The wall had not been hiding only a small room. Mirella's strike had opened a passage wide enough to reveal a sloping corridor built from metal plates completely different from the ancient stone used throughout the rest of the laboratory. A greenish light escaped through the sides of the opening, reflecting off the suspended dust and the blood spread across the floor. The air coming from within was cold, damp, and saturated with a chemical smell so strong that Victor felt his throat burn before he even crossed the destroyed wall.
No one entered immediately. Mirella kept one arm raised in front of the group while Natasha spread several threads through the corridor to check for hidden mechanisms. The lines crossed the entrance, touched the ceiling, passed through small fissures, and continued to the opposite end without activating any trap. That did not mean the path was safe. It merely confirmed that Ghideon had not expected anyone to discover the passage in that manner.
