Round 27

The tower's ancient magic surged through the breach in a wave of palpable energy, its power crackling through the air like a living thing awakened from slumber. Jeane stumbled backward, her crimson eyes going wide with terror even as she fought to maintain control over her succubus nature. Too much!* The words ripped from her throat in a desperate gasp. The runes on the gate pulsed with oily light, each flicker sending fresh dread through the group.

Merrin caught herself mid-stumble, quick hands finding purchase on a jagged stone outcropping before she could fall. Her dark eyes widened as she watched Jeane's spellwork trigger some kind of dark magic—the wall shook violently, and then split open like a maw as an oily darkness poured out from between the gates. Fuck me sideways,* she breathed, her voice barely audible over the groaning stone.

Seraphine, already struggling to maintain her footing on the sloping corridor floor, felt a fresh wave of terror wash over her as the ancient magic pressed in around them like a suffocating shroud. The darkness seemed to swallow everything—their path, their hope, even the air itself grew thick with dread. We're running blindly now, pursued by some eldritch horror that we have no hope of defeating,* she thought, her heart hammering against her ribs.

The magical barrier holding them safe flickered wildly, its energy visibly straining against the ancient power seeping through the breach. Halie's voice cut through the groaning stone and crackling air—sharp, commanding despite the fear etched into every line of her face. Wait! She planted her feet wide, resisting the urge to simply collapse as the ground lurched again. We can't just charge blindly into whatever lies beyond that gate!

The tower's ancient magic pulsed through the breach in a wave of palpable energy, its power crackling through the air like a living thing awakened from slumber. Jeane stumbled backward, her crimson eyes going wide with terror even as she fought to maintain control over her succubus nature. Too much!* The words ripped from her throat in a desperate gasp. The runes on the gate pulsed with oily light, each flicker sending fresh dread through the group.