Meanwhile, in the underground society…
Elise's POV
It had been quite some time since I last set foot in this place, yet the moment I walked in, it felt oddly unfamiliar. The stench hit me harder than before—it was thick, sour, and rotten—clinging to the air like a curse that refused to fade away. It seeped into the walls, into the ground, and into the people themselves. It wasn't pleasant, but it was exactly what I expected from this pit.
The faces here hadn't changed much. This place was crawling with the kind of people you'd see in the filthiest, most dangerous neighborhoods. Shifty eyes darting around, hushed conversations in the shadows, bandits leaning lazily against crumbling walls while keeping their hands far too close to their weapons. The whole atmosphere felt like it was constantly on edge, as if the wrong glance could ignite a fight.
