Long Tianyu's knees pressed into the ground, the impact long since faded, yet the force that held him there had not lessened in the slightest. It was not pain that defined the moment, nor was it injury. It was something far worse.
Weight.
A presence so absolute that it did not need to announce itself to be understood.
It simply existed, pressing down on him, denying him the simple right to stand.
How… did it come to this?
The thought did not come in panic. It came slowly, deliberately, as if even his mind refused to rush toward a conclusion it did not want to accept. His breathing remained steady, controlled through years of discipline, but each inhale felt heavier than the last, as though even the air acknowledged the one standing above him.
I am Long Tianyu.
The name carried history. Weight. Authority.
Dragon Knight. National Guardian of Jianghe.
