Dusk bled across the horizon like a dark wound as the group reached the canyon's edge.
The Whispering Tombs loomed ahead—
a land where sound bent wrong,
light flickered unpredictably,
and every breath felt borrowed.
Grey mist coiled upward from the chasm, whispering faint words—
some familiar,
some forgotten,
some not human.
The Sect Master raised a hand.
"This is the point of no return."
Xueyi tightened around Wuya's arm like a terrified squirrel.
"I hate this place."
Elder Yun placed a steady hand on her back.
"We all do."
Lady Linghai's golden eyes watched the shifting mist.
"It is… calmer today.
That is concerning."
Xueyi blinked.
"How is calm concerning?! Calm is nice!! Calm is safe!! Calm means LESS NIGHTMARES!!"
"No," Linghai said quietly.
"When the Whispering Tombs are calm, it means something inside is waiting."
Xueyi shook.
"I hate waiting things."
Wuya exhaled.
"…Stay close."
"I AM STAYING INSIDE YOUR ROBE IF I MUST."
---
ENTERING THE TOMB — REALITY BREAKS
The Sect Master stepped first into the air above the canyon—
and the empty air solidified beneath his feet.
A path of floating stones formed behind his steps.
"Follow exactly where I walk," he said firmly.
One misstep
meant falling into a dimension that no longer existed.
Wuya followed.
Xueyi clung to his sleeve.
Elder Yun walked behind them.
Lady Linghai brought up the rear, divine sense stretched like a net.
As they stepped deeper…
The world twisted.
Colors inverted.
Shadows bent upward.
Wind blew sideways.
A floating stone rotated slowly in front of them—
its underside covered in carvings of crying faces.
Xueyi yelped.
"T-that rock is staring at me!!"
"It has no eyes," Wuya said.
"It is staring with FEELINGS!!"
Elder Yun placed a protective barrier around her.
"Stay calm."
"I AM NOT CALM—!!"
---
WUYA'S BLOODLINE REACTS
Halfway across the floating path, Wuya stumbled.
Not from imbalance.
From… resonance.
A pulse inside his chest answered something deeper within the Tombs.
His vision blurred—
the sky cracked like glass,
the ground pulsed like a heartbeat.
Xueyi grabbed his wrist.
"Wuya?!"
He steadied himself.
"…Something inside is calling."
Linghai's gaze sharpened.
"Do you sense a direction?"
Wuya nodded slowly.
"…North."
Elder Yun stiffened.
"The tombs of the First Silent King lie north."
The Sect Master's voice dropped.
"Then destiny pulls you exactly where you must go."
Xueyi hugged Wuya from behind.
"Destiny can fight me if it wants to take you."
---
THE MOONVEIL INSTINCT AWAKENS FURTHER
A harsh ripple swept through the canyon.
A cold wind screamed silently across the floating stones.
The dimensional pressure surged—
and Xueyi collapsed to her knees.
"Wuha—!! I… I can't breathe—!!"
Wuya held her immediately.
"Xueyi!!"
Her Moonveil mark burst into silver flame.
Not normal flame.
Soft, swirling moonlight.
It wrapped around her body.
Then—
It expanded outward
toward Wuya
toward the group
like a protective veil of light.
Lady Linghai's eyes widened.
"…This is the sixth bloom."
Elder Yun stared in awe.
"The highest form of Moonveil—
Moon-Heart Protection."
Xueyi trembled.
"I… I didn't do anything…
I just didn't want the pressure to hurt Wuya… and—"
Wuya lifted her chin gently.
"You protected us."
She flushed deeply.
"S-stop saying things that make my heart do loud things…"
But the silver veil stabilized the distorted air.
The path became clearer.
And the Tombs… shifted.
As if acknowledging her determination.
---
THE SILENT KING'S WARNING
As they reached the deeper chasm, the air grew colder.
A wall of stone rose in the distance—
carved with symbols older than the heavens.
The Sect Master stopped.
"…There."
A massive altar sat at the canyon's heart.
Cracked.
Eroded.
Half-swallowed by dimensional rifts.
Upon its surface, a message was carved:
"The one who carries the Silent Ring
shall break the world that shelters him.
Unless he walks the path of remembrance."
Xueyi shivered.
"Wuya…
that's about you…"
Wuya nodded, his eyes darkening.
"…Silent Ring.
My bloodline."
Lady Linghai read further.
"'He must not awaken where life stands.'"
Elder Yun whispered:
"That explains why your father hid you…
why Heaven reacted…
why the dead dimension reaches for you."
Wuya touched the ancient carving softly.
And the stone pulsed back.
As if recognizing him.
---
DIMENSIONAL PREDATORS
A sudden shift in the air.
Lady Linghai snapped her staff forward.
"Something is approaching."
The Sect Master raised his guard.
Elder Yun stepped in front of Wuya and Xueyi.
The mist parted—
Revealing silhouettes twisting unnaturally.
Not beasts.
Not spirits.
Not humans.
Shapes made of cracked dimensions.
Shadows stitched together.
They moved silently, bending reality around them.
Xueyi hid behind Wuya instantly.
"I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR THIS—!!"
Wuya stepped forward.
His bloodline pulsed once.
The predators froze.
Then shrank back.
Lady Linghai raised an eyebrow.
"They fear him."
The Sect Master nodded.
"They sense the bloodline of a world that consumed theirs."
Wuya's eyes narrowed.
"They aren't attacking."
"No," Linghai said.
"They are waiting.
Watching.
Judging."
The shapes dissolved into the cracks, retreating.
But the warning was clear:
More were coming.
---
THE REMNANT GUARDIAN APPEARS
The mist rippled.
A new figure emerged.
Tall.
Hollow-eyed.
Bearing fragments of armor fused with void cracks.
Its body flickered between solidity and emptiness.
Elder Yun stepped forward.
"Guardian of the Tombs?"
The figure bowed its head slowly.
A hollow voice echoed:
"…Bearer of the Silent Ring…
you have come."
Wuya stepped closer.
"…Who are you?"
The figure's voice thinned.
"I am…
a fragment of a king
who once ruled a dimension
before it fell."
Xueyi whispered sharply:
"The Silent King…?!"
The figure nodded faintly.
"I… am not him.
Only a memory.
A remnant created to guide
the last inheritor."
Wuya's chest tightened.
"…Me."
"Yes."
Lady Linghai bowed slightly.
"Guardian.
We seek the tombstone of the First Silent King."
The remnant lifted an arm, pointing north.
The canyon trembled.
"The path awaits…
but only he may walk it."
Xueyi panicked.
"NO!!
If he goes alone I'm going too!!
I'll cling to his leg!!
You can't stop me!!"
The guardian's hollow eyes flickered.
"You…
carry moonlight.
You may walk
one step behind him."
Xueyi nodded fiercely.
"I ACCEPT."
---
WUYA HEARS HIS FATHER CLEARLY
As the guardian pointed, Wuya felt a sharp sting in his mind.
Then—
For the first time—
his father's voice came clearly.
"Wuya."
His breath froze.
Xueyi looked up.
"…You heard him?"
Wuya nodded slowly.
The voice came again.
Clear, rough, strained.
"Do not trust the tomb.
Trust the path."
Wuya whispered:
"Father—
where are you—?"
Silence.
Then—
"…Follow…
north…
and do not look back."
Wuya clenched his fists.
"…I will."
The guardian's hollow arm lowered.
"The tombstone waits."
Wuya stepped forward.
The air cracked.
The world dimmed.
Only the path remained.
Xueyi held his sleeve tightly.
"I'm right behind you."
Wuya nodded.
"…Let's go."
And together—
with the others forming a protective circle—
they walked into the deepest part of the Whispering Tombs.