The world dissolved into a blur of violet smoke.
One moment, I was standing on the pulsating flesh-ground of the outer domain. Next, the sensation of weightlessness hit me, followed by a sudden return of gravity.
My boots touched a surface that felt more like hardened glass than earth.
I opened my eyes.
Or rather, I tried to see.
It was pitch black.
Not the murky gloom of the outer layers where faint outlines were visible. This was absolute, crushing darkness. It was a void so complete that I couldn't even see the hand I held up in front of my face.
'So this is the core area...'
I stood perfectly still, my senses strained to the limit.
While my eyes were useless, my other senses were screaming.
Thump.
Thump.
A slow, rhythmic vibration echoed through the floor plates and up my spine. It was a deep, resonant pulse, like the heartbeat of a sleeping titan.
I turned my head toward the source of the sound.
