Chapter 44 The Eyes That Hunts

• The Eye Room door slid open with a heavy groan, releasing a rush of damp, earthy air. The smell of wet soil and rotting vegetation hit them instantly, thick and cloying.
• They stepped inside, and the temperature shifted warmer, more humid, as though they’d walked into a living, breathing forest.
• Overhead, dim artificial lights glowed faintly through a tangled canopy of vines. The ground was uneven, covered in moss and twisted roots. Far above, the soft hum of machinery was barely audible beneath the chorus of chirps, clicks, and distant growls.