The air grew bitterly cold as Squad 25 descended the spiraling stone staircase into the deepest bowels of the mountain.
A pungent stench of burning mercury, ozone, and chemical preservatives hung thick in the draft, stinging their eyes with every labored breath.
At the base of the stairwell lay a cavernous amphitheater carved from solid black granite. The chamber was dominated by an ancient hexagonal floor array etched deeply with glowing, blood-red runes.
Sagiri stepped onto the lower landing, his twin crimson eyes locking instantly onto the dark dais rising in the center of the hall. Massive cables connected the dais to six colossal lightning collector pillars.
Bound to a massive black receptor pillar by heavy frost-covered chains was Rika, her head slumped forward in drug-induced stasis.
Her left beastly arm hung limp against the iron cuffs, her breathing shallow as dark alchemical inhibitors suppressed her immense physical strength.
