The creature's roar was still ringing in Simon's ears when the world shifted.
The moment Daniel's fingers pressed the last rune on the glowing column, the glyphs flared with an explosion of light. The monster shrieked, its body seizing as tendrils of energy lashed out from the column, striking it mid-charge. A force like a shockwave slammed into Simon's chest, knocking him backward. He hit the ground hard, air rushing from his lungs.
For a moment, everything was still.
Then the light flickered. The creature twitched.
"Get up!" Kayla's voice snapped him back to reality. "It's not dead—MOVE!"
Simon rolled to his feet as the monster's form convulsed. It was still alive—paralyzed but not for long. Daniel scrambled back from the column, his face pale, sweat dripping down his forehead.
"That didn't kill it?" he gasped.
"It was never going to," Kayla spat. "It was a distraction. That thing is still breathing. We need to GO."
The paralysis on the creature was already wearing off. Its massive, twisted form shuddered, its burning eyes flickering back to life.
Simon saw movement to their left—a staircase, cut into the stone wall. It was the only way out.
"There! Stairs!" he shouted.
Kayla was already sprinting. "Then run!"
The three of them bolted, their boots slamming against the slick stone as the creature roared behind them. Simon risked one last glance back and regretted it instantly—the monster's paralysis was gone. Its body coiled, its claws dug into the ground, and then it leaped.
They barely reached the stairs in time.
Simon took the steps three at a time, his legs burning. The force of the creature's impact hit the bottom of the stairs like an earthquake. A deep crack split the stone beneath them, but the stairs held.
Higher. Higher.
Simon didn't stop. None of them did. They sprinted upward, lungs burning, the creature's screeches echoing through the chamber below. It tried to follow, but the stairs were too narrow, the incline too steep.
Then, finally, blessedly—a door.
Daniel shoved it open. The three of them stumbled through, collapsing onto cold stone. Kayla slammed the heavy iron door behind them, locking it shut.
Silence.
Then a distant, guttural snarl from below.
Simon pressed his back to the wall, chest heaving. His hands were shaking. They'd made it. Barely.
"Is… everyone… alive?" he managed to say between gasps.
Daniel groaned. "Alive. Not happy, though."
Kayla sat with her back against the door, eyes closed. "I hate this place."
Simon didn't disagree.