The cavern was suffocating.
The air was thick with rot and damp stone, the weight of death pressing against my skull.
Julien stood a few paces ahead, his back to me. His hands were clenched, his body tense.
Cassandra was still. Watching. Always watching.
Something was wrong.
The darkness wasn't just darkness anymore.
It was alive. Moving.
And then—
A sound.
A click.
A whisper of something slithering through the shadows.
Julien moved first.
"Behind—"
He didn't finish.
The creature was fast.
Something lashed out from the dark—thin, needle-like appendages. They pierced straight through Julien's chest.
I heard the gurgle before I saw the blood.
Julien's body jerked. His hands shot up, clawing at the spines protruding from his ribs.
He turned—stumbling, gasping.
"Professor—"
His knees buckled.
I caught him.
But I couldn't do anything.
I couldn't save him.
