The walls were covered in intricate runes that glimmered faintly in the sunlight. Arranged in complex patterns, they seemed to tell some ancient tale.
As the team approached the hospital, they found its gates wide open and the interior deserted. They entered cautiously and discovered that the space inside was far larger than it appeared from outside. The corridors twisted and turned, as complex as a maze. Oil lamps along the walls lit themselves, illuminating the path ahead.
"Splitting up is too dangerous," Kalgara decided. "We'll move together. Based on Dragon's description, the Key of Life should be in the hospital's central area."
They ventured deeper along the corridors, passing numerous empty wards and medical equipment rooms. The equipment possessed both ancient and advanced qualities. Some were clearly modern technology, while others looked like mysterious devices handed down from a remote age.
As they went deeper, the energy fluctuations in the air became increasingly apparent. Kalgara could feel some powerful force affecting everything here, including his own senses.
"Be careful," he warned his companions. "The energy field here may interfere with our minds. Stay alert, and report anything unusual immediately."
After passing through an arched gateway, they finally reached the hospital's central area—a vast circular hall crowned by an exquisite glass dome. Sunlight streamed through stained glass, casting brilliant, multicolored patterns. At the center of the hall stood a special treatment table, with a patient lying on it, seemingly at death's door.
Beside the treatment table stood a woman in white robes, using a glowing ancient medical instrument to treat the patient. The instrument was star-shaped, with seven branches, each tipped with a gemstone of a different color. The female doctor gripped its center with both hands as streams of green energy flowed from it into the patient's body.
Kalgara's