Round 950

The ancient laboratory's silence shatters as stone groans under strain. Varrika staggers backward with a cry, her injured ankle buckling beneath her weight. Dust explodes into the air as the corridor behind them collapses, tons of stone grinding together in a deafening roar. Merrin lunges forward instinctively, catching Varrika before she falls, her wiry arms wrapping around the larger woman's waist to support her.

"You opened it!" Varikka gasps, clutching at Merrin's shoulders with desperate strength. "What have you done?" Her voice trembles, eyes wide with fear as the floor beneath them shifts again. The sound of collapsing stone echoes from deeper in the tower—a hungry growl that seems to vibrate through the very walls.

Merrin grits her teeth against the strain of supporting Varikka's weight, her exhausted muscles screaming in protest. "I didn't open anything!" she hisses back, her dark eyes darting around the room for any escape route. "It just... activated." She shifts her grip, trying to distribute Varikka's bulk more evenly across her own smaller frame.

The air crackles with an otherworldly energy as a small orb forms from the shard on the bench, pulsating with light that seems to cut through the thick dust hanging in the air. The tunnel entrance collapses further, debris tumbling into the narrow passageway as the roar grows louder, closer.

Varrika's grip on Merrin's shoulders tightens painfully as she shifts her weight, trying to find a stable stance despite her injured ankle. "We need to move," she growls, her voice strained with pain and fear. "Now."