CHAPTER 27 — INTO THE SHRINKING VEIL
The journey to the Hollow Abyss should have taken one day.
It took three hours.
Because the sky itself was wrong.
Jason Wu stood at the edge of Azure Ridge's farthest cliffs, staring at the impossible sight before him: a swirling black wound in the world, suspended like a giant whirlpool made of cracked glass. Flashes of blue lightning arced inside it. The air around the tear trembled with unstable qi.
Even Leon, usually loud, whispered, "This looks like someone punched reality."
Lan Yuren nodded solemnly. "That… is close enough."
Wei Qing stepped forward and touched the floating shards of distorted space. They rippled like liquid. "Spatial stability at twenty percent," she murmured. "Worse than expected."
Longwu Sword muttered in Jason's mind,
["Boy, if you walk into that thing wrong, you'll come out shaped like a pretzel. Or two pretzels."]
Jason swallowed. "Comforting."
Li Xueyin approached him, her robes fluttering with the chaotic wind. "Jason… are you ready?"
He looked at her, then at the swirling abyss.
"No," he admitted.
"But we're going anyway."
Her lips curled into a small, determined smile.
---
### THE FIRST BREACH
Lan Yuren unfurled the spatial stabilizing formation—thin metallic anchors with glowing runes.
"Team, positions! We open the veil just enough for passage. No one touches the edges."
Leon raised his hand. "What happens if we touch the edges?"
Wei Qing answered dryly. "You become a smear across eleven dimensions."
Leon lowered his hand. "No more questions."
Jason stepped next to Li Xueyin as she planted talisman flags around the ritual circle.
"You okay?" he asked.
Her fingers didn't stop moving. "This phenomenon reacts to emotional fluctuations. I'm trying not to be terrified."
Jason nodded. "Same."
Xueyin paused and glanced at him.
"Then… let's be terrified together."
Jason almost forgot how to breathe.
Longwu snickered,
["Ah yes, fear bonding. Very romantic."]
---
### OPENING THE VEIL
Lan Yuren struck the ground with his palm.
*BOOM.*
A ripple of gold lines radiated outward, connecting every anchor and talisman.
"Brace yourselves!" he shouted.
The swirling wound in the sky pulsed—once, twice—and then descended. Slowly, impossibly, it folded downward until the vortex hovered just above the ground like a giant rotating mirror.
Jason whispered, "That's… beautiful."
Leon whispered louder, "THAT'S HORRIFYING."
Li Xueyin tightened the star-steel bracelet on Jason's wrist. "Remember: if one of us is in trouble, the other will feel a jolt."
Jason nodded. "I won't let anything happen to you."
Her cheeks warmed. "You better not."
Lan Yuren called out—
"Team! Enter now before the veil destabilizes!"
They stepped forward.
Jason took a deep breath.
Then—
They crossed into the Hollow Abyss.
---
### INSIDE THE ABYSS
The world shifted instantly.
Colors became sharper. Sound became duller. The sky overhead resembled cracked jade, with lines of white energy branching like lightning across it.
Jason's foot touched solid ground—if it could be called that. The earth here was made of black stone, floating in midair like detached platforms, connected by shimmering bridges of rune-light.
Leon gasped, "This is… AWESOME!"
Wei Qing smacked the back of his head. "Focus."
Li Xueyin activated her talisman compass. The needle spun erratically. "The spatial currents are changing every few minutes. We need to move."
Jason stepped onto the first floating platform—and the moment he did, the ground shuddered.
Longwu whispered urgently,
["Boy… something is watching us."]
Jason's body tensed. "Everyone—stop."
They froze.
A cold wind swept across the abyss, carrying a sound like distant whispering.
Lan Yuren moved into a defensive stance. "Hostile presence?"
"Not sure," Jason said slowly. "But it feels like… something ancient."
Wei Qing glanced at the shifting sky. "We stick to the route on the Pavilion's map. We find the center rift, collect samples, and leave."
Leon raised his spear. "Let's do this."
They advanced deeper into the abyss.
---
### ECHOES OF THE PAST
Jason noticed the marks first—symbols etched on the floating stones. They resembled talisman lines, but older, rougher, almost carved by claws rather than tools.
"What are these?" he murmured.
Li Xueyin knelt to inspect them. "They're not from our world. This language predates our continent by thousands of years."
Longwu hummed,
["Ah yes. The ancient idiots. They loved carving ominous warnings everywhere."]
Jason frowned. "Warnings like… don't die?"
["More like: 'If you can read this, turn back immediately before the monster eats you.'"]
Jason stiffened. "…Monster?"
Leon gulped. "Why are there ancient monster warnings?!"
Wei Qing scanned the surroundings. "Quiet. Something is approaching."
---
### THE FIRST GUARDIAN
A low rumble echoed from the void.
Then the shadows moved.
A creature rose from below the floating platforms—massive, built like a panther with too many joints, its body composed of shifting mist and cracked stone. Its eyes glowed white like broken stars.
Li Xueyin whispered, horrified, "That's a Rift Guardian…"
Lan Yuren exhaled sharply. "And a large one."
Leon froze. "Uh… does it eat people?"
Jason unsheathed Longwu.
"Leon. It definitely eats people."
The guardian roared, shaking the entire abyss.
Longwu vibrated with excitement.
["Finally! A worthy opponent! Jason, CUT IT IN HALF!"]
Jason braced himself. "Everyone—spread out! Form a triangle formation!"
The guardian lunged.
Jason met it head-on, slashing upward. Longwu's edge cut through stone-flesh, scattering shards of black mist. The beast screamed but didn't fall.
Wei Qing struck its flank with a talisman-infused spear.
Leon charged from behind, yelling a battle cry that sounded suspiciously like "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!"
Li Xueyin released her stabilizing seals, slowing the guardian's movements with pulses of spatial pressure.
Lan Yuren shouted, "Good! Keep forcing it back!"
Jason channeled qi through his blade.
"This ends—now!"
He struck the creature's core.
*BOOOOM.*
The guardian exploded into fragments of mist that dissolved into the abyss.
Silence followed.
Leon fell on his back. "I hate this place already."
Li Xueyin helped him up. "That was only a medium-class guardian. There may be stronger ones."
Leon turned pale. "Str—stronger…?"
Jason wiped sweat from his brow.
"Let's move. The core rift is still ahead."
Longwu whispered,
["Good job, boy. Try not to die before the romance subplot fully blossoms."]
Jason rolled his eyes.
But he tightened his grip.
Because something told him…
The real danger of the Hollow Abyss hadn't even begun.