The ladder descended one rung at a time, and nobody in the chamber touched it.
It unfolded from the black seam beneath the service lane with iron joints clicking under old pressure. Wet chains slid over each other. Arena water ran off every rung, struck the stone, then crawled back toward the hole as if the shaft had called it home.
Heissman watched one drop climb uphill and tightened his grip on the half sword.
"Sanitation developing ambition is where I draw a professional line."
Omina had one hand under Yun-Jin's ribs and the other braced against the wall. Green light leaked through her fingers in a strained sheet. Whatever she had spent keeping arena law from folding through the Earth shelter had left her arm shaking.
Yun-Jin noticed because she noticed every weakness in a room, even the ones keeping her alive.
"If you keep pouring power into me, I will survive just to complain about your medical technique."
"Complain while walking. I am done negotiating with your blood."
