Location: Hidden Cave, Sealed Chamber | Doha (Lower Realm)
Time: Day 488, Evening
The passage descended into darkness that felt older than stone.
Jayde's lamp cast dancing shadows on walls that'd seen no light for centuries—maybe longer. Smooth rock, worn not by water but by time itself, curved downward in a gentle spiral. Cool air drifted up from below, carrying scents she couldn't identify. Not decay. Something else. Ozone, maybe. Or the metallic tang of concentrated essence.
[This feels wrong,] Reiko sent through the bond, his massive form pressed against her leg. [Not dangerous, wrong. Just... old wrong. Like we're walking into a tomb.]
"Maybe we are." Jayde kept her voice low, respecting the silence. "The Luminari civilization fell during the Cataclysm. Whatever's down here has been sealed since before Doha's current age."
Pre-Cataclysm technology. Luminari engineering at its peak. Unknown capabilities, unknown risks.
But they'd come this far. Turned back now felt wrong.
