The fall felt endless. Jack's mind raced as his body tumbled through the abyss. He reached out, grasping for anything to stop his descent, but there was nothing—only an infinite void swallowing him whole.
Then, suddenly, the free fall stopped.
It wasn't a crash or an impact—just an abrupt, unnatural halt. He hovered in the air for a split second before gravity abruptly reasserted itself, sending him collapsing onto solid ground.
The pain shot through his limbs, but he ignored it, pushing himself up. His breathing was ragged as he scanned his surroundings.
The place was alien.
Glowing veins of energy pulsed through the walls of what looked like an underground structure, twisting and intertwining like a living organism. Strange symbols, carved deep into the metallic surface, flickered as if responding to his presence.
A groan came from nearby.
Jack turned to see Rhea pushing herself up, shaking off the dizziness from the fall. The others—what was left of their group—were scattered around, all dazed but alive.
"What the hell just happened?" Rhea coughed.
Jack shook his head. "I don't know. But we're not where we were."
"No kidding." She glanced at the glowing walls. "This… this isn't man-made, is it?"
Before Jack could answer, a low hum vibrated through the air. The symbols on the walls flared to life, and the space around them began to shift. The walls moved—reforming, realigning, as if they were inside a massive, living machine.
Jack tensed. "Everyone stay together."
A pathway opened ahead, leading deeper into the unknown.
And then came the whispers.
Soft, fragmented voices—echoing through the chamber, like memories carried by the wind. The words were unintelligible, but Jack felt them. A deep, aching sense of loss, of something ancient and powerful calling out to him.
His chest tightened.
The Sentinel's words echoed in his mind:
"Your presence here is inevitable."
Jack clenched his fists. No turning back now.
"We keep moving," he said.
And they stepped forward—into the heart of whatever lay beneath.