Evening, in some unknown place.
In the darkness, a kerosene lamp lit up on its own.
The dim flame flickered a bit inside the glass cover, then stabilized, casting a small area of blurred space around.
The stone floor, the rough brick walls, and the staircase that seemed to stretch on forever.
This place appears like a basement, but deeper and colder than an ordinary one, with air even more stagnant.
One kerosene lamp after another lit up, sketching an oval-shaped space in the darkness.
The space isn't large, able to accommodate about twenty or thirty people.
There are no windows on the walls, only a low iron door from which no light escapes.
Gradually, shadows emerged from the darkness.
These figures seemed to "condense" directly from the air.
First, faint outlines, like someone quickly sketching with charcoal on dark paper.
Then the outlines became clear, the lines solid, the colors from transparent to opaque.
