As Master Lom spoke, he rounded a corner. In the next instant, Salome stepped onto the widest street she had ever seen.

  Immense buildings, almost like small palaces, rose on either side, framing the paved avenue with their ornate facades like giant stone guardians standing sharply at attention. Gargoyles that seemed almost alive stared down from cornices and balustrades, while intricately twisted columns flanked entryways and tall arched windows. Salome found herself gazing down at the city stretching out beneath her, spreading like a tidal wave of pebbles, frozen mid-surge all the way to the city walls.

  When had they ascended so high? They must be standing on one of the upper terraces! But if that were true, didn't it mean…

  She spun around.

  Before her loomed the massive castle, thrusting upward into the stone sky—the very heart of Adamer. The mysterious glowing pillar pierced downward like a spear through the high dome, vanishing within walls that were, up close, even larger than they'd appeared from the tower in the lower districts.

  And the light was pulsating! Golden waves swept across the city, beat after beat, until Salome thought she could hear a rhythmic drumming.

  Master Lom laughed cheerfully, amused by hers and Van’s stunned reactions to the enormous building. "You'll see plenty of amazing things soon enough, so save some of that awe for later!"

  With his hands clasped casually behind his back, he strolled along the street toward the castle. Only then did it dawn on Salome where exactly this enigmatic man was leading them.

  The castle gate was wide enough to allow at least twenty men to pass through side by side. Lom crossed it without slowing. They entered a shaded tunnel, which released them into a spacious hall. Salome lifted her gaze in amazement, taking in the monumental dimensions of the room, whose walls only converged several stories above to form a vaulted dome. Could human hands truly have built something so immense?

  Yet, at the same time, the hall was utterly bare, unadorned… modest, even. Smooth stone, no unnecessary frescoes or ornaments—as if this enormous chamber was just a casual storage room.

  The gentle light from outside painted the outlines of tall arched windows onto the floor. Salome noticed several pigeons nesting on the sills of these empty openings, cooing softly.

  Her gaze wandered along the blank walls and was drawn instinctively toward what lay at the far end of the hall: a portal with white stone doors reached by a broad staircase. One of the doors stood slightly ajar, flooding the hall with golden light.

  It was just like the palace ruin.

  Salome grew uneasy and slowed her steps.

  Her memories of that other portal and the place beyond were blurred, as if hidden behind a veil. Yet she remembered exactly what had lurked in front of it.

  A shiver ran down her spine, and she glanced around the vast hall involuntarily.

  When Master Lom reached the portal, he halted. He rubbed his hands together and muttered: "Alright, then. Here we go…"

  Slowly, he stretched out his hand and brushed the white stone with his fingertips.

  Without warning, a thunderous crackling erupted, and Salome was suddenly blinded by a brilliant flash of light. Startled, she turned away, shielding her eyes.

  “What by the—” she heard Van curse, but she couldn't see what was happening. The light was so intense she had to press her hands firmly over her eyes, as it pierced even through her closed eyelids.

  And then it was gone.

  The dazzling brightness vanished as abruptly as it had come. Salome cautiously opened her eyes, finding herself now surrounded by a gentle golden glow.

  “What by the pillars was that?” Van demanded angrily, blinking rapidly, still blinded.

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  The portal stood wide open.

  Beyond it lay another room, significantly smaller, plain and empty just like the great hall—except for one difference: the entire rear wall glowed.

  Salome instantly knew this wasn't the same stone used to build the castle. It had to be part of the luminous pillar at the castle’s very heart, the pillar whose glow filled all of Adamer. Exactly at the center of this glowing wall ran a long fissure, reaching from floor to ceiling. At the bottom, it was just wide enough for a person to slip through. From this crack poured a flood of intense golden light, spilling forth as though the pillar were hollow inside.

  Slowly, Salome stepped into the empty room.

  “Let’s go,” Kiran said gruffly, approaching the glowing wall. “We're almost there.”

  Salome took a hesitant step towards him but immediately stopped again.

  “Where… is Master Lom?” she asked haltingly.

  He had just been there a moment ago, but now there was no sign of him—as if he'd vanished into thin air.

  Van’s eyes widened, and he muttered a crude curse. “What’s going on here, Kiran?” he asked suspiciously.

  Kiran halted, his shoulders sagging with an irritated sigh. Then, taking a few large strides, he closed the distance to the crack and stood beside it. Gesturing impatiently toward the opening, he raised his eyebrows and called sarcastically, “If the lady and her sidekick would kindly proceed into the audience chamber?” With a shake of his head, he stepped into the golden light and vanished.

  Salome opened her mouth to speak, but Van beat her to it: “Honestly, Kiran, if you wanted a kick in the ass so badly, you could’ve just said something!” he called with a cheerful smile that looked entirely fake. And with that, he marched ahead, getting swallowed by the bright light before Salome could stop him.

  She rubbed her forehead in frustration.

  After a brief pause, she looked up again, approaching the glowing wall. Even squinting, she couldn’t discern what lay beyond.

  She touched the glowing stone—it felt warm.

  With a decisive step, she passed through the fissure.

  Salome shielded her eyes against the piercing brightness, squinting until her eyelids became thin slits. Only when her vision adjusted did the secrets at Adamer’s heart finally reveal themselves—and what she saw surpassed her wildest imagination.

  A clear, melodic sound echoed through the hollow interior of the pillar, reminiscent of distant, ringing bells. The air itself appeared luminous, glowing gently without any discernible source, pure and fluid. Tiny sparks drifted lazily about, weightless lights like golden fireflies. Thousands of them filled the space above, interweaving into a shimmering haze, creating an enchanting illusion of boundlessness. The immense chamber was stark and empty, yet so majestic and grand that no throne room could rival its splendor.

  At its very center towered a mountain of glass, suffused with pulsing light that resonated like a heartbeat. Yet this was no ordinary glass—Salome instinctively understood this. More than that, she could feel the power emanating from it, as if all she needed to do was stretch out her hand to grasp and hold it. But she could not move a muscle. The mountain—the glass—began to stir.

  It was alive.

  With a gentle clinking sound like fracturing ice, a massive body slowly uncoiled, far greater than any creature Salome had ever encountered or even imagined. It was shaped like an enormous reptile, unparalleled in its otherworldly magnificence. Its powerful limbs ended in taloned feet resembling the slender claws of birds of prey, and upon its massive, tooth-lined head grew a vast and intricately branched crown of antlers.

  Overwhelmed, Salome realized that everything about this being was made entirely of glass. Every single part—from the bushy tip of its tail to the jagged spikes lining its spine, from the flowing mane at its neck to the broad snout—was transparent and crystalline. Yet the sharp-scaled surface appeared strangely alive, like true flesh, moving as though powerful muscles rippled beneath.

  With drawn-out hissing breaths, immense lungs hidden within the extraordinary creature filled with air. Even its colossal claws, twice Salome’s own height, shimmered with a glassy brilliance, distorting the golden glow swirling inside them like living dust.

  Slowly and regally, the reptile lowered its head, gracefully curving its long neck. Two emerald-green eyes with slit-shaped pupils—each almost as large as Salome herself—fixed upon her, glittering like polished gems. Its gaze pierced her, probing deep into her soul like an open book, uncovering every hidden secret no matter how small, despite her desperate resistance. The being’s powerful consciousness rushed into her mind like a fierce gale, brushing aside her defenses as effortlessly as if she were a tiny insect. She felt utterly exposed and vulnerable, yet the overpowering vitality coursing through her filled her with a sensation of exhilaration—as though, for the first time, she could truly breathe.

  Only after what felt like an eternity, when those wise eyes finally turned away in satisfaction, did Salome snap out of her trance. She gasped for breath, trembling uncontrollably, and sank slowly to her knees, panting, too frightened to look up again. The massive creature of glass snorted softly through its nostrils, but then a burst of wild laughter echoed thunderously through the vast chamber, reverberating off the endlessly high walls.

  That laughter... it sounded strangely familiar to Salome.

  Slowly, she raised her head. A deep, resonant voice filled the space, and the glass being began to speak:

  “It is good to finally stand before you in truth. Allow me to introduce myself to you once more.”

  The creature rose to its full height and majesty, lifting its head high above the ground.

  “I am the master of this place, guardian of the lost city, Lord of the Golden Radiance.

  I am the glass dragon O’lei Lom!”