Chapter Fifty-Four:
The transition from the cool night air to the interior of the Golden Empire was a sensory assault that almost brought Luna to her knees. The air inside didn't just vibrate; it throbbed with a low-frequency bass that felt like a physical weight pressing against her ribs. The club was a kaleidoscope of frantic energy—hundreds of teenagers and young adults were packed onto the dance floor, bathed in the erratic strobe of a disco ball that shattered the light into a million jagged, colored shards. Neon light sticks in shades of electric blue, toxic green, and neon pink waved through the air like the frantic antennae of a disturbed hive.
The sheer density of the crowd was stifling. Luna and Amelia moved through the sea of bodies like predators navigating a thicket, their heightened senses cataloging a thousand different human smells: cheap sweat, expensive perfume, spilled beer, and the metallic tang of adrenaline.
