Room Four did not greet them with pressure.
It greeted them with silence.
The moment they stepped through the black door, the air changed.
Cold.
Thick.
Muted.
Mist rolled in from every direction, pale and heavy, swallowing visibility within seconds.
Kaelus shifted Eryndor's weight on his shoulder. "Stay close."
Rein's voice came from somewhere to the left. "I hate rooms like this."
Stellar's frost crept up instinctively. "Something's wrong."
The mist moved unnaturally.
Not drifting.
Breathing.
Darius' shadows stretched outward—but the fog swallowed even darkness.
Then—
The ground shifted beneath their feet.
A subtle hum activated.
Kaelus reacted instantly.
"Tempest Authority!"
Wind exploded outward from him in a spiraling surge, attempting to clear the mist—
The fog tore apart.
But what it revealed made them go still.
They were no longer standing together.
They were each positioned at five points of a massive glowing formation circle etched into black stone.
Symbols layered upon symbols beneath their feet.
Binding sigils.
Suppression lines.
Energy conduits feeding into a central execution platform.
And beyond them—
Rows of cages.
Prisoners inside.
Some alive.
Some barely breathing.
Chains hung from pillars.
Above them, enormous blades suspended midair like judgment waiting to fall.
And echoing through the chamber—
Screams.
The formation activated.
Bands of light shot upward around each of them.
Kaelus tried to step forward.
The barrier stopped him cold.
Rein punched the side of his prison.
It vibrated but held.
Stellar's frost crawled along the barrier, testing it.
It resisted.
Eryndor remained unconscious at the center of his circle.
Darius didn't panic.
He crouched slowly.
Studied the formation beneath his feet.
His purple eyes narrowed.
"…Clean work," he murmured.
The mist above shifted.
A faint laugh echoed across the execution ground.
But Darius placed his palm against the sigils.
"You traps are nice," he said calmly.
Shadows began pooling around him from impossible angles.
"But darkness is out of your reach."
He closed his eyes.
"Black Sun's Domain."
Darkness didn't expand outward this time.
It surged inward.
From the edges of the chamber.
From beneath the cages.
From behind the suspended blades.
From the shadows under the prisoners themselves.
It flooded the formation from every direction.
The sigils flickered.
The light cracked.
Darkness swallowed the energy lines feeding the spell.
The formation fractured—
And shattered.
Kaelus' barrier broke first.
Then Rein's.
Then Stellar's.
Then Eryndor's.
The execution ground trembled lightly.
The mist above parted.
And someone stepped forward.
Tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Hair slicked back neatly.
Eyes sharp.
A long coat draped over his frame, faint annihilation glyphs glowing along the lining.
He clapped once slowly.
"I see you've found a way to break my formation."
His smile widened slightly.
"Impressive."
He walked toward the execution platform with casual confidence.
"I am Isaac Gator."
His aura settled heavily over the chamber.
"Number Four of Atlas."
The prisoners in the cages trembled instinctively as his presence expanded.
"A mid-level deity," he continued calmly, "and a master of annihilation magic."
His eyes shifted toward Eryndor.
Still unconscious.
Still being supported.
"…Hmm."
He tilted his head.
"So that's the one I've been hearing about."
A faint spark of interest flickered in his gaze.
"Eryndor Nasarik."
He let the name linger.
"God of the Black Sun."
His smile sharpened.
"Even Number Two couldn't take the arm of Asmodeus… even if he was off guard."
He looked back at the group.
"You're a threat."
The temperature in the room dropped—not from cold, but from the implication.
Kaelus stepped forward.
Slowly lowering Eryndor against a pillar behind them.
Tempest Blade unsheathed with a clean metallic ring.
"If you want his head…"
Wind began spiraling around him.
"…you're going to have to get through me first."
Rein stepped up beside him.
Dominion energy coated his fists.
Darius' shadows thickened.
Stellar's frost began climbing again, thin mist freezing beneath her feet.
They positioned themselves in front of Eryndor without hesitation.
One line.
One front.
Rein smirked.
"Yeah."
Darius' chains slid across the stone quietly.
Stellar's eyes gleamed pale blue.
Kaelus rotated Tempest Blade once and settled into stance.
"Let's rock."
Isaac observed them.
No mockery.
No arrogance.
Just calculation.
Then he extended both hands outward.
Annihilation glyphs flared brighter across his palms.
The execution blades above them hummed faintly.
The cages rattled.
And the air itself began destabilizing.
"Then, gentlemen…"
His aura expanded sharply.
"…shall we proceed?"
The execution ground pulsed.
And Room Four bared its teeth.