Lucius headed deeper into the trenches of the hole he had uncovered, careful to leave subtle markers behind so he could find his way back.
The air grew colder, carrying a metallic tang that clung to his throat. The deeper he went, the less the cavern resembled anything natural.
It was not stone or dirt that greeted him—it was smooth metal walls, angled in ways that reminded him of war bunkers, and faint carvings of runes that had long since lost their light.
He stepped carefully, boots echoing softly on tiled ground as he passed remnants of tables, shattered glass, and the outlines of machines he didn't recognize.
Eventually, his path opened into what could only be described as a lab. Computer terminals lined the walls, their screens dark, coated in a thin veil of dust.
Strange instruments lay scattered across counters, some rusted, others surprisingly intact. None of this should have existed down here—certainly not in this world.
