The first rays of dawn sliced through a blood-colored sky.
A pall of dread hung over the Crimson Ridge, where Tianming and his companions stood, surrounded by scorched earth and whispers in the wind. The fires from the Raven Herald's destruction had not yet cooled, and the last cries of the vanished still seemed to echo in the air.
Tianming gazed over the charred horizon, his cloak whipping in the wind.
"He's testing the seals," Zhao Yueyin murmured beside him. "The Raven Herald… he was stalling us while something else stirred."
Tianming nodded. "The Abyssal Gate is waking. And they've begun the Summoning."
Behind them, Lan Mei was tending to the child they had rescued. The girl's shattered talisman still flickered weakly with protective runes—barely enough to keep the Void's influence at bay.
"The people need shelter," Lan Mei said, her brow furrowed. "We can't just chase after shadows anymore."
"We won't." Tianming's voice held calm steel. "We strike at the source."
---
The Emperor's Secret Archives – Celestial Capital
The Azure Pavilion was quieter than usual, its protective barriers humming at higher frequencies. Word of the Crimson Ridge disaster had spread, causing unrest in the outer prefectures. Rumors of a rising dark sect had begun to echo in the streets.
Within the deepest sanctum of the Emperor's domain, Tianming knelt before an ancient wall, etched with forgotten sigils.
A figure approached—the Emperor himself.
Xi Wenlong's eyes were tired, but his posture straight, his mind as sharp as ever. "You've seen the edge of the abyss now, Tianming. Tell me—what do you think lies beyond?"
Tianming stood, turning to face him. "Not just darkness. Intent. Something hungry."
Xi Wenlong placed his hand on the carved wall, and it shimmered—revealing a hidden chamber. Inside was a suspended orb of starlight, orbiting a cracked crystal slab pulsing with abyssal mist.
"This is a relic from the First Era," the Emperor said. "The Gate has been sealed four times before. Each time, it returned stronger. It cannot be destroyed. Only delayed."
Tianming frowned. "Then why not build something to sever it forever?"
"Because it was once part of us," Xi Wenlong said. "Before the realms split. The Abyss is what was left behind when Heaven rejected its own shadow."
Tianming absorbed the revelation in silence. Then he stepped forward. "What must I do?"
The Emperor turned. "You must enter the Abyss before they can fully open the Gate—and claim its heart."
---
Elsewhere: The Cult Prepares
Within a ruined temple buried beneath the mountain known as the Dragon's Spine, Corvus stood at the center of a summoning circle. Ravens perched on every ledge, whispering with human voices.
Before him, eight figures knelt—his Disciples of the Hollow Eye.
"The Vanguard grows bold," Corvus said. "And the Empire wakes too soon."
He pointed to one of the kneeling disciples—his hand wreathed in void.
"You failed to hold the Ridge."
The disciple barely had time to scream before his body unraveled into smoke, devoured by the shadows themselves.
"Send the Heralds," Corvus commanded. "Let them spread the Song of Undoing across the Five Clans. When the world breaks… the Gate will open itself."
---
The Descent Begins
With Emperor Xi Wenlong's blessing, Tianming led an elite force composed of imperial wardens, battle cultivators, and mystic sealers to the coordinates revealed in the Dreamseer's visions.
They arrived at the Hollow Scar—a fissure in the land itself, said to lead directly to the place where the original Abyssal Gate had first bled into their realm.
The closer they came, the more time seemed to warp. Night bled into day. The laws of physics bent slightly. Even the strongest spiritual protections flickered.
"I don't like this," Lan Mei muttered as they reached the Scar's edge. "I can feel my soul vibrating."
Zhao Yueyin placed a protective talisman on Lan Mei's back. "Keep your thoughts anchored. Or the Abyss will reshape them."
Tianming raised Starpiercer. "We enter together."
They descended.
---
Within the Hollow Scar
The Hollow Scar was a living wound in the land—twisting corridors of rock, pulsating flesh-like walls, and echoes that weren't echoes, but memories.
Tianming led from the front, his Celestial Sight revealing hidden rifts and void traps. Strange flora glowed faintly—some tried to feed on their qi, others simply whispered in forgotten tongues.
Hours passed. Perhaps days. Time was no longer trustworthy here.
At last, they arrived at a massive gate forged of black stone and pale bone, embedded into the very roots of the world.
The Abyssal Gate.
It was covered in ancient runes, many now half-erased or rewritten with symbols that didn't belong to their realm.
At its base stood four figures—each clad in robes of midnight, faces hidden by veils of shadow. One stepped forward.
The Raven Herald.
"I warned you," he said, voice like broken glass. "Yet here you are. Bringer of light. Fool of stars."
Tianming stepped forward. "I've brought more than light. I brought judgment."
---
Clash Beneath the Gate
What followed was chaos given form.
The Raven Herald unleashed a torrent of void-fire, shattering half the wardens instantly. His wings, now fully unfurled, spread across the battlefield like stormclouds.
Zhao Yueyin countered with the Crimson Sunburst Formation, illuminating the battlefield and banishing illusions. Lan Mei danced through enemy ranks, blades gleaming with resonance.
Tianming, at the center, activated all twelve nodes of his Celestial Core. A galaxy bloomed around him, and from it, he summoned the Eternal Star Lance—his most powerful weapon yet.
The Raven Herald met it with the Abyssal Talon, a construct made from the bones of fallen realms.
Each clash tore open new scars in the air.
But then, Tianming saw it: the Gate was pulsing faster.
"They're using our battle to feed it!" he shouted.
He broke from combat, channeling his energy into a new formation—the Seal of the Seventh Heaven, a divine pattern that could tether rifts.
He called out. "I need time!"
Zhao Yueyin blocked a deadly shadow blast with her body, bleeding but unflinching. "Then take it!"
Lan Mei threw a blade that struck true—severing one of the Herald's wings.
Tianming completed the formation.
A radiant seal formed above the Gate. The pulse slowed.
But it wasn't enough.
The Raven Herald laughed. "You think sealing it is victory? You have not even seen its heart."
He stabbed himself with his own talon.
The ground shook.
The Abyssal Gate opened a crack.
From within, a whisper emerged—a single wordless note that caused half the remaining warriors to scream and fall to their knees.
Tianming stood, blood seeping from his ears. "Not yet. Not now."
He thrust the Eternal Star Lance into the Gate itself.
There was a blinding explosion.
---
Aftermath: The Silence Between Realms
When Tianming awoke, he was floating in a place that was not a place.
A grey void. Neither life nor death. A realm between.
Before him stood a figure—no face, only light in the shape of a man.
"You've touched the Gate," it said. "And survived."
Tianming bowed. "Who are you?"
"I am what was sealed away when the heavens rose. You call me Abyss. But I was once Creation's reflection."
"Why are you speaking to me?"
"Because you interest me. And because even light needs shadow to grow."
Tianming shook his head. "I'll stop your return."
The figure smiled. "Perhaps. But remember… the deeper you reach for power, the more of me you'll find inside yourself."
Tianming screamed.
---
Back in the World
He awoke gasping.
The battle was over. The Gate sealed—for now. The Raven Herald gone, but the scar remained.
Zhao Yueyin knelt beside him, her armor scorched.
"You did it."
"No," Tianming said. "I saw what waits on the other side."
Lan Mei appeared, bruised but alive. "Then we keep fighting."
Tianming looked skyward.
"And we never stop."
---
System Notification
> Main Quest Updated: The Abyssal Gate – Status: Partially Sealed
New Passive Skill: Abyssal Resonance (Grants partial immunity to void influence)
Hidden Trait Activated: Lightborn Will – You cannot fall to corruption unless you choose to.
Cultivation Breakthrough: Early Sovereign Realm
---
In the Emperor's Palace
The Prince of Dust stood silently beside his father.
"So… the Vanguard touched the Gate," the Prince murmured.
Xi Wenlong nodded. "And survived. He may be the key."
The Prince turned, eyes glowing with both hope and calculation.
"Then we must move before he breaks."
---
To Be Continued in Chapter 48: The Blood Pact of the Five Clans