Arios walked for a long time.
The corridor did not curve sharply, nor did it descend or rise in any way that suggested a change in elevation. It simply continued forward, stretching on with a persistence that slowly eroded any reliable sense of distance. Steps blended into one another until time itself felt stretched, measured more by breath and awareness than by progress. His footsteps echoed along the stone in a way that felt subtly wrong, the sound arriving a fraction too late, as if the corridor hesitated before acknowledging his presence. It was enough to unsettle without being overt, enough to keep the mind alert.
