Here, the peaks thrust skyward like swords, their tips lost in swirling cloud. Between veils of mist stood immense, time-dark structures—halls ribbed with ancient timber, terraces braced by bleached beast bones, and totem poles clawing at the sky until the very air throbbed with primeval power.
At a mountain gate carved with a hundred racing beasts, iron-scented guards barred the road. The sentries, broad-shouldered, hide-armored, unmistakably of the beast clans, gaped at the newcomers’ torn clothes and thinned ranks.
Captain Rex Hornby, a rhinoceros-horned giant, narrowed his eyes at the unfamiliar human and the radiant unicorn beside him. “Gavin? Yvette? You were posted at Rockhold Gorge. How in the world did you end up here, and with this outsider?”
Gavin’s voice cracked but stayed steady. “Captain, Rockhold Gorge is gone…”
In quick, rough strokes, he recounted the Infinite Soul Demon Sect’s surprise assault, Garrick’s fall, the massacre of nearly every disciple, and then how Jared had broken through the encirclement and carried the survivors to safety.
Captain Hornby’s massive frame jolted. “Elder Garrick… Slain?”
Shock gave way to a blaze of fury, then to bafflement as his gaze swung back to Jared.
A human who, at a glance, lingered only at Level Seven of the Human Immortal Realm, yet Gavin claimed he had single-handedly routed two Level Five Heavenly Immortal commanders and their strike force.
The tale teetered on the edge of impossible, but the grief in Gavin’s eyes left no room for lies.
“This concerns the entire sect,” Hornby said, regaining command. “We report to the Sect Master at once. Follow me…”
He led them through the colossal gate and up a serpent’s coil of stone stairs toward Myriad Beast Hall high above. Along the way, disciples paused mid-drill, whispering at the sight of a fragile-looking human escorted by the Captain himself.
Crossing the threshold of the hall, Jared felt a pressure older than language, an ancient weight woven from fossil bone and mountain rock.
Vast murals of mythical beasts prowled the shadowed walls; in the dim light, their etched claws seemed ready to step free and judge every soul who dared to enter.
Inside the hall, the air hung heavy. Upon the throne of carved obsidian sat Paxton Riftclaw, Sect Master of the Myriad Beast Sect, a lion-blooded giant whose sheer presence felt like raw mountain stone given breath.
To either side, elders of varied hides and feathers occupied lower seats, their auras deep as ancient caves. A council was clearly underway.
Captain Hornby strode forward, dropped to one knee, and struck his fist against the floor.
“Sect Master Riftclaw, honored elders!” he cried, urgency rasping in every syllable. “My patrol has escorted disciples Gavin Stone and Yvette Shadowstep back from Rockhold Gorge. Three days ago, the gorge fell to the Demon Sect. Elder Garrick died holding the line. Of every disciple stationed there, only thirteen remain alive.”
Shock rippled through the hall like a boulder hurled into still water. Claws scraped stone, voices overlapped, chairs groaned beneath sudden movement.
Paxton surged to his feet. The force of his anger became a physical tide, pressing on every lung in the chamber.
Gavin and the other survivors nearly choked. Even Jared felt the weight like an unseen hand around his throat.
“Speak. Every detail. Now.” The command boomed like thunder, roiling from pillar to pillar before it faded.
Gavin swallowed, forced his kneeling spine straight, and began describing what happened in detail, emphasizing how Jared had come to their rescue and how Jared had a vendetta with the Infinite Soul Demon Sect. All eyes swung to Jared.
The elders’ gazes were hawk-sharp, measuring, doubting, a few holding the thin smile of concealed contempt.
“Human Immortal Realm, Level Seven?” One of the elders, Arden Aileron, let his voice slice through the din.
“Gavin, are you certain your eyes did not betray you? Elder Garrick—a Level Five Heavenly Immortal—fell defending the gorge, yet you claim this stripling routed the enemy and slew two leaders of equal rank? That is absurd!”
