Round 44

The water rose with terrifying speed, now waist-deep and climbing. Merrin's crossbow was useless in this current, but her quick hands found a handhold as Jeane pulled her toward the opening. The sorceress's face was pale even for a succubus, her eyes wide with terror as she gasped out, "Try it! Say something fast!" The figure on the throne remained motionless, its presence somehow more unsettling than the rising water or the groans of collapsing stone around them.

"Time," Merrin blurted, her voice barely carrying over the rushing flood. "Something fleeting and intangible—something we all share but can't hold onto." The words felt wrong even as she spoke them, a truth too simple for whatever game this creature played. But they were out of options, the water now chest-deep and still rising.

The figure stirred then, its movements slow and deliberate as it descended from the throne. Merrin's breath caught in her throat as she realized they'd failed some unseen test—now the thing was coming for them. She scrambled backward, crossbow forgotten as primal fear took over. The passage behind them beckoned like salvation, but something about those shadows felt wrong too.

Jeane was already moving, her powerful wings half-spread despite the cramped space. Merrin followed, heart pounding, as they plunged into darkness that seemed to swallow the sound of rushing water and the thing's approach behind them. The passage closed around them like a tomb, but it was better than waiting for whatever horror emerged from that chamber.