The cool night air outside felt almost foreign after the suffocating darkness underground. Yet, Yang Xiang's mind was trapped in a whirlwind of thoughts — the device pulsing faintly in his palm, its rhythm unsettlingly alive.
He sat alone on the edge of the cliff overlooking the ancient ruins, the moon casting silver shadows that danced like restless spirits. The wind whispered through the withered trees, carrying secrets he couldn't yet decipher.
"Why did it choose me?" he muttered, voice barely audible. The weight of his ancestors' legacy pressed down, heavier than any stone or trap he had faced below. Doubt gnawed at him. Was he truly prepared to unlock these mysteries — or was he already too entangled in a fate not his own?
A sudden rustle behind him made his heart leap. Lian stepped out from the shadows, her eyes reflecting the moonlight with a strange intensity.
"You're not alone in this," she said quietly, but her words barely eased the tension coiling inside him.
Yang Xiang looked up, searching her face for reassurance, but found only guarded determination. "What happens if we fail?" he asked, voice trembling.
Lian's gaze hardened. "The earth will reclaim its secrets — and those who pry too deeply may never return."
Silence stretched between them, heavy and electric. The device pulsed again, a heartbeat in the night, as if warning them that time was slipping away.
Suddenly, the ground trembled faintly beneath their feet. Both looked toward the ruins, where faint glows flickered like distant fires.
"We've awakened something," Lian whispered, urgency breaking through her calm.
Yang Xiang stood, resolve settling in his bones despite the fear. "Then we have no choice but to face it."
The shadows lengthened, the night deepened, and the true journey — one of danger, betrayal, and revelation — was only just beginning.