The final elevator felt different.
There were no more ear-piercing metal screeches or violent jerks on the cables. There was only a soft hiss—Ssshhh—like the breath of a sleeping giant, accompanied by a cold chill that slowly seeped into the cabin. As they plunged deeper, the temperature plummeted; from the searing heat of The Core to a cold that pierced through to the very marrow of their bones.
"Hmm, from a fiery hell to a polar ice cap," Arvid murmured. He removed his fogged glasses and wiped the lenses with the edge of a dry part of his shirt. Sret... sret. "They did this on purpose. Stasis procedures require sub-zero temperatures."
Rianor stood stiffly in front of the door, his fingers resting on the elevator wall whose surface was changing color—from pitch black to a frozen, bluish white. "We've passed everything. Juggernauts, Annihilators, even the Hive Mind. If Legion Prime is the pinnacle... he must be far more than just a pile of bolts and circuits."
