The hidden passage yawned before Indra like the maw of a sleeping beast, its edges crackling faintly with residual storm energy. The further he stepped into the abyss, the heavier the atmosphere grew — the air thick with static and the faint scent of ozone, like the aftermath of a violent tempest. Shadows clung to every surface, twisting and writhing as if alive, distorting the very fabric of space around him.
His footsteps echoed hollow and sharp, a stark contrast to the oppressive silence that pressed inward from all sides. The Gauntlet's code seemed to pulse in response to his presence — unstable, unpredictable, as if watching, testing. Indra's fingers glowed faintly, the Mandate of Thunder humming just beneath his skin, a steady rhythm to anchor his resolve.
The map flickered in his vision, marking the twisting corridors ahead, but the path was far from straightforward. Parts of the floor shifted unpredictably, platforms folding and unfolding like mechanical petals. One misstep could send him plummeting into the unknown depths below.
Suddenly, from the shadows emerged a faint flicker — eyes glowing with unnatural light. A new breed of guardians: spectral leopards fused with raw storm essence. Their bodies flickered between solid and intangible, moving with uncanny speed. Indra's breath tightened as the first phantom leap struck — a blur of claws and lightning-fast strikes.
He countered with a pulse of concentrated energy, the air crackling as the Mandate of Thunder surged outward. The leopards howled, their forms fracturing briefly before reassembling, more vicious, more determined.
As the battle raged, the Gauntlet responded, its labyrinthine design warping reality around them. Time slowed, space bent — and from the depths, an eerie whisper echoed through the walls, faint but unmistakable: a message coded in forgotten language, teasing at ancient secrets buried deep within the Gauntlet's core.
Indra's heart pounded as he parried the next strike, the whisper growing louder, urging him forward — deeper, where the Fragmented Sigil awaited, but also where dangers unknown lingered in the storm's eye.
Every clash of claws and crackle of thunder brought him closer to the Gauntlet's heart — and to the revelation that this trial was far more than a mere test of strength.
It was a puzzle woven with shadows, lightning, and whispered secrets.
Indra's stormfire eyes pierced the darkness.
The true descent had only just begun.