The anomaly didn't stop at the architecture…
The power scaling was fundamentally wrong.
Based on everything Sirius knew about the new corruption, mutant ranks possessed a hard ceiling at Silver. But that rule was currently being shattered. As he descended, the designated "guardians" defending each threshold were noticeably stronger than the surrounding fodder. Not by a dramatic, impossible margin, but the increase was consistent.
That consistency was terrifying. It meant an evolutionary gradient existed here. A forced progression that absolutely defied the established laws of corruption.
♢♢♢♢
By the time he reached a chamber guarded by a fully realized Gold-rank mutant, and he hadn't even breached the tenth level yet, Sirius had slaughtered thousands, and a deep, gnawing dread had set into his bones.
