The underground chamber burned with chaos. Crimson alarm lights pulsed across the stone walls, throwing jagged red streaks over the panicked congregation. What had once been a unified choir of believers had splintered into desperate clusters—some shouting fragmented prayers into the air, others running in confused circles with wide, terrified eyes.
"The outsider took it!" someone cried, their voice shaking.
"The ledger—Pastor, what should we do!?" another shouted.
"This is a test! The Pastor will save us!" a third yelled, almost hysterical.
Pastor Delrio appeared at the top of the spiral staircase like an executioner stepping onto the gallows. His dark cloak whipped in the hot gusts spewing from broken vents. The serene, charismatic mask he usually wore was gone. In its place was something far more terrifying. His eyes burned not with panic, but with a cold, controlled fury that seemed to freeze the very air.
"Silence."
