The Proving Ground's staging area was unlike any dungeon space Bruce had entered before.
It was a wide, circular chamber constructed entirely from pale soul-stone. High walls rose toward a domed ceiling that emitted its own soft, even light, leaving no shadows anywhere in the room. There were no shelves, decorations, or unnecessary features. Everything about the chamber was deliberately plain.
At its center stood a single black stone pillar, waist-high, its surface smooth and polished.
Several arched doorways lined the perimeter, each leading to what Bruce assumed were individual session chambers. At the moment, every doorway was dark and inactive.
Only one soul occupied the staging area.
He was an older Awakened dressed in dark grey, with the composed, professional demeanor of someone who had spent years working in a training facility. He gave the three of them a polite nod as they entered.
"Welcome. First visit?"
"Yeah."
