The golden light from the depths continued to pulse upward, each wave of energy causing the ice around them to crack and shift. What Grim had initially thought was the sound of ancient machinery was becoming clearer—it was a heartbeat, massive and slow, reverberating through the walls around them.
"Something's wrong," Lin said, pressing her hand against the cavern wall. She felt something in her palm. "This isn't ice." Instead of the expected cold hardness of ice, it felt warm and slippery.
Suanni's flames flickered higher, revealing exactly what was around them. The walls weren't carved from stone or frozen water—they were ridged, pulsing gently with what sounded like a distant heartbeat. Bioluminescent veins ran along the surfaces, glowing red as it pulsed.
"We're inside something," Grim realized, his voice barely above a whisper.
