His voice was distant now, echoing as darkness began to close in around me. My body went limp, the world spinning into a void of shadows and confusion. The last sensation I felt was the oppressive weight of my own helplessness before everything turned to black.
When consciousness seeped back into me, I was met with a scene that both horrified and fascinated me. My body was restrained, strapped to an altar of sorts in a dimly lit chamber. The air was thick with incense, mingling with the damp, musty smell of old stone. Shadows danced grotesquely across the walls, cast by flickering candlelight that seemed to emanate from unseen sources.