The corridor beyond the Chamber of the Preserved sloped steadily downward. Unlike the upper tunnels, the stone here had changed.
The black rock threaded with crimson crystal gradually gave way to smooth walls of dark gray stone polished so perfectly that they reflected the faint glow of Lilith’s crystal.
There were no signs of tools, chisel marks, or seams between blocks. It looked as though the passage had been formed from a single piece of stone.
Neither ruler spoke. Only the sound of their footsteps echoed through the endless corridor as they descended further beneath the mountain.
The whispers returned almost immediately. At first they remained little more than distant murmurs carried upon an invisible breeze, then they grew louder. Every dozen steps made the voices clearer.
Lilith frowned but continued walking. The whispers reached her ears, yet they failed to stir her emotions. She recognized them for what they were, attempts to draw attention.
Years of mastering Dark Aether required absolute control over one’s own mind. Countless hours of meditation, resisting illusions and suppressing intrusive emotions had forged a mental discipline that few in the world could match.
The voices simply washed over her like rain striking stone, annoying but harmless.
Beside her, Atheline’s experience was very different.
"...Atheline..."
"...turn back..."
"...listen..."
"...we’ve been waiting..."
The voices no longer sounded distant; they surrounded him. Some whispered from behind, others beside his ears, and one even seemed to speak from directly in front of him despite the empty corridor.
He ignored them, steadily placing one foot after another. His breathing remained even, his grip on his bow never loosening.
"Ignore them," Lilith said quietly without looking at him.
"I am."
His answer came immediately. But something about his voice caught her attention. It sounded strained.
Another hundred steps and the whispers intensified. They changed; instead of merely reaching his ears, they seemed to slip beneath his skin.
Atheline suddenly stopped walking. Lilith immediately turned.
"What is it?"
He frowned deeply.
"...Something’s wrong."
"How?"
He placed one hand against his chest.
"It isn’t just sound anymore."
His Aether circulated instinctively throughout his body. Normally, the familiar currents soothed his mind; this time... they met an invisible resistance. Something was pushing against them, as though attempting to force its way deeper.
Lilith’s expression immediately became serious.
"What do you mean?"
"It feels..." He searched for the right words. "...like the voices are trying to enter me."
She immediately stepped closer, one hand resting against his shoulder. Dark Aether flowed gently through his channels. She carefully examined his condition.
His body was healthy, his soul remained stable, and his Aether circulated normally, yet... Something unfamiliar lingered around him. Countless microscopic strands of pale light drifted through the air toward him.
She hadn’t noticed them before, because they completely ignored her. Every strand bypassed her body; instead, they converged upon Atheline.
Her eyes narrowed.
"...Interesting."
He looked toward her.
"You can see it?"
"Barely." She withdrew her hand. "It isn’t corruption, poison, or ordinary spiritual influence." She continued observing the tiny streams of light. "They’re choosing you."
"Choosing me?"
"I don’t know why." She shook her head. "But whatever this place is... it has no interest in me."
Atheline remained silent. The invisible pressure increased. His instincts screamed that something foreign sought entry into his body. Every manipulator learned to reject outside influences, to protect the soul and to guard the mind.
Everything he had ever learned told him to resist, and so he did. Aether surged through every channel. The invisible pressure slowed but never disappeared; instead... It patiently continued pressing forward.
The corridor eventually ended. Both rulers slowed their pace. Before them lay a vast underground chamber unlike anything they had encountered since entering the cave. It was almost perfectly circular.
The ceiling disappeared into darkness high above. The walls were smooth, completely empty, and the floor was equally bare.
Only one thing existed within the entire chamber: a single orb of pale white light. It floated quietly at the exact center, no larger than an apple; its glow remained gentle. Neither bright nor dim.
Atheline frowned.
"...That’s it?"
Lilith slowly scanned the room.
"No circles, traps, or hidden passages. Nothing."
The chamber felt almost surreal after everything they had experienced.
As though sensing their arrival... the orb pulsed softly, once then again. The chamber answered with Aether. Ancient currents invisible to ordinary perception rippled through the air.
Lilith immediately felt them. They flowed around her harmlessly, ignoring her existence completely. Every current converged upon Atheline. The pressure surrounding him instantly multiplied.
He staggered half a step.
"...It’s stronger."
Lilith reached for him. The moment her fingers touched his sleeve, the currents split around her, still refusing to acknowledge her.
The orb drifted slightly forward, almost curiously, like a child cautiously approaching someone unfamiliar. Atheline instinctively stepped toward it, then stopped himself.
"I didn’t mean to do that."
Lilith immediately caught the subtle change.
"You moved without thinking."
He nodded slowly.
"It..." He looked directly at the floating light. "...feels familiar."
Those words surprised even him. He had never seen this place before, never encountered this strange light. Yet somewhere deep within his soul, recognition stirred.
The whispers vanished, completely. After following them since entering the cave, their sudden disappearance felt almost deafening.
The orb floated closer, within arm’s reach. Lilith extended one dagger, but the orb ignored it. She infused the blade with Dark Aether; still no reaction. She reached toward the light herself, still nothing. Her hand passed straight through it as though it weren’t there.
She blinked.
"...I can’t touch it."
Atheline slowly extended his own hand. The instant his fingertips brushed the glowing sphere, the world shattered. Reality seemed to have fractured itself. Cracks spread through the air like broken glass.
The chamber fragmented; stone walls splintered into countless floating pieces; the floor beneath them dissolved into shimmering fragments of light; space folded inward and then outward. The very concept of distance seemed to lose meaning.
Lilith’s eyes widened.
"What..."
She never finished. Atheline’s body became translucent, breaking apart. Thousands upon thousands of glowing particles separated from him.
She lunged forward.
"Atheline!"
Her hand passed through space. He looked toward her, equally shocked.
"Lilith!"