The corridor swallowed them in pale blue light as soon as they stepped through. The shifting wall closed behind them with a low, final groan, sealing the chamber of bones away as if it had never existed.
Their footsteps echoed softly on the polished stone, the path carved in a perfect spiral that wound downward in an almost hypnotic descent. The air here was cool, clean, freshly stirred—as though the palace itself exhaled to welcome them.
Ember walked beside Albedo, her flames dimmed to a gentle shimmer. Lilian kept her daggers drawn despite the quiet, her eyes flicking back and forth in the dim glow.
Elara remained close, her fingers lightly brushing the stone wall as she absorbed every shifting thread of mana flowing through the structure.
