Scene 1 – Into the Dark
The iron door sealed behind them with a deep, echoing clang. The sound rolled down the corridor like thunder, then was devoured by the suffocating silence that followed.
Darkness. Not the soft kind of a moonless night, but a complete and oppressive void. Jemil lifted his hand instinctively, expecting to see his fingers in front of his face, but there was nothing—just an endless black that seemed to swallow all form and meaning.
The torches they had carried from the last chamber had sputtered and died the instant they stepped through the archway. It wasn't the draft or moisture. The flames had been stolen, as though fire itself was forbidden here.
The air was damp, thick, and heavy. A drop of water fell from above and struck the stone near Jemil's boot. Then another, then another. The rhythm was irregular, like the heart of a sick beast—enough to set his nerves jangling.
