The Sanctum of Ascension lay beneath the bustling city of Verath, its existence unknown to the merchants and nobles who walked the cobblestone streets above. Carved into ancient bedrock millennia before the first human settlement, the circular chamber had witnessed countless generations of devotees. Amber light from thirteen evenly spaced braziers illuminated walls covered in enigmatic engravings, their flames unnaturally still despite the air currents that whispered through hidden vents.
In the center of the chamber, a circular pit descended twenty feet to a floor of polished obsidian. The dark surface reflected the amber light, creating the illusion that the pit was bottomless—a void reaching into infinity. Dark stains spread in intricate patterns across the stone, testament to centuries of ritual sacrifice.
