The main gate swallowed us in darkness thicker than the night outside. The sounds of Selena, Nana, and Malrik's battle faded behind the wall of light, replaced by a low hum crawling up from the cathedral's own stones, as if something breathed deep beneath the floor. The air inside felt different from outside—thicker, warm in the wrong way, like walking into a mouth that hadn't finished swallowing its dinner.
Rena walked half a step ahead of me, her dark blade raised and ready, her eyes sweeping every corner of the corridor as if counting how many places could hide an ambush. "That message on the ground. Did Kravius write it?"
