The stone dais groaned as thousands of pounds of invisible force slammed into the granite floor, sending spiderweb fractures racing toward the sealed iron threshold.
Inside the sealed chamber, the air had transformed into an abrasive slurry that scraped against Caleb’s throat with every shallow breath. The sudden spike in atmospheric mass crushed down upon his shoulders, demanding that his spine buckle and his knees shatter against the stone flags. Breathing ceased to be an automatic reflex, turning instead into an agonizing mechanical struggle where expanding his chest felt like lifting a slab of pig iron against the tide.
Outside the bolted doors, Elder Tegan’s muffled laughter had already faded down the stone corridor. The elder assumed the trap had run its course, believing that an o
