Chapter 44 – The Mind's Abyss

  The Sanctum pulsed with ancient power—etched into the cliffs like a forgotten scar upon the world. Above it, the sky bled with a thin haze of violet clouds, and below, mist churned violently in bottomless chasms. No path led here that wasn’t carved in blood or shadow.

  Inside, the air was thick—like breath clinging to stone walls, old and watching.

  Tianming’s footsteps echoed as they walked further, deeper. The jade fragment on his chest had grown warm, almost pulsing in rhythm with something—some forgotten will embedded in the Sanctum’s bones.

  Lei Xueyan walked beside him, her brows furrowed. “So, are you really walking in here, no shady elders pulling tricks or traps?"

  Zhen trailed behind, her crimson hair tousled by the wind inside the passage, shadows already coiling at his fingertips like extensions of his thoughts. “We can't be for sure now. The deeper we go, the closer we get to where they sealed something dangerous. The mark on Tianming means everyone knows what we are doing, so better use it our advantage.”

  Jiang Chen remained quiet, scanning every archway and crack. He had always been the most cautious—his eyes catching every shift of the stone beneath their feet. “Something’s been watching us since the cliffside,” he muttered. “This isn’t just a relic—it’s a trap that breathes.”

  Then it came—a sharp tremor through the floor.

  The walls of the Sanctum groaned, and runes—previously dormant—flared to life along the arches overhead. They glowed red for a breath, then turned pitch black.

  Tianming grabbed Lei Xueyan’s arm, eyes narrowing, the mark placed on him dulling his senses with pain. “We’ve triggered something.”

  With a sickening crack, the stone beneath them shattered into fragmented platforms. A dark force, ancient and hungry, surged from the depths. Chains of illusory mist coiled up like tendrils, dragging Tianming into a different corridor—alone.

  Stolen story; please report.

  “TIANMING!” Lei Xueyan screamed as the others were separated.

  Zhen shouted, “It’s a split-illusion field! Someone’s trying to isolate him!”

  Jiang Chen tried to leap after Tianming, but a wall of mist flared between them, pushing him back. “Damn it!”

  Tianming stumbled into a vast, circular chamber. It was dim, the only light coming from the faint, steady glow of his jade.

  Then, a voice slithered through the air.

  “So this is the one marked by the Abyss.”

  Elder Vayer stepped forward from the shadows, clad in flowing black robes marked with crimson sigils. His eyes glimmered—one real, one replaced by a dark crystal.

  “You were never meant to possess that fragment. But since you do…”

  He raised a hand, and the mark on Tianming’s neck flared. It pulsed, burning like searing ink.

  “Let’s see if the Abyss still listens to my voice.”

  Tianming screamed as the pain surged—images flooded his mind, whispers clawed at the edge of his consciousness.

  Obey…

  Relinquish…

  You are one of us…

  But Tianming’s eyes burned gold with resistance. He staggered to his feet, panting, jade pulsing brighter in defiance.

  “No. I’m not your puppet.”

  Elder Vayer snarled. “Then I’ll rip it from your corpse.”

  Meanwhile…

  Lei Xueyan, bruised but unbroken, found herself in a twisting hallway of shadows. Her blue hair was streaked with dust, eyes fierce as she tried to follow Tianming’s presence.

  Zhen emerged beside her, panting. “The Sanctum’s crawling with beasts. These walls warp space. But I marked your path with shadows.”

  “You okay?”

  She gave a nod. “Let’s find Tianming. He’s in trouble.”

  Further behind, Jiang Chen slammed his palm against a sealing wall, pushing energy into it. “This barrier’s fading. I’ll catch up.”

  They pressed on—fighting strange spectral beasts along the way, guided only by fragments of Zhen’s technique.

  Each step forward was a fight against the terrain itself—slippery ridges, razor-thin bridges suspended over the abyss, the ground trembling beneath their feet. One wrong step, and they would be swallowed whole by the void.

  Still, they pushed on.

  Back in the Chamber

  As Elder Vayer’s hand neared Tianming’s forehead, the jade pulsed violently—and an unseen force threw the elder back.

  A wave of black and gold energy burst outward.

  Tianming stood, body shaking. “You want this jade so badly?”

  He raised his hand. “Then come and get it.”

  Next Chapter 45 : “Fragments and Fire” – The fight for the jade erupts, while the others race to reunite—and a secret about the mark is revealed