The sensation of being crushed by the dark, mechanical geometry of the monolith vanished as abruptly as it had arrived, replaced by the jarring feeling of solid stone beneath Sage's boots.
He blinked, the darkness of the cube receding to reveal a space so vast and opulent that it felt like an insult to the ruins he had just left behind.
He found himself standing in the center of a cathedral-like hall, a structure of impossible dimensions that defied the logic of subterranean architecture.
The floors were crafted from seamless, white marble that felt warm to the touch, polished to such a high degree that the ceiling, which hovered hundreds of feet above, was perfectly reflected beneath his feet.
Ornate, golden pillars, each thick enough to require a dozen men to encircle them, rose toward the ceiling like frozen giants, their surfaces etched with swirling, bioluminescent runes that cast a soft, rhythmic amber glow across the expanse.
