As they reached a fork, Seraphina paused. "Captain." She pointed to the left passage, where faint scorch marks lined the wall. "This way."
Harlowe nodded. "Lead on."
Merlin followed behind, his senses extended. Something about the air felt wrong. Not dangerous yet, but wrong.
The group walked for several minutes in silence until Clara suddenly froze.
"Wait," she whispered. "I'm getting a reading—"
The air vibrated.
A deep, low hum rolled through the corridor, the kind that wasn't sound but sensation. The torches flickered, and the faint blue runes on the walls dimmed, as though something were swallowing the light.
"Resonance surge!" Clara shouted, tapping frantically on her scanner. "It's coming from—"
The floor beneath them pulsed.
Merlin reacted instantly. His body moved before thought, wind affinity swirling at his feet, stabilizing his stance. Nathan followed suit, shadows spreading from his hands, dampening the vibration.
