The ground beneath the Dragonkin Sanctum trembled faintly as Ethan descended the stone steps carved into the earth itself. A soft glow radiated from the etched glyphs lining the walls, casting flickering shadows that danced along the corridor. The air grew denser the deeper he went—not with heat, but with something more ancient, like the breath of forgotten time.
He had left Kaeryx above, soaring quietly in lazy arcs above the Sanctum, his divine presence maintaining order in Ethan's absence. David, though hesitant, had remained behind to manage the surface. Ethan needed to see this part through alone.
"Beneath every Sanctum," Kaeryx had once told him, back when he still barely understood the dragon god's fragmented thoughts, "lies a breath of the Labyrinth's first echo. What you find there may shape what you build above."
Ethan wasn't sure what that meant exactly, but he intended to find out.
