The obsidian slabs met with a finality that seemed to vibrate through the very foundations of the mountain. As the echoes of the slamming gates died away, Li Chen was plunged into a darkness so profound it felt like a physical weight pressing against his eyelids. For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of his own ragged breathing and the frantic, staccato rhythm of his heart drumming against his ribs.
Then, the mountain spoke.
It wasn't a voice, but a sudden, violent shift in the atmosphere. The air, which had been merely chilly, turned frigid enough to crystallise the moisture in his breath. Simultaneously, the ground beneath his feet seemed to develop a predatory hunger. The gravity within the entrance hall of the Gua Ujian didn't just increase; it tripled.
Li Chen’s knees didn'
