A desolate expanse of cracked, tar- black ground stretches beyond the horizon, shimmering under an overcast sky thick with slow- moving, ashen clouds. Pools of iridescent, oil- slick liquid gather in jagged fissures, reflecting the distant glow of unseen fires. In the far distance, impossibly tall, skeletal towers of corroded metal lean at unnatural angles, their rusted surfaces dripping with something darker than water. The air is heavy with the scent of burning chemicals and the eerie hum of unseen machines groaning beneath the crust, as if the earth itself were alive and suffering. ethdysty