Deep beneath the city, far into the winding filth-stained sewage system, was a vast underground chamber carved by unnatural hands.
The air was heavy with rot and old blood. Faint red lights glowed from runes carved into the stone walls, and the stench of decay was mixed with incense and burnt flesh. At the center of the chamber stood a man, his bare body covered in deep red tattoos and cuts, each one pulsing faintly as if alive.
His skin was slick with blood, dried in patches across his chest and arms. His eyes were calm, but there was a slow, unnerving smile on his face. Around him stood five women, all cloaked in long robes of dark red, their faces partly hidden under veils.
"It seems we have intruders," the man said quietly, still smiling as he looked ahead at nothing in particular.
"What a joyous occasion."
"Should we eliminate them?" one of the women asked, her voice low and steady.
