The spiral staircase wound down like the throat of some massive beast.
The deeper they went, the stronger the heartbeat became — slow, powerful, and resonant enough that they could feel it in their bones.
The walls here weren't smooth glass anymore. They were ribbed, ridged, and faintly wet, as though carved from cartilage. Every step squelched slightly underfoot.
Seris wrinkled her nose. "If this tower is alive, we're literally walking into its guts."
Lucas kept his sword ready. "Then we kill it from the inside."
---
The stairs ended in a vast, dim chamber. The ceiling was lost in darkness, but the floor was a patchwork of shifting tiles. Some moved like conveyor belts, others rose and fell like breathing lungs.
At the far end, six different corridors branched off — each one flickering with faint red light.
Martha's eyes narrowed. "It's a maze… but it's changing."
As they watched, the far-left passage simply closed, sealed by a wall of black glass. Another split into two. It was as if the tower was rearranging itself in real time.
---
They chose the center path.
Almost immediately, the walls began to ripple. Narrow slits opened, exhaling hot, foul-smelling air. The sound of distant chittering echoed ahead — faint at first, then growing louder.
Shapes scuttled into view — not humanoid this time, but spider-like constructs of glass and red sinew. Their bodies glowed faintly from within, and razor-edged legs clicked against the floor with unsettling precision.
"Lovely," Seris muttered, drawing her crossbow.
---
The first spider lunged at her, and she rolled aside, firing a bolt into its abdomen. The creature shattered — but just like before, the shards began slithering back together.
"Keep moving!" Lucas barked, slashing through two at once. His blade's chaos energy slowed their regeneration, but didn't stop it entirely.
Martha chanted under her breath, her staff sending out bursts of force that hurled the spiders against the walls. Some shattered on impact… and the walls simply absorbed them.
---
They pressed forward, dodging lunges and slashing when they could. The corridor narrowed suddenly, forcing them to move single-file. The spiders behind screeched in frustration, unable to follow all at once.
For a moment, it seemed they'd escaped — until the floor ahead tilted sharply downward.
Lucas caught himself, but Seris slid forward, barely grabbing the edge before she would have dropped into a dark, yawning pit below. From its depths came a deep, rhythmic grinding sound… like giant teeth.
Martha's face went pale. "It's a digestive chamber."
---
Lucas grabbed Seris's arm and hauled her up. Behind them, the corridor walls began to close in, pushing them toward the pit.
"Run!" he yelled.
They sprinted, the floor shifting beneath their feet, trying to throw them off balance. The ceiling dropped in places, forcing them to duck or roll. Twice, tendrils lashed out from the walls, but Lucas's blade severed them before they could grab anyone.
Finally, they burst into a wider hall. The walls here were smoother — for the moment — and the heartbeat was thunderous.
---
At the end of the hall stood an enormous door of black glass, etched with pulsing crimson veins. The air here was thick and hot, as though the entire chamber was one deep breath away from exhaling.
Seris approached cautiously. "This feels… bad."
Lucas pressed a hand to the surface. It was warm. Almost fever-hot.
Then the veins pulsed brighter, and the "door" split open vertically, revealing a vast chamber beyond.
---
Inside was a sphere — massive, suspended in the center by dozens of sinewy tendrils connected to the walls, ceiling, and floor. It pulsed in perfect rhythm with the heartbeat.
"The heart," Martha whispered. "Or… something like it."
The sphere shuddered, and cracks of blinding red light began to spread across its surface. From those cracks, a deep, resonant voice rumbled — not with words, but with raw, alien intent.
It was awake.