The air inside the chamber was thick with the acrid scent of rust, damp stone, and a hint of decay.
Flickering torches lined the walls, hissing and sputtering as they cast erratic shadows that danced ominously in the dim light.
Ravik stood at the threshold, his breath coming in ragged gasps, sweat beading along the edges of his armor.
Only twenty of his men remained, once proud soldiers now reduced to hollow-eyed specters. They'd been whittled down corridor by corridor, trap by trap, until this battered remnant was all that was left.
Before them lay a chamber that resembled the gaping maw of a monstrous beast.
The floor was an intricate patchwork of polished obsidian panels, deceptively solid at first glance.
But Ravik knew better. He could hear the faint groans of hidden mechanisms beneath their feet, the subtle shift of gears buried deep within the walls.
The very air felt charged with tension, as if the chamber itself were alive and watching, waiting for its next victim.
