as she watched Varrika move into position near the crack in the gate, her mace raised like a striking snake ready to strike at anything that dared to come through. The hissing of the whispers had become a frantic, panicked sound now, filling the air with an almost physical pressure that made her skin crawl. Whatever was sl...

Varrika's grip tightened on her mace, muscles coiling like springs as the shriek echoed through the air. Her eyes narrowed, scanning the darkness beyond the crack with a predator's intensity. The whispers had become a frenzied hissing, like a thousand serpents uncoiling all at once. Varrika felt it in her bones—the ancient power stirring awake from its long slumber.