The silence in this tunnel was not just silence. It felt dense, like cotton wool, clogging my ears and pressing down on my consciousness. The air remained motionless, not the slightest breeze was felt. The light from Leng Wei's Bracelet and the guide shard behaved strangely: it did not disperse, but curved, skirting invisible obstacles, casting distorted, broken shadows that seemed to have a life of their own.
They had been walking for several hours, but the landscape had hardly changed: the same rough-hewn walls, covered with a strange, cold moisture, and the road leading into the darkness. But they all felt that they were not just descending into the depths, but as if they were passing through something. Through the very fabric of reality.
Xiao Fei walked in front, her movements smooth and confident. She wasn't looking at the ground, her gaze was fixed on nothing, and her lips were whispering something inaudible.
"Where is she taking us?" Han grumbled, forcefully shaking off an invisible spider web from his shoulder, which sent goosebumps over his skin. "We're going in circles. This is the second time I've seen this crack on the wall.
"We don't go in circles," Jin stated indifferently, studying the readings of his crystal compass. The arrow on it was twitching erratically, pointing in all directions at once. — The space here is nonlinear. We're moving, but not in a straight line. She leads us through... geometry kinks. Saving energy.
"Saving money?" Khan snorted. "My legs don't agree with you."
—Be quiet,— Lin Mei said sharply, freezing. "Do you hear that?"
Everyone froze, straining their ears. At first, nothing was heard. Then they heard a faint, barely perceptible sound. Baby crying. It did not come from one direction, but seemed to seep out of the walls themselves, penetrating directly into the brain.
Leng Wei felt his heart constrict. He recognized that cry. It was he who was crying, a seven-year-old boy huddled in a closet, while the sounds of fighting and his father's death rattle could be heard outside.
"It's not real,— he said, feeling cold sweat trickle down his temple. — They play on our memories.
"Don't listen! Xiao Fei shouted without turning around. — Silence is hungry. She craves your pain. Follow me! Faster!
She rushed forward, and the squad followed her. The crying subsided, replaced by a growing hum full of whispers. Everyone heard their own thing.
Khan saw the faces of the comrades he had left in the Gorge of the Mourners. They looked at him with mute reproach.
Jin heard the voice of his first mentor, ruthlessly smashing his youthful ideals: "A cold mind is your only asset. Everything else is weakness."
Lin Mei could feel her father's gaze on her, full of disappointment: "You could rule one of the most powerful houses, but you got involved with this one... a half-breed."
Leng Wei walked, clutching a wooden bird in his pocket. Its rough surface served as an anchor for him, reminding him of warmth, love, and something real in this nightmare. He could feel the bracelet on his wrist throbbing, trying to stabilize the space around him, but the pressure was too much.
Suddenly, Xiao Fei stopped in front of a blank wall.
—Here,— she whispered. — The door.
"There's nothing here, girl,— Han said wearily.
—Yes,— Leng Wei replied. He came closer and felt it. The air in front of the wall trembled like a haze in the heat. He reached out his hand, and his fingers touched not a stone, but something cold and elastic, like an invisible membrane.
"You have to go through it,— Xiao Fei said. On the other side... The silence is different. It's not empty. She... lively.
Lin Mei was the first to step forward. Her figure distorted for a moment, like a reflection in water, and disappeared. The Khan followed her, groaning. Jin, clutching the compass in his white-knuckled hand, followed them.
Leng Wei took Xiao Fei's hand, which was as cold as ice.
—Let's go,— he said.
He took a step, and his body seemed to be immersed in thick honey, and then broke free. The sounds of whispers and hum disappeared, replaced by silence. But it was not the oppressive emptiness that reigned in the tunnel. This silence was filled with light, barely perceptible sounds, resembling the ringing of a bell, and distant iridescent trills, as if crystal birds were singing.
They were standing at the edge of the forest, but the trees here weren't made of wood. They seemed to be carved from a transparent, iridescent crystal that radiated a soft silvery light. The air was clean and fresh, filled with the smell of ozone and something subtly sweet. There was no wind, but the branches of the crystal trees tinkled softly as they touched each other.
"Where are we?" Ling Mei whispered, struck by the beauty.
Xiao Fei raised her face to the sky, where clusters of shimmering energy clusters shone instead of stars.
"We're on the right track," she said, and for the first time there was something like relief in her voice. "I told you. It's like there's silence here... sings.
Leng Wei looked at the shard in his hand. It shone brightly and evenly, like a tiny star.
They took the first step into the crystal forest, leaving the horror of the tunnel behind. However, Leng Wei understood that this beauty could be as much a trap as the one in the tunnel. They were closer to the goal, but the danger from the True Masters had not disappeared. She just changed her shape.