The steel gate groaned as it swung open, its hinges shrieking under the weight. The once dim mine shaft was suddenly flooded with light. As the gate fully parted, a bright glow poured from within, casting long shadows at the entrance.
Ryan and his team stepped cautiously inside. The space beyond the gate had been transformed into a shrine—an eerie, unexpected sanctum buried deep underground. Evelyn and the others instinctively halted, their breath catching in their throats at the sight before them.
Ryan had seen this scene dozens of times. Every time he leveled a new alt, he returned here. And yet—even now—it still struck him with awe.
Yes, awe. Grandeur, even—a word few would ever associate with a mine shaft.