Chapter 110: Chapter 110: The End Is Nigh
They watched in silence as the colossal gate groaned open. The carved stone doors, blackened and stained, undulated as though alive, peeling apart to reveal a corridor of ash and cold flame beyond.
Leng Yue sheathed her blade quietly. Her gaze lingered on the threshold—shadows crawling outward like hungry hands. She turned to Li Wei. "After you." He would have refused, but his limbs trembled. He nodded instead and limped forward, stepping into the darkness beyond.
The girl followed close behind, her senses alert to every tremor. This journey had been an arduous trek through an uncharted territory wrought with danger and darkness, but their expedition was nearing its conclusion.
Inside, the passage was narrow. The air had a faint odor similar to the scent of charcoal and iron. Walls of jagged rock pressed in, and beneath their feet, the floor was slick with hardened gore and shifting cogs with ashy embers falling from the sky. Occasional cracks in the ceiling leaked fiery motes downward.
Li Wei paused, fingertips brushing the wall. He tasted stillness. "This place is like a smoldering furnace, we need to finish this now." Leng Yue’s voice was a whisper. "Of course, but how should we proceed."
Ahead, the corridor forked. One path led down, into the mountain’s black throat. The other snaked upward, toward the distant glow of crimson fire.
He motioned downward. "The relic lies below. The path of descent is common route in these types of sanctums, it is likely that only those who dare endure the depth may reach it."
She inclined her head. "May the depths not swallow us first." In go, they decided to trave the downward path. Each step echoed across the cool floor, muffled by the darkness. "It is a shame that the records left behind by their historians were unable to stand the test of time."
Her fingers brushed against ancient runes carved into the walls, "These are merely the fundamental runes they used from day to day, but the spirit within them is still strong..." as the young maiden’s hand passed by the flickering wall with faint residual light, she sighed lightly.
Li Wei paused, "The records of this era have been lost..." pressing his palm to one. "But the glyphs still have worth..." Using his boundless qi, he materialized hundreds of inscribed runes into a single blue crystal, It stayed cold, yet prickled beneath his skin.
The descent was grueling test of mettle. Twisted tunnels dropped precipitously. Ladders of bone-linked ebon bridges swayed perilously. The saturnine abyss below was a reminder that this world had no intention of letting them proceed smoothly, instead the elements themselves began to plot their demise.
Below them, the distant roar of fire and shifting rubble assailed their ears. A strong gust of wind materialized out of nowhere and blew against the bridge, thing got to a point, where Leng Yue’s foot slipped through a gap on the rickety bridge.
She caught a strut on the side of the structure, nearly plunging into the shadowy pit. Li Wei’s hand shot out, grabbing her wrist and steadying them both. The experience was far from comfortable, Leng Yue breathed rapidly. "Watch your step. The elements are destroying these old structures."
He nodded tightly, voice quiet. "The forces at work here seem to possess control over many aspects of this space, it cannot be allowed to roam the outside world." As a resident of an upper plain, Li Wei was well aware of the dangers of allowing a dangerous being to roam freely.
If a creature was powerful enough, it could create a domain in the midst of a nation and expand aggressively. He had read records of vile beats ceasing continents due to their large numbers and fierce temperament, it was easy to envision beings of this caliber to take control of the majority of this lower plain
They crossed over a stone bridge directly above another chasm whose bottom they could barely see, only the glow of an inferno could be discerned. Smoke curled upward, biting their lungs. Leng Yue extended her free hand to cover the majority of her face, while Li Wei followed along.
Midway, the bridge was beginning to heat up. It appeared the stone was unable to withstand the rising heat from below, the very core of this world was unraveling.
"Keep moving," Li Wei urged, she did not argue. They ran the remaining span, hearts hammering. Time was dwindling and the subspace was showing the initial signs of an imminent collapse
At the bottom of the descent, they surfaced into a vast cavern. Walls rose like the interior of a beast’s ribcage, veined with red magma flows. At the center, on a dais of black obsidian, rested the relic: a crystalline orb swirling with darkness, veins of crimson light pulsing within.
It was beautiful, and terrible. Leng Yue’s breath caught. "This must be the middle of an enormous infection, which has spread throughout the entire subspace.
Li Wei swallowed. "Let us hope it does not crack through space and breach the outside world." They advanced forward, in the hopes of vanquishing the vile scourge before it grows too powerful.
As they neared, the orb’s veins flared. The very air crackled with malignant energy. The surrounding magma flared, casting bright lights that made every surface look alive and festering. He felt his Qi circulating in an unusual pattern, he suppressed it quickly. He steadied himself, drawing a cord of his inner energy.
Leng Yue held her breath. She stepped forward and raised her palm. "May this madness end here." She placed her hand upon the orb. The ground shuddered. Veins exploded outward, sending ripples and a fierce backlash.
She remained firmly positioned. Dark tendrils lashed at her wrist. She gritted her teeth and pushed through the horror, the blight, the screaming mirages and illusions. Behind her, Li Wei destroyed approaching fractures of stone and magma bursts with his residual Qi.
Debris the size of meteorite began to fall upon the duo’s position, the infestation was attempting to crush them. Despite the persistent attempts, Leng Yue continued the incantation, while the orb glowed brighter before shattering into pieces like glass.
~SHAAAAAAT~
A wave of darkness recoiled. The cavern shivered. From the cracks in walls and ceiling, black ichor spilled, then receded. The magma flows dimmed. The oppressive heat eased. Leng Yue collapsed to her knees, breathing hard. The tendrils fell away like dying snakes. The relic’s fragments lay scattered, no more malice.
Li Wei approached slowly. He looked around at the cavern—still veined, still scarred, but quieter. He helped her rise to her feet, as she leaned heavily on him for support. She spoke softly. "I believe the task is done..."
He nodded, voice calm. "It is finished." The cavern bellowed, as the gate behind them rumbled violently. The walls cracked. Light filtered in—pale, but true.
They moved slowly as the sanctum behind them began to collapse. Stone pillars cracked. Lava veins burst. The path they had used swallowed in flame and rubble. They did not bother looking back, it was time to depart.
Outside, the red sky still glowed, but the deep hue had vanished. The land had begun to heal. Trees gasped with life. The waters were starting to turn dim, then clear.
Leng Yue exhaled in relief. "Our business here is done..." Li Wei smiled, with a sash swirling behind him. "True, we have overstayed our welcome." They turned eastward, away from the mountain, drawing closer to the portal leading to the other subspace.
The horizon, though still red, held solace.