Steady, heavy footsteps echoed across the polished obsidian floor with a rhythm that sounded like cell doors slamming shut.
Every step Jack took sent ripples of sound through the chamber, the acoustics amplifying his presence in ways that made silence impossible.
At the chamber's far end, coiled around seven stone pedestals arranged in a semicircle, waited the Moonveil Serpents.
A figure sat perched on a pillar's top, thirty feet above the floor, legs dangling over the edge as he watched Jack.
The entity's gaze radiated profound approval as Jack approached, reflecting the pride of a creator witnessing a masterpiece transcend its limitations.
Jack didn't acknowledge Malakai's presence beyond a glance that confirmed the entity's location.
His attention remained fixed on the seven serpents coiled around their pedestals, his pace never slowing as he crossed the chamber's vast expanse.
The lead serpent uncoiled from its pedestal.
