The silence that followed the scattering of the Echo was different. It still felt oppressive, but now there was not only the indifference of Emptiness, but also a barely perceptible, barely born sense of their own will. The tiny patch of reality around the straightened spire shone like a lighthouse in a crimson sea. The air seemed a little cleaner here, and the black glass underfoot looked stronger and less shaky.
Leng Wei slowly straightened up, his body screaming from exhaustion, but his mind was working feverishly. The lesson they had learned with difficulty was clear: alone, they were vulnerable to Echo's attacks, but together, their will became a force the Void had to reckon with.
"We can't stay here long,— Jin said, breaking the silence first. His analytical mind was already processing the new data. — This stability zone attracts attention. Larger—scale attacks are only a matter of time. We need to move.
"Where should we go?" Khan asked, anxiously peering into the vast crimson expanses. "Go ahead?" Back? There are no landmarks here.
—Yes,— Xiao Fei said softly. She was standing on the edge of their little island, her arm outstretched in the direction opposite to where the Echoes had appeared. — It's not emptiness that comes from there, but... the heaviness. Very ancient. Not hostile. Sleeping.
Leng Wei followed her gaze. At first glance, there was nothing there but the same distorted haze. But if you look closely... Yes, there was indeed a subtle distortion in the perspective, a thickening of shadows, as if an invisible mountain towered in the distance.
"She's right," he confirmed, feeling it on an instinctive level. His King's blood, which had been dormant, once again began to flow in a warm, wary stream. "There's something there." Something that resists Emptiness not by active opposition, but simply... the mass. By its existence.
The solution was obvious. Staying put means becoming a target. Moving towards the unknown was risky, but this risk could bring hope.
They moved slowly, like snails carefully carrying their fragile house. Leng Wei led the way, and his will, backed by the support of the others, created a small bubble of "corrected" reality around them, no more than three meters in diameter. A crimson nightmare was raging outside this bubble, but it couldn't get inside.
It was an exhausting march. Every step was difficult. Leng Wei felt like he was dragging a heavy load behind him, which was getting heavier by the second. His face was covered in sweat, and his breathing became ragged.
—Hold on, brother,— Khan said hoarsely, walking beside him. His powerful figure was ready to catch Leng Wei at any moment if he fell. "We're with you."
"We can relieve you,— Ling Mei suggested, her voice full of anxiety. "Let me try."
Leng Wei shook his head, unable to say a word. He was afraid that if he passed the baton, the bubble would burst, and they would be defenseless against the attack that would surely follow.
They walked for what seemed like an eternity. The landscape around them hardly changed, only the "heaviness" ahead became more noticeable. And so, through the crimson haze, the outline began to appear.
At first it was just a shadow, darker than everything around. Then it took shape. It wasn't a skyscraper or a mountain. It was... The monolith.
A huge block, taller than any building they had ever seen, made of a material that seemed to be both stone and metal. Its surface was perfectly smooth, without a single crack or chip, and it absorbed light instead of reflecting it. The crimson sky seemed to flow around him, unable to touch him. A zone of absolute stability reigned around the monolith, at a distance of several hundred meters. The black glass underfoot was solid and smooth, and the air was crystal clear and silent.
Their little bubble, having reached the boundary of this zone, seemed to exhale with relief and dissolved, merging with the stability already existing here. Leng Wei, unable to stand on his feet, collapsed to his knees, gasping for air.
"We found this,— Jin whispered, staring at the gigantic structure with undisguised amazement. — Anchor. Something so heavy and real that even the Void can't move it.
Ling Mei ran up to Leng Wei and supported him:
"Is everything okay?"
- yes... — he nodded, still unable to speak normally. — It's simple... Give me a minute.
Khan carefully touched the surface of the monolith:
"It's cold." Very cold. And... dead. No energy at all.
"Not dead,— Xiao Fei corrected. She squatted down and ran her palm over the perfectly smooth surface. — Sleeping. Deep, deep. His song... She's not for us. It's for the world itself. He's not defending himself. He's simple... there is. And that's enough.
While Leng Wei was recovering, the others were carefully examining the monolith. There were no inscriptions, symbols, or doors on its surface, just a polished mountain of dark material stretching into a crimson height.
"What are we going to do about it now?" Khan asked in surprise. — We have found the largest and most durable stone in the universe. Congratulations! But how will this help us overcome the Void?
"Maybe it's not just a rock," Jin suggested, lost in thought. — Maybe it's part of something bigger. Foundation. If we have found one such anchor... it is logical to assume that there are others.
Leng Wei finally got to his feet, his face was still pale, but his gaze remained clear. He walked up to the monolith and leaned back against it, feeling the unshakeable stability emanating from it. It was a different feeling than his own creation—not a fragile will, but an ancient, unshakable constancy.
—Gene's right,— he said. — This is not the end of the road. This is the beginning. We have found our first foothold in this chaos. The first stone on which to build.
He looked out over the vast, distorted expanse.
— If anchors exist, it means that there was once order in this world. So there was a map. We'll find others. We'll find it... Fort, Fortress, whatever. A place from which to control this reality.
They set up an improvised camp at the foot of the monolith, feeling relatively safe for the first time in a long time. The crimson world was raging around, but it couldn't penetrate this protective bubble of stability.
Leng Wei sat leaning against the cold stone and looked at his sleeping friends. They went through fire and water, through attacks on the mind and soul. They learned to fight together not only with swords, but also with willpower. And now they have a goal — not just to survive, but to find a way to restore what was destroyed.
He didn't know what lay ahead. But he knew that as long as they were together, they had a chance. And this first, unshakable stone was proof of that.