Climbing teams from various factions struggled up the different slopes of Mount Aethermoor as they fought for opportunity and survival.
At the base of the mountain stood a massive abandoned city. It was surrounded by a sea of temporary camps with tens of thousands still lingering there.
Among them were a small number of civilians who hadn’t fully evacuated, and personnel left behind by various factions to handle logistics and supplies. There were also rogue cultivators and wandering martial artists who were drawn by rumors but hesitated to venture close.
Grace and Dustin remained behind, overseeing operations or calmly observing how the situation developed. None of them realized that Mount Aethermoor, a sacred peak silent for 3,000 years, had never limited its trials to those who climbed it.
At midday, an abrupt change occurred. Without warning, the base of the mountain suddenly lit up with countless crisscrossing, intricately complex golden sigils.
The glowing lines spread beneath their feet like a rising tide. From the base of the mountain, the patterns surged outward across the earth, spreading with explosive speed. No escape technique could have outpaced it.
Wherever the sigils passed, scorched soil, shattered stone, ruined structures, even drifting dust and open air were washed in a faint golden glow.
In just a few seconds, a colossal formation had materialized. Its reach encompassed the entire original site of Oakvale and the surrounding region.
“What is that?”
“Oh my God! The ground is glowing.”
“Damn! It’s a formation. Run for your lives. At the base of the mountain, the entire camp was stunned by the sudden upheaval. A heartbeat later, panic exploded.
People tried to flee the area that was now engulfed in golden light. But no matter which direction they ran, the glowing lines spread beneath their feet like a rising tide, pulling everything into the formation’s reach.
Grace and Dustin were on the raised platform of the temporary command center. They had been discussing their next move when the sudden change caught them off guard.
Grace reacted instantly, shouting, “Send the order! All personnel fall back to the formation’s outer perimeter. Activate emergency defenses.”
But before her command could fully circulate, the formation had already completed its activation. A deep, resonant vibration groaned from the depths of the earth and the heart of Mount Aethermoor at once. It carried the weight of a primordial age, a tectonic thrum that made souls tremble and their heads spin.
In the next heartbeat, every area traced with golden patterns was enveloped in a soft yet irresistible glow. Human or beast, no one was spared.
Dustin felt a surge of golden light flood his vision. A strange spatial force seized him, locking his body in place as though he had been dragged into a boundless vortex. He couldn’t use any spiritual energy to resist and could only submit to this force.
The last thing he heard was Grace’s urgent cry.
“Dustin…”
The next moment, everything spun, and his vision blurred. It felt as though he had passed through a void both endless and fleeting. When his feet struck solid ground once more and his vision cleared, he found himself in an entirely unfamiliar place.
Dustin was no longer within the ruins of Oakvale but stood high upon the slopes of Mount Aethermoor. Around him were jagged, steep, gray-brown rocks. The air was filled with spiritual energy several times denser and heavier than the air below, mixed with a faint smell of blood and burnt flesh.
Looking up, the peak still towered impossibly high, wreathed in mist and clouds.
