Trigg's playful smirk deepened slightly, as if Mark's response was entirely within his expectations.
"A wise choice, Mark."
He tossed the ethereal blue cube, and it settled steadily above the gravity vortex of the gravitational field, seemingly unbound by physical laws.
The mysterious blue light emanating from the object, defying all reason, somehow stabilized the chaotic, terrifying vortex field.
"Keep up. If you get lost here, no one can save you."
Before his words fully faded, Trigg's figure had already merged into the water like an ink drop, lightly drifting towards the center of the gravity vortex, where light was distorted and gravity abnormal.
The Eye of the Vortex.
Mark didn't hesitate for a moment. His molten-gold eyes locked onto Trigg's retreating figure, and his legs exploded with power, following closely behind. He transformed into a blue-black stream of light, plunging headfirst into the distorted light and shadow.
The moment he entered the Eye of the Vortex, Mark felt as if he had slammed into a viscous gel!
Violent, chaotic gravity, like countless invisible hands, tore at his body from all directions.
Space itself was violently twisting and folding. His vision was filled only with bizarre colored lines and dizzying swirls. Immense pressure squeezed his bones, and even his battle suit emitted a faint groan.
Trigg, however, appeared exceptionally calm ahead.
His lean and fluid physique demonstrated an almost perfect adaptability to the spatial turbulence.
Like a fish gracefully navigating a swift current, he skillfully utilized every pull and push of gravity, traversing the twisted passage quickly with minimal energy expenditure, his posture even possessing a peculiar elegance.
Mark gritted his teeth, relying on his formidable physical strength to withstand the tearing.
His muscles bulged, and his bones emitted faint protests. He mimicked Trigg's movements, attempting to find a pattern in the gravity, but the changes in space were too chaotic and unpredictable.
Several times, he was almost flung towards the edge of the deadly gravitational currents, only to stabilize himself by an instantaneous burst of strength. Sweat seeped from his forehead and vanished instantly.
Even more unsettling was the mental impact.
The vortex passage was filled with a cold, inhuman whisper, like the wails of a billion dying stars, or the gibbering of an unspeakable entity from the depths of the universe.
This pervasive whisper relentlessly tried to burrow into his mind, stirring up the deepest fears and despair.
Mark's spirit suddenly became scorching hot, like a red-hot branding iron, emitting a cold and majestic sense of repulsion, fiercely resisting the invading whisper!
But the intense mental pain caused his vision to blacken in waves.
Trigg ahead also seemed affected.
His composed strides showed a barely perceptible flicker of hesitation. Although he didn't turn around, Mark could feel his body instantly tensing.
The Viltrumite's mental resilience was clearly undergoing a severe test. Trigg's speed quietly increased by a few points.
He struggled in the chaos and whispers for an unknown duration, which felt like an eternity, yet also like an instant.
Suddenly, the distorted light and shadows ahead opened up!
Like drowning men cast out by a giant wave, the two burst out of the vortex passage, landing heavily in an indescribable space.
Here, there was no concept of up, down, left, or right.
Massive structures, gleaming with a dull metallic luster, drifted and rotated chaotically in the void, like the skeletons of titans.
They varied in form: broken circular arches, colossal pillars twisted into braids, and base platforms covered in complex energy patterns but now completely extinguished…
Everything was covered in thick cosmic dust and ice crystals, exuding an ancient, desolate, and decaying aura.
A faint, unidentifiable glimmer of light barely outlined the ruins, adding to their eerie and bizarre atmosphere.
This was the interior of the so-called 'Door.'
The remains of a broken bridge, forgotten by time, leading to an unknown place. The air was permeated with a heavy sense of loss and a lingering echo of madness.
Trigg stood steadily on a floating, colossal metal platform. He turned around, looking at Mark, who had arrived shortly after him. There was no fatigue on his face, only the lingering solemnity in his deep eyes.
Mark landed on another, smaller fragment, bending one knee slightly to absorb the impact.
He was breathing heavily. The mental burning pain and the exhaustion from traversing the vortex made him feel weak, but his molten-gold eyes were still as sharp as ever, scanning the vast ruins vigilantly before finally settling on Trigg.
"I imagine you have many questions for me…"
Trigg glanced away, unconcerned by Mark's piercing gaze, and spoke to himself.
"I don't know much either… According to the historical documents I found, we seem to have arrived at the ruins of a super-ancient civilization…"
"And I merely sent some of my slaves ahead to scout it out."
Mark knew that the slaves Trigg referred to were likely the native inhabitants of the planets he had conquered. Considering how difficult it was for him and Trigg to enter the vortex passage, one could imagine the fate of those slaves.
Trigg's disregard for life had become habitual.
Without further explanation, Trigg began to move.
He leaped and glided gracefully between the floating colossal remnants, each landing precise, each leverage perfectly executed, relying solely on his physical strength and his extraordinary perception and coordination of the environment.
Mark followed closely. He no longer resisted forcefully but carefully observed Trigg's movement trajectories and methods of applying force.
In this weightless ruin, pure strength required more refined control. He mimicked, adjusted, his blue-black figure soaring and leaping between the massive metal structures, his movements gradually transitioning from slightly clumsy at first to fluid.
His learning speed was extremely fast, and his battle suit provided additional stability and micro-propulsion assistance.
The two moved more like a silent dance, a contest of bodily control played out in a deathly ruin.
Trigg's speed fluctuated, his trajectory unpredictable, sometimes abruptly changing direction, sometimes pausing on a seemingly unremarkable fragment, his fingertips brushing over cold metallic patterns, as if sensing something.
Mark consistently maintained a close but not too close distance, his mind highly focused.
His molten-gold eyes swept over the places Trigg stopped, his powerful senses also striving to detect anomalies in this space. The cold whispers seemed to have diminished but had not disappeared, lingering like background noise.
The burning sensation in his mind also hadn't subsided; instead, it acted like a compass, vaguely pointing towards a certain direction deep within the ruins.
"Do you feel it?"
Trigg's voice rang out again. He stopped beside a massive, cracked energy core base, his fingers lightly tapping its cold surface.
"Something here… is it resonating? Warning? Or… guiding?"
Mark's heart tightened! Trigg was indeed terrifyingly perceptive!
He remained silent, only casting his gaze in the direction of his mental sensing—towards the deeper part of the ruins where the most twisted structures floated, and the darkness was even more profound.
Trigg turned around, a knowing smile on his face.
"It seems our goals align, Grayson. The answer may lie in that deeper darkness."
He pointed towards that area.
"However, the path ahead is not easy. These remnants themselves… contain the madness of the past."
As if to confirm his words, the moment Trigg's hand left the base, the cracked energy core base violently shook.
A dark, viscous, mental shockwave, imbued with intense malice and ominous aura, erupted like invisible spikes, instantly piercing Trigg and Mark, who were in close proximity, without discrimination!
The attack came too fast and too strangely; it wasn't a physical impact but directly affected the mental plane.
Mark felt as if his head had been struck by a heavy hammer. Countless chaotic, bloody, despairing fragmented images flooded in, his will instantly suffered a heavy blow, and his body stiffened.
Trigg reacted even faster, or rather, he had anticipated it. The moment the mental shockwave erupted, a brilliant light burst forth from his eyes! The Viltrumite's unique mental resilience and willpower slammed the viscous malicious impact against his mental barrier.
Trigg's body only swayed slightly, his face instantly turning a few shades paler, but his eyes remained sharp!
Mark grunted, breaking free from the dizziness of the mental shockwave. A hint of lingering fear and astonishment flashed in his molten-gold eyes.
Trigg took in this scene completely.
He looked at Mark's molten-gold eyes, which quickly regained clarity, and a subtle tremor, along with deeper calculation, flashed in his profound pupils.
"Interesting."
Trigg's voice returned to its usual steady tone, as if the recent danger was merely a minor incident.
He no longer lingered, turning and drifting towards the direction of his sensing—the deeper, darker ruins.
"Keep close. The real test has only just begun."
"Every fragment here could hide the ghosts of the past… or fragments leading to the 'Door'."
Mark followed Trigg, traversing deep within the desolate remnants.
The guiding sensation grew stronger and stronger, like an invisible thread, pulling him through layers of floating metal ruins and increasingly dense darkness.
The cold whispers hadn't disappeared; instead, as they approached the core area, they were suppressed and overshadowed by another, grander, and more profound echo of will.
Trigg suddenly stopped, landing on the edge of a relatively flat, massive platform covered with incomprehensible geometric patterns.
His broad back stood out starkly in the absolute darkness, his body taut like a bow. His deep eyes were fixed on the void ahead, his face, for the first time, losing its usual composure and calculation, replaced by a nearly frozen shock.
Mark landed beside Trigg, his molten-gold eyes following his gaze. The sight before him instantly brought his thoughts to a halt.
-----------------------------
🚀 Want to read extra chapters and exclusive content? Support me on Patreon and let's explore more together!
👉 [[email protected]/TripleCrown07]