Max passed through the portal, and for an instant, everything was light and heat.
He felt a strange sensation, as if his body were stretching and compressing at the same time.
Then, in the very next second, his feet hit solid ground.
Dirt and dust.
The change was immediate. The darkness vanished. The lighting here was completely different.
Not natural… but alive and warm.
The air hit his face. And it was full of scents.
Roasted meat. Strong spices. Freshly baked bread. Caramelised food. Oils. Street food.
But mixed in with all of that…
Other smells. Metal. Sweat. Dampness. And something far less pleasant.
Animals and confinement.
Max heard the chaos before he fully processed it.
Voices everywhere. People haggling. Vendors shouting about their goods. Laughter. Cutlery clinking. The sizzling of food being cooked.
And in between it all…
Howls, barks, growls, and shrieks. The sounds of creatures trapped in cages.
The atmosphere was overwhelming, alive, messy, chaotic.
