The squad moved forward, every step cautious, senses stretched taut. The Hollow's pulse beneath the stone had grown into a low, insistent thrum, a heartbeat that guided and warned all at once. Shadows twisted unnaturally, remnants of the failed experiments lingering like echoes of motion, but no more immediate threats appeared.
Ren's dark abyss energy remained coiled around him, ready, but the creatures' initial wave had been the main test. The veterans had covered flanks flawlessly; Halvern's commands had kept the rookies from breaking formation.
Ahead, the tunnel opened into a wide chamber, faint traces of old mana experiments etched across the walls in glowing runes. Broken conduits and shattered containment fields littered the floor, a testament to the facility's abandonment or perhaps its secrecy.
Halvern motioned for the squad to halt. "Clear. Sweep, check, and move out. Eyes open. Nothing more until extraction."
