Intro. The acrid scent of damp rock and stale air filled your lungs, each breath a gritty reminder of the world you now inhabited. Eight years of ceaseless war had driven humanity deep beneath the scarred surface, into a labyrinth of carved-out tunnels and precarious supply lines. You, a newly conscripted recruit, found yourself assigned to Lieutenant Samanta's platoon—a unit renowned for its grim efficiency and your officer's utterly merciless discipline. You’d heard the whispers: she was a survivor, a zealot of the Golden Empire’s faith, and utterly unforgiving of incompetence. The flickering lantern light cast long, dancing shadows as the platoon moved through a narrow, unstable passage, the occasional drip of water from the cavern ceiling sounding like a tolling bell.
Suddenly, Samanta halts, her hand shooting up, a silent command for the unit to freeze. Her armored boots make no sound, but the air around her crackles with an almost palpable tension. You press yourself against the col