The passage ahead did not close behind them.
That alone unsettled Arios more than the monsters had.
Dungeons were supposed to be sealed systems. Each cleared zone collapsed or reset, forcing progression forward. This one left its paths open, as if encouraging retreat, reconsideration, or something worse—hesitation.
Arios took point without discussion.
Lucy walked to his left, her posture relaxed but alert, eyes constantly moving. Liza followed half a step behind, staff resting against her shoulder, fingers tapping lightly along the shaft as if counting an internal rhythm.
None of them spoke for several minutes.
The corridor stretched longer than expected, its width fluctuating subtly. At times it narrowed enough that their shoulders almost brushed the walls. Other times it opened into brief alcoves filled with dormant structures—half-formed constructs embedded into the walls, frozen in incomplete states.
Arios slowed near one of them.
