The temple halls were eerily silent as Elias followed the cloaked priest to dinner. The shadows cast by flickering lanterns along the walls seemed to stretch and sway unnaturally, and the faint rustling of Elias's own footsteps echoed louder than they should have.
It felt like the walls had eyes, observing his every move. The sensation sent a chill down his spine, and he kept his gaze low, refusing to meet the piercing darkness of the hallways.
"You're awfully tense," the cloaked priest commented, breaking the silence. His tone was casual, but there was an underlying curiosity that made Elias even more uneasy.
Elias forced a nervous chuckle. "I'm just not used to places like this," he said, carefully avoiding any hint of his true thoughts. He wasn't about to admit that the oppressive atmosphere made his skin crawl or that he felt watched even when no one else seemed to be around.
