The group exchanged tense looks.
Marie's expression darkened first.
"I swear… they're up to something again. I can feel it. Something dangerous."
Lucien nodded.
"Then we can't ignore it."
Eirene tightened her grip on her pendant.
"Let's move quietly."
They slipped into the right corridor like shadows. The farther they went, the colder the air became. A faint ringing of unseen chains followed them like a whisper brushing against the walls.
The hallway widened…
Then opened.
And every single one of them froze.
Before them stretched a chamber vast enough to swallow cities.
Rows upon rows of gigantic cages towered into the darkness like an ancient bestiary locked away in metal and stone. Enormous shackles hung from pillars carved with runes of justice and suppression.
Marie whispered, breath trembling,
"…This… this is a prison."
Not just a prison. It's a cathedral of captivity.
And its inmates—
Everyone swallowed unconsciously.
