The footsteps grew louder.
Heavy.
Slow.
Each step echoed through the collapsed tunnel like the deliberate movement of something that did not fear being heard.
Dust still drifted through the air where the ceiling had partially caved in. Broken concrete and twisted metal blocked half of the passage, leaving only a jagged opening that led into darkness.
Adrian stared at it.
The bond network pulsed in warning.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Bond Network System
Hostile Entity Approaching
Distance: 28 meters
Threat Level: Unknown
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Seraphine felt it too.
Her mana spread quietly through the chamber, reinforcing the network Adrian had created earlier.
"Everyone stay behind the stabilization field," she said calmly.
Lyra stretched her arms lazily, though the sharp focus in her eyes betrayed the tension.
"Or we could go say hello first."
Kaelith shook her head.
"We don't know what killed the Council team."
