[Leo's POV]
A few minutes earlier...
The inner sanctum didn't look like the lair of a monster. It was a tomb of buried memories.
A massive, open cathedral carved out of cold, weeping black stone that had never felt the warmth of the sun. High above, the ceiling was lost in thick, unnatural darkness, but the floor below was lit by a faint, pulsing violet light that came from the center of the room.
Along the perimeter of the room stood dozens of stone alcoves.
Inside each one, the petrified bodies of those who had come before — travelers, legendary explorers, elite adventurers, and proud soldiers — remained frozen forever. Some were kneeling with their stone hands clamped over their faces; others were standing, reaching desperately toward the center of the room as if begging for a salvation that never arrived.
