Escape from Vault (1)

The moment Kael stepped back from the corpse, the sigils on the walls pulsed violently, their crimson glow flaring brighter, warping the chamber in a shifting, surreal light. Shadows stretched unnaturally across the stone, twisting and writhing as if something unseen had slithered through them. The air thickened, pressing down like a living thing, filling his lungs with something heavy, something wrong. The scent of rot mingled with something sharper—something raw and electric, like the static before a storm.

His instincts screamed at him. Every nerve in his body snapped to high alert, muscles tightening as if preparing for a blow he couldn't see coming.

"Liora," he called sharply, stepping back toward the tunnel entrance. "We need to get out of here."