The black doors groaned behind him as they shut, drowning out the wind and his team's voices.
Inside, the world fell into silence.
Lucy stood still momentarily, letting his eyes adjust to the glow. The air here was heavy, stagnant, damp, and thick with a sour-sweet scent like rotting incense. It choked at the back of his throat, clinging to his lungs like smoke. Every breath tasted old.
Shadows clung to every surface, writhing like half-living things just beyond the reach of flame. The silence pressed down on him, too dense to be natural, as if sound had been exiled from this place. His heartbeat felt intrusive, echoing too loudly in a space that wasn't meant for the living.
