Chapter 140: Inside the Beast
The golden light from the depths continued to pulse upward, each wave of energy causing the ice around them to crack and shift. What Grim had initially thought was the sound of ancient machinery was becoming clearer—it was a heartbeat, massive and slow, reverberating through the walls around them.
"Something’s wrong," Lin said, pressing her hand against the cavern wall. She felt something in her palm. "This isn’t ice." Instead of the expected cold hardness of ice, it felt warm and slippery.
Suanni’s flames flickered higher, revealing exactly what was around them. The walls weren’t carved from stone or frozen water—they were ridged, pulsing gently with what sounded like a distant heartbeat. Bioluminescent veins ran along the surfaces, glowing red as it pulsed.
"We’re inside something," Grim realized, his voice barely above a whisper.
As if responding to his words, the chamber shuddered. Not the violent tremor of an earthquake, but something vast was beginning to stir. The red light pulsed brighter, and with it came a sound that made their bones ache—a deep, resonant moan that seemed to come from everywhere at once.
"A Leviathan," Lin breathed, her face pale in the strange light. "But this is impossible. The Leviathan we’ve seen is massive, but this..." She gestured at the cathedral-sized space around them. "This would have to be..."
"The mother," Suanni finished grimly. "The original Leviathan."
The chamber lurched again, more violently this time, sending them stumbling against the organic walls. When Grim’s hand touched the surface, he could feel a pulse beneath his palm—not just a heartbeat, but the flow of something warm and viscous through its veins.
"Blood," Lin whispered, following his gaze to the glowing veins.