BACK TO REALITY…
A faint, desperate sob cut through the heavy silence of a ruined chamber. Moonlight leaked through cracks in the broken roof, scattering pale shards across the water-stained floor. In the middle of the room a young woman lay curled and trembling, her wrists and ankles bound by something she could not see — an invisible restraint that bit into her skin every time she struggled.
"They tighten when you fight them," a cold voice said from the shadows. The trembling woman flinched; the echo of that voice rolled like distant thunder before shrinking back into the dripping hush.
"Who — who are you?" the captive stammered, panic bubbling into her throat. Her name, Natalie, came out as a broken whisper against the stone. Her tear-streaked eyes darted around the ruined throne chamber — a once-grand space now choked with cobwebs, rotten timber, and the soft, frantic rustle of rats.
