The stairs leading downward felt endless.
Not because of length.Because of the silence.
Every step Lian Hong tookechoed back too slowly—as if the sound had to travel through something thickbefore returning.
Halfway down,Zhou Shan whispered:
"BRO…are the walls… moving?"
Yan Ming didn't look back.
"Yes."
Zhou Shan collapsed on the stairs.
Su Qingyue dragged him by the collar.
The air grew colder as they descended,then warmer,then cold again—cycling unpredictably,like the mountain itself was breathing.
Finally, the stairs ended.
The corridor opened into a round chamber.
And the chamber—
moved.
At first glance,it appeared carved from smooth grey-black stone.But as Lian Hong stepped in,the walls expanded slightly.
Then contracted.
A slow, rhythmic motion.
Su Qingyue froze.
"…That is not natural."
Yan Ming's jaw tightened.
"This is the chamber where the fracture first manifested."
Zhou Shan whispered:
"IT HAS A LUNG—THE MOUNTAIN HAS A LUNG—WE NEED TO GO HOME—RIGHT NOW—!!"
But Lian Hong didn't move back.
He stepped forward.
The chamber inhaled.
A faint, low pulse vibrated through the floor.
Not threatening.
Recognizing.
His shadow responded—lifting, stretching slightly behind him.
Yan Ming raised a hand.
"Hold your will steady."
Lian Hong nodded.
"I'm fine."
The chamber exhaled.
A whisper shivered through the stone:
—echo-bearer—
Lian Hong stiffened.
"It's talking again."
Yan Ming stepped closer.
"Listen, but do not answer."
Su Qingyue whispered:
"What is this place exactly?"
Yan Ming's eyes scanned the chamber.
"This was the point where reality began separating."
Lian Hong turned to him sharply.
"You mean the fracture started here?"
"Yes."
He gestured toward the center of the room.
"Because this was where the First Echo-Bearerlost control."
At the center of the chamberlay a faint indentation—
a perfect outline of a human silhouette,etched into the stone.
Not burned.Not carved.
Compressed.
As if reality had "pressed inward"around a person who once stood there.
Su Qingyue swallowed.
"That mark… it's like someone was crushed into the floor."
Yan Ming shook his head.
"They weren't crushed."
He knelt beside the silhouette.
"He was being pulled."
Lian Hong felt cold spread through him.
"…Pulled into what?"
Yan Ming raised his head.
"The fracture."
Zhou Shan clung to the wall desperately.
"WHY ARE WE IN A ROOM THAT ATE A PERSON—!?WHAT ARE WE DOING—WE ARE NOT READY—!!!"
Yan Ming ignored him.
He looked at Lian Hong.
"Place your hand here."
Lian Hong hesitated.
"Won't that trigger something?"
"Yes."
Yan Ming said it calmly.
"But you must feel what he felt."
Su Qingyue grabbed his wrist.
"Lian Hong—think carefully.This isn't a test anymore.This is—danger."
He met her eyes.
"I know."
He placed his hand on the cold stone outline.
The chamber inhaled sharply.
The moment his skin touched the stone—
The walls stretched outward.The air warped.The room deepened and widened at once.
Zhou Shan screamed.
Su Qingyue drew her blade.
Yan Ming didn't move.
He only watched.
Lian Hong's vision blurred,colors fading into monochrome.
His shadow rose fully now—not by command,but by resonance.
The chamber exhaled again.
And the stone rippled under his palm.
A memory—no, an imprint—bloomed through his hand:
A figure kneeling here.Shaking.Breathing too fast.Shadow peeling off his back.
Not Lian Hong.
The First Echo-Bearer.
The memory whispered:
—I cannot hold it—I cannot—stop—stop—STOP—
His body convulsed.
Shadow burst upward.
The chamber screamed silently.
And reality fractured.
Lian Hong jerked his hand back—breath torn from him.
"What was that…?"
Yan Ming's expression was grim.
"You saw the moment it began."
Su Qingyue steadied him.
"You felt… what he felt."
Lian Hong nodded shakily.
"…He was terrified."
Yan Ming answered:
"He was splitting."
Lian Hong looked down.
His shadow was trembling.
Not violently.
In fear.
He had never seen it afraid.
"…Why is it reacting like this?"
Yan Ming's gaze sharpened.
"Because it recognizes what happened here."
"What happened to its predecessor."
Zhou Shan screamed:
"ITS PREDECESSOR—!?SHADOW HAS A PREDECESSOR—???"
Su Qingyue hit him with the scabbard.
Yan Ming continued.
"This chamber remembers the moment the First Echo-Bearerlost control of his shadow."
Lian Hong swallowed.
"And?"
Yan Ming said quietly:
"And his shadow tore free."
The room exhaled again.
A crack in the floor brightened faintly—
like a pulse of light trapped underground.
Lian Hong's heart skipped.
"…Is that the fracture?"
Yan Ming nodded.
"Yes."
"Still alive."
The crack pulsed again.
A whisper seeped upward.
Clear.
Targeted.
—bearer of two echoes—do not open—what he opened—
Lian Hong froze.
Su Qingyue shivered.
Yan Ming narrowed his eyes.
"You can hear the fracture."
Lian Hong nodded slowly.
"…It's warning me."
Yan Ming's expression hardened.
"That is even worse."
Zhou Shan shrieked:
"HOW IS A WARNING WORSE—WARNINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO HELP—!!!"
But Yan Ming explained quietly:
"The fracture has awareness."
It pulsed again.
—he tore the path—you must not—
Lian Hong swallowed.
"What path?"
The whisper deepened.
—the path without fate—
Yan Ming stiffened.
Su Qingyue whispered:
"That sounds impossible."
Yan Ming shook his head.
"No."
"It's remnant logic."
Then he turned sharply to Lian Hong.
"This is why the masked one touched you."
"To see if you would choosethe same path."
Lian Hong inhaled.
"And if I do?"
Yan Ming answered without hesitation.
"You will split."
The room went silent.
The fracture pulsed once more.
—turn backor continue—but do not stand still—
Lian Hong whispered:
"…It's giving me a choice."
Yan Ming stepped closer.
"Then choose carefully."
Su Qingyue tightened her grip on his sleeve.
"Lian Hong…No matter what path you choose—we stay with you."
Zhou Shan nodded frantically.
"EVEN IF THE PATH IS VERY SCARY AND FULL OF SHADOWSAND MAYBE TIME PROBLEMS—WE ARE A TEAM—!!"
Lian Hong looked forward.
Toward the deeper stairwaythat had just revealed itselfas the chamber shifted again.
A path down.
A path first walked by the Echo-Bearer.
A path he never returned from.
Lian Hong stepped forward.
"I'm not turning back."
Yan Ming nodded slowly.
"Then we go deeper."
The fracture pulsed once—not in warning.
In acknowledgment.
And the chamber shifted aside,opening the next descent.