The descent into the under-grid was silent—too silent for a place that had once pulsed with light and sound.
Cain moved first, blade drawn but low, boots crunching on shattered glass. The walls glowed faintly, threads of dying circuitry running through them like veins. Every step hummed with residual power. Behind him, Susan and Roselle covered the flanks, while Hunter and Steve followed with the portable relay unit strapped to a rusted exo-frame.
They weren't hunting now. They were trespassing inside something that wasn't dead—just dormant and dreaming.
Steve's voice was low. "This level wasn't on the schematics."
Roselle scanned the air with her visor. "Because this isn't man-made anymore."
The tunnels widened into a cavern of black steel and fused bone. In the center stood a monolith—ten meters tall, humming with crimson light. Symbols burned faintly across its surface, cycling through forgotten languages. Cain could feel them tugging at the edges of his mind.
