My boots sank two inches into dark, coarse powder with every step. I kept my weight centered, using short, rhythmic strides to maintain speed across the loose terrain. Behind me, the jagged black canyon walls rose like broken teeth, cutting off the view of the open plain where I had landed.
The Underworld operated as an unmapped, subterranean floor beneath the main Tower structure. System notifications usually provided a mini-map layout or a local floor guide, but my interface displayed only static gray noise across the upper corner of my vision. External communications were dead. The party interface sat greyed out, and my connection to Garuda's aura remained completely severed.
I reached the entrance of a narrow basalt gorge and turned around, checking my perimeter.
