The stillness that had settled over the underground chamber didn't last long. Arios had known it wouldn't. He had been in enough dungeons to recognize that quiet was rarely permanent. Dungeons behaved like living organisms—breathing, pulsing, and shifting with the flow of mana. They didn't remain calm for long.
Liza stirred awake after what couldn't have been more than two hours. Her movements were sluggish, her arms stretching above her head as she blinked away the haze of rest. "You didn't sleep," she said, voice low, still heavy with fatigue.
Arios shook his head. "Couldn't. The mana patterns are changing again."
She frowned, sitting up. "Already?"
"Yeah." He pointed toward one of the tunnel exits. The soft blue glow that had lined the stone was flickering. The pulse of the mana veins wasn't steady anymore. The rhythm was breaking, like a heartbeat beginning to falter.
Liza pushed herself to her feet, brushing moss from her uniform. "Then we move."
