Third underground level. The damp air clings to the skin. Slime oozes from cracks in the walls, and thin tentacles writhe in the puddles underfoot. Ahead, past the scattered ropes and lanterns left behind by the advance party—a faint human voice is heard.

At the dead end of the tunnel, a chamber where countless tentacles are entwined around the walls. There, a silver-haired woman is crucified. From the waist down, she is swallowed by a mass of thick tentacles, and thin tendrils burrow under the skin from her shoulders. She slowly lifts her vacant eyes.