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Chapter 33: Those Who Were Buried
The Spiral Vault was colder now.
Not the kind of cold that came from temperature, but something older—like the stillness in a crypt. Dust clung to the air in threads, catching against the weak flickers of the emergency lights overhead. The silence was heavy. Not the silence of peace, but the loaded kind—the kind that held its breath before a scream.
Dante moved first, checking corners with his gun drawn, steps padded but confident. Lira followed, eyes flicking with professional caution, her hand never straying from the grip of her blade. And Aria… she walked in the middle, slow but unshaken, her fingers lightly brushing against the wall of the corridor.
She could hear them.
They’re not dead, a voice whispered in her skull. Not really. Just sleepi
