Inside, the air was thick with an ancient stillness, as if time itself had slowed within these walls. The vast chamber before them was lined with towering pillars, each etched with symbols that pulsed faintly, casting shifting patterns of light across the stone floor. The energy in the air was almost suffocating, pressing against their bodies like an unseen force. Jude felt his pulse quicken, his instincts sharpening. They were being watched.
Eldara closed her eyes, whispering a quiet incantation as she pressed a palm against one of the pillars. A soft glow emanated from her fingertips, merging with the symbols on the stone. "This place remembers," she murmured. "It was not abandoned, only waiting."
