The further we descended, the more the architecture shifted. The stark, intimidating dark crystal began to give way to something vastly more organic, yet equally impossible. We stepped off the final landing and breached a massive, pale moonstone archway.
I stopped in my tracks, my hands resting comfortably in the pockets of my heavy coat. It was a flooded indoor garden, but to call it a 'garden' was an insult. It was a perfectly preserved, highly pressurised ecosystem of ancient abyssal flora, existing entirely within a containment field. The spatial displacement magic held the breathable air precisely where we stood on the viewing platform, creating a seamless, invisible wall against a sprawling expanse of deep-tide water.
