Ethan blinked, dazed for a moment, then snapped back to awareness. He was in a massive underground cavern, the walls slick with thick, blood-red liquid that oozed steadily all around him.
The energy radiating from it was intense—almost overwhelming.
But it wasn't the kind of energy he could absorb.
Trying to take it in would only tear his body apart from the inside.
"What the hell is this place?" he muttered, his breath quickening.
He backed into a corner, crouching low as he focused his strength. A faint glow shimmered around him, casting eerie reflections on the wet, glistening walls.
That's when he saw her—Feylora.
She was lying just a few feet away, her body wrapped tightly in thick, pulsing vines. They were coiled around her like a predator, and worse, they were draining her energy.
"Feylora!" Ethan rushed over, slamming his fists into the vines with all his strength.
With a grunt, he tore them apart, ripping them away from her body.
