The deeper they went, the more the air changed.
Blaze felt it first. The tunnels beneath Veridion weren't simple maintenance shafts anymore. The metal walls gave way to rough concrete, then old stone, then something older than any urban blueprint. His skin prickled with static, the way it always did when a place carried a history nobody documented.
Lionel led the way with a battered handheld light. Grim followed behind him, silent and coiled like he was waiting for something to jump out of the shadows. Anastasia moved quietly, one palm pressed to the wall as if reading the vibrations of the place itself. Scarlet walked behind Blaze, her steps clipped, angry, unsteady. Ryuji and Kenji took the rear, scanning every branching passage.
Aya walked beside Blaze, glancing at him every few minutes, like she couldn't decide whether to ask a question or hold it in.
None of them spoke for a long time.
