As every pair of eyes remained fixed upon him, Max finally moved.
At first, it seemed as though nothing had changed, as though he was still standing beneath the suffocating weight of the tenth layer. Then his foot shifted forward. It was a simple movement, yet under that terrifying pressure, it felt as though he was dragging an entire mountain behind him.
The final hundred miles of the tenth layer were not vast in distance, but in that place where the pressure condensed to its peak, space itself felt distorted and heavy. The air pressed down on his shoulders. The ground resisted his steps. Even the flow of energy inside his meridians moved sluggishly, as if reluctant to obey him.
