The creature watched them as they slowly began their ascent through the narrow but shattered remains of vast walls and floors—tilted, broken, and mangled by a battle far beyond their rank.
It felt as if some unknown entities had decided to toy with the structure the way a child would with a puzzle—mixing, removing, and rejoining pieces however they pleased.
Damon wasn't even sure anymore if he was climbing across a floor, hanging from a ceiling, or scaling a wall.
His gaze remained fixed on the creature, half-expecting some kind of attack. But it did nothing—only sank back into the water.
Even in the depths, he still felt its gaze on him, malice that could not be hidden, and its powerful but subdued aura of higher rank.
He wasn't sure if it had given up or was simply territorial. Either way, he was glad they made it out…
This would be a long climb; falling would mean death in the jaws of whatever that creature was called. The climb was bound to be eventful.
