Chapter 178: 178
Dozens—no, hundreds—of rune-lines interwove with one another, forming nested patterns that spiraled inward toward the center. Some pulsed slowly with a deep, subdued light. Others flickered faster, like the rapid beat of a hummingbird’s wings.
Adrian let his spirit sense sink into the formation, careful not to touch any of the active nodes.
"What do you see?" Bloodstar asked quietly.
"Too much," Adrian thought back. "But... there’s a structure. The outermost ring is the detection layer. It reacts to intruders and feeds data inward."
He traced that ring with his mind.
"Beyond that, there’s a conversion layer. It takes the Essence’s power and shapes it into different effects—heat, arrows, pressure... maybe more we haven’t seen yet."
"And the branches?" Bloodstar prompted.
Adrian followed the thinner strands of energy flowing outward.
"They’re like... vents," he realized. "Channels that bleed off excess power to maintain stability, while doubling as offensive measures. If I cut them all at once, the formation might overload. But if I redirect them..."
"Precisely," Bloodstar said.
"You said you’re not a Master yet," it added. "But you have enough talent to improvise. Start with the tertiary vents. The ones less tied to the main stabilizing nodes."
Adrian exhaled slowly.
No pressure, right? Just the lives of everyone in this room depending on me not making a fatal mistake.
He kneeled, extending a hand toward a section of the outer circle. His fingers hovered a hair’s breadth above the glowing lines.
"What are you doing?" Wyatt barked.
Adrian didn’t look back.
"Working," he said. "If you distract me now and I slip, we all die."
That silenced them.
He focused.
His spiritual power flowed from his fingertips, not as brute force, but as a fine, delicate thread. He touched a junction where three pale branches met, each feeding a trickle of excess heat toward the distant tunnel.
Carefully, he slipped his own energy between them, coaxing rather than cutting.
The rune-lines trembled.
For a terrifying instant, the Essence pulsed brighter, and the entire cavern seemed to inhale.
Adrian held his breath.
Then the light at that junction dimmed, and the flow of power shifted ever so slightly. Instead of bleeding outward, more of the excess heat was redirected along an internal loop, dissipating harmlessly along a dormant ring closer to the core.
Adrian let out the breath he’d been holding.
"One," he said softly.
"Keep going," Bloodstar urged.
He moved to another junction.
Then another.
Each adjustment was a dance on the edge of disaster. Sweat poured down his face, not just from the heat, but from the sheer concentration required.
Behind him, Wyatt and his people watched in tense silence.
Minutes passed.
Finally, Adrian withdrew his hand.
His limbs trembled with exhaustion. His spiritual energy felt frayed at the edges.
But the formation’s outer aggression had lessened.
He could feel it.
The oppressive killing intent that had radiated through the tunnels now felt... restrained. Coiled, but not reaching out as far.
"If we go back the way we came now," Adrian said hoarsely, "the outer traps should be significantly weaker. Not gone, but survivable. Especially if we move quickly."
Wyatt didn’t move.
He was staring not at the tunnel, but at the Essence.
Of course he was.
"So?" Wyatt said slowly. "You’ve adjusted the formation. That means it’s more stable now, doesn’t it?"
Adrian’s heart sank.
"Don’t tell me—"
"This is the perfect time," Wyatt continued, eyes shining. "If we don’t seize this opportunity now, when will we? Once we leave, we may never find this place again. The mystic realm changes every opening."
The crimson-armored woman bit her lip.
"Boss... if we fail—"
"If we leave with nothing, we’ve already failed," Wyatt snapped. "We lost most of our people. We walk out of here empty-handed, we become a joke in Stonehold City."
His gaze speared Adrian.
"You," he said. "You said you stabilized it. That should make it safer to... interact with the core, shouldn’t it?"
Adrian chose his next words carefully.
"It makes the formation less likely to collapse on itself in a chain reaction," he said. "Not safe. There’s a difference."
Wyatt smiled, showing white teeth against soot-blackened skin.
"Good enough," he said. "You’re coming with me."
Adrian blinked.
"What?"
"If this is as delicate as you say," Wyatt said, "then I’ll need you close by. To observe. To warn me if something goes wrong. Maybe even to adjust it further on the fly."
He took a slow step toward Adrian.
Golden flames crawled up his arms once more.
"If you think you can refuse..." He let the threat hang in the air.
Adrian’s jaw clenched.
He could fight.
He might even win, if he unleashed everything and caught Wyatt off guard. The Cole scion was injured, drained, and overconfident.
But a battle at the heart of this formation would be madness.
Any stray strike could trigger who-knew-what.
Adrian’s heart sank.
"Don’t tell me—"
"This is the perfect time," Wyatt continued, eyes shining. "If we don’t seize this opportunity now, when will we? Once we leave, we may never find this place again. The mystic realm changes every opening."
The crimson-armored woman bit her lip.
"Boss... if we fail—"
"If we leave with nothing, we’ve already failed," Wyatt snapped. "We lost most of our people. We walk out of here empty-handed, we become a joke in Stonehold City."
His gaze speared Adrian.
"You," he said. "You said you stabilized it. That should make it safer to... interact with the core, shouldn’t it?"
Adrian chose his next words carefully.
"It makes the formation less likely to collapse on itself in a chain reaction," he said. "Not safe. There’s a difference."
Wyatt smiled, showing white teeth against soot-blackened skin.
"Good enough," he said. "You’re coming with me."
Adrian blinked.
"What?"
"If this is as delicate as you say," Wyatt said, "then I’ll need you close by. To observe. To warn me if something goes wrong. Maybe even to adjust it further on the fly."
He took a slow step toward Adrian.
He could fight.
He might even win, if he unleashed everything and caught Wyatt off guard. The Cole scion was injured, drained, and overconfident.
But a battle at the heart of this formation would be madness.
Any stray strike could trigger who-knew-what.
Checkmated, he thought bitterly.
Bloodstar was silent for a long moment.
Then, quietly, it spoke.
"This may not be entirely bad."
"Oh?" Adrian thought acidly. "Being used as a disposable assistant for a lunatic trying to poke a True Flame Essence sounds great to you?"
"You wanted an opportunity to touch a higher level of formation theory," Bloodstar said, tone maddeningly calm. "This is it. Up close, there are things you can sense that you could not from the edge. Besides... I will not let you die easily."
Adrian snorted inwardly.
"Your confidence is comforting," he replied dryly.
Out loud, he said, "Fine. I’ll go with you. But you need to understand something, Wyatt Cole."
Wyatt raised an eyebrow.
"If you attack that Essence with brute force, I won’t be able to save you," Adrian said softly. "No one will. If you want even a chance of success, you must listen to what I say, exactly as I say it. No improvising. No sudden outbursts."
Wyatt’s nostrils flared.
"Nobody talks to me like that."
"Then nobody will be alive to talk to you at all," Adrian countered.
For a long, taut moment, their gazes locked.
Finally, Wyatt exhaled sharply.
"Fine," he said. "For now, I’ll humor you. Speak your instructions, early-stage."
Adrian stepped closer to the center, forcing his nerves to steady.
The flaming sphere pulsed slowly, almost lazily, as if unconcerned by the ants scurrying beneath it.
He could feel it now, not just as a source of heat, but as a presence.
Ancient.
Proud.
Utterly indifferent.
"First," Adrian said, voice low, "you will not reach out with your Qi toward it yet. You will only walk with me to the innermost ring of the array, and you will stop when I tell you to."
Wyatt inclined his head once.
Adrian took a deep breath.
Then he stepped forward, crossing the boundary into the heart of the formation.
The runes flared.
The True Flame Essence throbbed once, like a giant, fiery heartbeat.
And the cavern... watched.
Far above, somewhere beyond the twisting layers of rock and shifting space of the mystic realm, a pair of eyes snapped open.
Golden irises, shot through with threads of crimson, reflected a vision of a cavern wreathed in runes.
"The Heart of Ember woke up again," a woman’s voice murmured. Amusement tinged her tone. "Interesting."
Her gaze lingered for a moment on the faint outline of a tall, skinny man wearing a bamboo hat, standing at the edge of a blazing array.
Then her lips curved.
"Let’s see how you dance, little mouse," she whispered.
The vision faded.
And in the depths of the cave, unaware of the observer’s interest, Adrian took another careful step forward, at the edge of a power that could either forge his path anew... or end it in an instant.
