The hallways narrow suddenly, walls sweating condensation that glints under the flickering overhead lights. Each step echoes differently, hollow in some places, deadened in others. Shadows cling to the corners, stretching and twisting as if alive.
Drip… drip… drip.
I move cautiously, every sense alert. The Veins have a way of hiding the past, burying failure in the cracks and crevices. My eyes catch something ahead a faint shimmer on the floor, a hint of dust disturbed. I crouch, peering closer, and realize I'm looking at the remnants of bodies, discarded like broken toys.
A muffled groan rolls from deeper in the chamber, a sick reminder of what happens when the Syndicate rejects you. My chest tightens, a reflexive shiver crawling down my spine. "So this is what happens when the web spits you out," I mutter, voice low, almost reverent.
The metallic scent of decay mixes with the damp stone. Pipes overhead moan under the weight of water, every squeak a warning, every drip a metronome counting out my heartbeat.
I step carefully through the chamber, cataloging everything in my mind the broken restraints, the faint traces of blood, the torn scraps of clothing. Failed initiates, they call them. Lost causes. But it's more than that. It's a message, a reminder that even my smallest misstep could land me here.
A shadow flickers at the edge of my vision. I whirl, fists clenched, but nothing's there just the Veins, just the echo of fear I've learned to carry everywhere. I take a breath, letting the damp, metallic air fill my lungs. Survival isn't instinct here it's calculation, observation, anticipation.
I trace my fingers along the jagged walls, every groove and crack a silent guide. The weight of the chamber presses on me, a reminder that the Syndicate doesn't just play with lives they sculpt them, discard them, record them.
Step. Drip. Step. Drip.
I move forward, each motion measured, each glance scanning, each thought cataloging. The Veins whisper secrets, and if I'm sharp enough, maybe I can listen without becoming part of the echo.