The sound came again.
Slow. Wet. Deliberate.
It echoed through the vast stone hall, drifting from the darkness just beyond the reach of the faint blue light. I froze. Every muscle pulled tight.
It wasn't rushing. That scared me more than any blind charge.
I took a step back. The stone was solid. Cold. Real. I took another. And another.
The sound drew closer.
I turned.
Something dragged itself from the shadows.
It was low to the ground, its body stretched and malformed, like flesh that had been melted and pulled into the shape of a beast. Too many limbs scraped against the stone, leaving a glistening, dark trail behind it.
Its eyes found me.
There was no hesitation. No curiosity.
It knew what I was.
*Food.*
My instincts screamed. I listened.
I ran.
The hall narrowed into a tight corridor, stone walls pressing in. My breathing was ragged, my footsteps too loud. The sound followed—closer now, faster.
I glanced back.
It surged forward, its body compressing and elongating in a nauseating rhythm. It wasn't clumsy. It was made for this.
Then I saw them—thin lines etched into the floor ahead, almost hidden by dust.
A trap.
I didn't know how I knew. I just did.
I skidded to a halt inches before the markings. The creature didn't slow.
It lunged.
I braced.
It crossed the lines.
Nothing happened.
No blast. No spikes. No magic.
The trap didn't trigger.
The creature let out a confused, shrill shriek—and then the floor beneath it shattered. Stone collapsed. It fell, swallowed by darkness, the sound of its impact echoing from far below.
I stood there, trembling.
*That should have killed me too.*
I stepped forward, carefully. The broken edge of the floor stopped exactly where my feet had been. The markings under me were intact, faint but undisturbed.
The trap hadn't failed.
It had ignored me.
The realization settled in my chest, cold and heavy.
*ENTITY NOT REGISTERED.*
It wasn't just an error message.
This place didn't see me. Didn't track me. Didn't care if I lived or died.
But the monsters did.
From deeper in the hall, another sound echoed.
Then another.
More movement. More eyes, opening in the dark.
I backed away slowly, forcing air into my lungs.
I wasn't safe.
I was invisible.
And in a place like this, that felt far more dangerous.