The platform reacted the moment Arios stepped onto it.
There was no flash of light, no dramatic surge of mana. Instead, the symbol suspended above the stone surface rotated once, slowly, then split apart into several smaller segments. Each segment drifted outward and embedded itself into the surrounding air, forming a loose ring around the chamber.
Arios stopped at the center of the platform.
He did not draw his weapon immediately.
The pressure that had followed him through the descent shifted again, becoming uneven. It no longer pressed uniformly against his body. Instead, it pulsed in waves, alternating between heavier and lighter, as if the dungeon was deliberately disrupting his internal rhythm.
This was different from compression.
This was fracture.
