Doctor’s Refuge Pool

Nestled within Fountain of Happiness Square, the Doctor’s Refuge Pool is a shallow, rectangular basin of tepid water surrounded by cracked terracotta tiles. Its surface remains unnaturally still despite the panic unfolding around it, reflecting the ornate fountains in the square above only as fragmented, distorted shards. The pool’s edges are inlaid with faded mosaic tiles—once vibrant blues and golds now bleached by decades of neglect—whose grout is blackened by algae and grime. A single flickering streetlamp casts long, wavering shadows across the water, its light barely piercing the gloom. The air smells of damp stone and stagnant water, thick with the weight of urgency. Mel sees this as their only path to salvation: a destination she will drag Pex toward through the encroaching Blue Kangs, even as the pool’s murky depths hide secrets worse than the Towers themselves.