*Inside the Sacred Core of Cloud Vein Treasure Grounds*
The black-robed entity had just vanished, but the air remained heavy — like the sky itself was holding its breath.
Zeravon didn't move.
He was still staring at the spot where that being had knelt… not out of reverence, but out of **fear**.
Not fear of death.
But fear of **recognition**.
> *"It knew me,"* he whispered to himself.
> *"But how?"*
Behind him, Min Rou struggled to stand. Her robes were torn, eyes filled with unease.
Chen Yuhao approached cautiously. "Zeravon… are you alright?"
Zeravon turned slowly.
His expression was calm — too calm.
> "Yes. But this place… isn't done with us."
---
**A New Path Appears**
The floating crystal, now dim, pulsed faintly once.
Then the floor cracked.
Lines of golden light shot out in every direction, forming a circular pattern.
A new path emerged — downward, ancient stone steps descending into shadow.
Leng Ye stepped back. "That… wasn't here before."
Zeravon looked down the path. The pressure emanating from below wasn't demonic or spiritual.
It was **older**.
It was *wrong*.
> "I'll go alone," Zeravon said.
> "Like hell you will," Chen Yuhao snapped. "You just— whatever that thing was— if it returns—"
Zeravon's eyes met his.
And for a moment, Chen Yuhao saw it.
**Not a disciple. Not a cultivator. Not even a man.**
Something… *watching from behind Zeravon's gaze.*
He took a step back.
"…Fine. We'll stay here."
---
**The Descent**
Zeravon walked slowly down the staircase.
With each step, memories that weren't his tried to surface.
A battlefield.
A falling sword.
A sky cracking open.
Then silence.
The staircase ended in front of a door made not of wood or stone — but pure **Dao energy**, frozen into shape.
Symbols on the door danced — shifting languages from Celestial Script to Void-Tongue to something… unmade.
Zeravon raised a hand, but didn't touch it.
> "This door isn't for me… now."
Suddenly, a whisper came — **from behind his own shadow**.
> *"If you touch it… they will know."*
Zeravon turned.
But no one was there.
Just the faint shimmer… of something **else** walking in his footsteps.
---
**Above – At the Surface**
Chen Yuhao felt a strange wind flow upward from the stairs.
Min Rou clutched her chest. "Something is shifting in the air… like time is thinning."
Leng Ye knelt down and whispered, "This trial… it wasn't for us. It was always for him."
---
**Back Below – Zeravon's Trial**
He took a step forward.
The door pulsed.
A small part of the seal on his soul began to crack — just barely.
And the world noticed.
Clouds gathered above the ruins.
Thunder rumbled in a sky that hadn't seen storms in decades.
Deep within the Sect's main hall, ancient relics began vibrating violently.
In the Forbidden Pagoda, an old monk opened his eyes for the first time in 70 years.
> "The Gate… it's responding."
---
**Zeravon Reaches Out**
He placed two fingers near the edge of the gateway.
Just before touching it…
He whispered:
> *"I won't awaken."*
And the door… **stopped pulsing**.
The light faded.
The seal held.
And Zeravon turned away.
---
**A Shadow Follows**
But as he walked back toward the staircase, the shadows on the walls shifted.
His own shadow… peeled away from his feet.
It stood up.
Shaped like him.
But its eyes… were golden.
> "You keep pretending," it said. "But eventually… you'll have to choose."
Zeravon stood still.
> "What are you?"
> "I'm the name you forgot."
Then the shadow vanished.
And Zeravon climbed back up… silent.
---
**Back with the Group**
Min Rou: "What happened down there?"
Zeravon: "…I didn't open the gate."
Chen Yuhao narrowed his eyes. "But you could have… right?"
Zeravon didn't answer.
He simply walked forward.
But even as he stepped into the light again…
The **realm beneath them** trembled once.
A sign… that a choice had been delayed.
Not avoided.
---
**Far Above – Upper Realm**
A figure in white robes stared into a basin of golden mist.
Yueyin frowned.
> "Why did the Gate respond to him?"
> "And why… do I remember that voice from my dreams?"
---