The surrounding walls looked magnificent.
As Sorrin and Renn moved forward, the corridor seemed to breathe around them. The walls were not merely carved stone but living canvases, each inch touched with patterns that drew the eye and refused to let it go. Sorrin slowed, his attention caught by the golden veins running through the surface. At first, they traced the shapes of humans bending into spirals. The longer he watched, the more those humans began to change, bending into whorls that unfurled into the silhouettes of a giant tree, their branches curling with impossible symmetry.
It was strangely comforting but disturbing at the same time.
Every step revealed something new. A ripple in the design might dissolve into a spread of wings, only for the wings to stretch and melt back into the tide of gold and shadow. The transitions were seamless, like the patterns were part of some endless cycle he had stumbled upon. It was almost hypnotic, and Sorrin had to blink hard to remind himself where he was.
Beside him, Renn walked with his hand trailing lightly along the wall. His fingertips brushed over the ridges and dips of the carvings, following the golden veins as if he could feel their changes under his skin.
"I can see faint traces of flow within these walls. Might be why it seems so satisfying to look at."
Sorrin scoffed.
"Or it could just be great artistry in general."
The deeper they went, the more the once magnificent gold seemed to fade.
It felt as if everything was turning grey.
For a moment, Sorrin thought he saw a figure walking through the patterns, moving in time with their own steps. It was slender and indistinct, its outline dissolving every few heartbeats, but its head was turned toward him. The instant he blinked, it was gone, leaving nothing behind.
"Renn, did you just sense another entity right now? Like, did you see any flow flash right past us?"
"No, why?"
"Never mind, must be seeing things, but I have a bad feeling about this."
The air had changed, too. It was colder now, heavy with a faint scent like rain on stone. The sound of their footsteps was echoing, as though the walls were amplifying the noise. Sorrin glanced at Renn; he seemed fairly focused on the walls for some reason.
"Hey, Sorrin, can we stop here for a bit? I just need to check something."
"Oh, sure."
Sorrin stopped walking then immediately realised something wasn't right.
"What the..."
"Sorrin, I told you to stop walking. Wait for me to finish this up."
"I'm no-"
"I can literally hear your footsteps! I told you to stop!"
At that point, Sorrin knew what was going on.
"Renn... We gotta run."
"Wha-"
Sorrin grabbed Renn's arm and sprinted.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?"
"Why don't you use those blessed eyes of yours and see if you can detect any flow behind us."
"What?"
Renn suddenly looked back, his eyes then widening in fear.
"What on God's holy tree is that! I've never sensed so much negative flow in a singular entity."
"So it's an abomination, huh? Well, we have dealt with them before. Can't be too bad."
Sorrin decided to take a quick look at the creature himself. He regretted it shortly after.
It sprinted into view, a gaunt frame of blackened wood and torn muscle. Bone jutted from its back like broken spears, and it possessed a hollow skull of bark. It was like a horrifying amalgamation of both bone and wood.
And now, it was hunting them.
"Quick Sorrin! Get out your gun and shoot that thing!"
Sorrin yanked his revolver out of the holster and gripped it firmly with his right hand.
He fired three quick shots, all making their mark.
Pieces of rotten wood and bone flew around the now dark and bland corridors.
"Argh! It's no use, it barely slowed down at all! We gotta just keep running."
Sorrin looked back in front of him just to finally see an opening.
However, as they got closer to the opening, they realised that the once elegant floor beneath them had broken off and now led directly into an enormous pit of pure darkness.
"I can sense a crap ton of flow underneath us suddenly, and assuming we stopped, I'm guessing that we are standing before a giant pit of darkness?" Renn said with a disappointed sigh.
"Well, you would be absolutely right. Also, how the hell are you so calm?" Sorrin said while gasping for air.
Sorrin looked back once more and still noticed the abomination chasing them, only now it was much closer.
"Shit, Renn! What do we do?!"
"Isn't it obvious? Between certain death and maybe certain death, we take maybe certain death."
"You're not really thinking of jum-"
"Seems like we gotta go, now."
Renn grabbed Sorrin by the arm and jumped off the edge.
"Oh man, I've always wanted to go skydiving off the Marrowlight, but that old geezer never let me. Hey, Sorrin, you good?"
Sorrin had already passed out.