Albus found himself utterly perplexed by the unfolding situation. It was as if in the blink of an eye, the world had shifted around him, and he awoke to a grim reality. As his eyes fluttered open, the dim, oppressive surroundings of a cold, desolate basement greeted him. He was not only alone but also immobilized, his limbs secured with a firmness that left him utterly powerless to move.
The darkness that enveloped him was suffocating, casting long, foreboding shadows that danced along the damp, decaying walls of his dismal prison. The air was thick with a musty, unpleasant odor, and a chilling silence hung heavy, broken only by the faint, echoing drip of water somewhere in the distance.
