The corridor was silent.
The Floor 3 portal pulsed with its normal pale blue light, its surface smooth and untroubled, as if nothing had happened. As if the crimson corruption and the wave of crushing stillness had been a shared hallucination. But the frost on the walls was thicker now, and the air felt heavier, and Nathan's hand was still white-knuckled on Moonlight.
"Everyone. Status. Now."
His voice came out sharper than he intended. The party responded with practiced efficiency.
"No injuries." Garrett was still braced behind Volcan, the mace's molten veins pulsing steadily. Red's wool was fully armored, the Mad-Sheep's four eyes fixed on the portal. "Red's fine. Whatever that was, it didn't touch us."
"Mana reserves stable," Elise reported. Her staff was glowing, the light reflecting off the ice walls. "No lingering magical effects that I can detect. The portal's energy signature is normal—completely normal. As if the corruption never happened."
