The chamber fell silent once more.
Li Wei stood at the center of the ancient formation, his breathing steady, but his mind far from calm.
What he had just experienced…
It was not an illusion.
He was certain of that.
The presence, the figure, the overwhelming pressure—it had all been too real, too precise to be a mere trick of the mind.
Slowly, he stepped back.
This time, the formation did not react.
The glow had completely faded, as if nothing had ever happened.
But Li Wei knew better.
Something had changed.
Not the formation.
Him.
---
He placed a hand over his chest.
The jade pendant pulsed faintly beneath his robe, slower than before, but heavier.
Each pulse felt deliberate.
Measured.
As if marking something unseen.
"…So there is a price," Li Wei murmured.
The words were quiet, but certain.
He didn't know what the price was yet.
But he could feel it.
---
A faint dizziness rose within him.
Subtle.
Easy to ignore.
But it wasn't there before.
---
Li Wei's eyes narrowed slightly.
He didn't move immediately.
Instead, he observed himself.
His breathing.
His heartbeat.
The flow of spiritual energy within his body.
---
Everything seemed normal.
And yet—
Something was off.
---
"…Not physical," he concluded softly.
---
A sound echoed from the tunnel.
Footsteps.
---
Li Wei's gaze snapped upward.
Someone was coming.
---
Without hesitation, he stepped off the formation and moved toward the shadows near the wall.
His movements were controlled, precise.
He did not use the Forbidden Step.
---
The footsteps grew closer.
Calm.
Unhurried.
---
A figure appeared at the entrance of the chamber.
Tall.
Familiar.
---
Elder Chen.
---
Li Wei's pupils contracted slightly.
*So he noticed.*
---
Elder Chen stepped into the chamber, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings.
He did not speak immediately.
He simply observed.
The formation.
The air.
The silence.
---
Then—
His eyes shifted.
---
Toward Li Wei.
---
"Come out," he said calmly.
---
There was no hesitation.
No doubt.
---
Li Wei stepped forward from the shadows.
There was no point hiding.
Not from someone like this.
---
For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.
The air between them felt heavier than before.
---
"You returned," Elder Chen said.
It wasn't a question.
---
"Yes," Li Wei replied.
No excuses.
No lies.
---
Elder Chen studied him.
Longer than before.
Deeper.
---
"…And you activated it," he added.
---
Li Wei did not answer.
But silence, this time, was enough.
---
A faint smile appeared on Elder Chen's face.
Not warm.
Not cold.
Just… knowing.
---
"Tell me," he said slowly, "what did you see?"
---
Li Wei's thoughts moved quickly.
He could lie.
But would it matter?
---
"…A space," he said finally.
"Dark. Empty."
A pause.
"…And something inside it."
---
Elder Chen's gaze sharpened slightly.
"What kind of something?"
---
Li Wei hesitated.
For the first time—
Not out of fear.
But uncertainty.
---
"…It didn't move," he said.
"It didn't speak."
A brief pause.
"But it was aware."
---
Silence filled the chamber.
---
Elder Chen's expression changed.
Not visibly.
But subtly.
---
"…Aware," he repeated.
---
He turned toward the formation.
For a moment, he said nothing.
---
Then—
"You should not have gone back."
---
The words were calm.
But this time—
They carried weight.
---
Li Wei's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You already knew," he said.
---
Elder Chen did not deny it.
---
"I suspected," he replied.
"Now I am certain."
---
"Certain of what?" Li Wei asked.
---
Elder Chen turned back to him.
Their eyes met.
---
"That it has begun."
---
The words sent a faint chill through the air.
---
Li Wei remained silent.
Waiting.
---
But Elder Chen did not explain.
Instead, he stepped closer.
---
"Do you feel anything different?" he asked.
---
Li Wei hesitated for a fraction of a second.
Then—
"Yes."
---
"What?"
---
"…Something subtle," Li Wei said.
"Not in my body."
A pause.
"…In my perception."
---
Elder Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Explain."
---
Li Wei looked down briefly, as if considering his own thoughts.
---
"It's difficult to describe," he said slowly.
"It feels like…"
He paused.
Searching for the right words.
---
"…like something is missing."
---
Silence.
---
Elder Chen did not respond immediately.
But the look in his eyes deepened.
---
"…Missing," he repeated quietly.
---
Then—
Without warning—
He raised his hand.
---
A sudden pressure filled the chamber.
---
Li Wei's body tensed instantly.
This was not as overwhelming as before.
But it was focused.
Precise.
---
"Circulate your energy," Elder Chen said.
---
Li Wei did not question it.
He closed his eyes briefly and guided the flow of spiritual energy within his body.
---
For a moment—
Everything was normal.
---
Then—
He felt it.
---
A slight delay.
---
Not in the flow itself.
But in his awareness of it.
---
As if his mind was… half a step behind.
---
Li Wei's eyes snapped open.
---
Elder Chen lowered his hand.
---
"…You feel it now," he said.
---
Li Wei's expression hardened slightly.
---
"What is this?" he asked.
---
Elder Chen remained silent for a moment.
Then—
He spoke.
---
"A mark."
---
The word was simple.
But heavy.
---
"When the Forbidden Path notices someone," Elder Chen continued,
"it does not ignore them."
---
Li Wei's fingers tightened slightly.
---
"It observes," Elder Chen said.
"And in observing…"
A brief pause.
---
"It leaves something behind."
---
Li Wei's gaze darkened.
---
"A connection?" he asked.
---
Elder Chen shook his head slightly.
---
"Not exactly."
---
He turned toward the formation once more.
---
"It is closer to… a claim."
---
The word echoed in the chamber.
---
Claim.
---
Li Wei felt a faint chill run through him.
---
"…And what happens next?" he asked.
---
Elder Chen did not answer immediately.
---
Instead, he looked at Li Wei one last time.
---
"That," he said quietly,
"depends on whether you continue."
---
Silence.
---
Heavy.
Unresolved.
---
Then—
Elder Chen turned and began to walk away.
---
"Rest," he said.
"For now."
---
But just before he reached the exit—
He stopped.
---
"…And Li Wei."
---
Li Wei looked up.
---
"For the next few days…"
A brief pause.
---
"Do not trust your senses completely."
---
The words lingered.
---
Then—
Elder Chen left.
---
The chamber fell silent once more.
---
Li Wei stood alone.
---
Slowly—
He raised his hand.
---
Not to his chest.
---
But to his eyes.
---
For a moment—
Everything looked normal.
---
But deep inside—
He could feel it.
---
That slight delay.
That faint disconnect.
---
As if something between him and the world…
Had shifted.
---
Li Wei lowered his hand.
---
His gaze hardened.
---
"…A claim."
---
If something had marked him—
If something was watching—
---
Then running was no longer an option.
---
Only one path remained.
---
To understand it.
Before it understood him completely.
---
Far beneath the sect—
In the endless darkness—
---
Something stirred.
---
Not searching.
---
Not waiting.
---
But recognizing.
---
**Him.**