Author's POV:
The underground chamber trembled, stone cracking, a new door—global, not star, not claw—pulsing with a cold hum, its surface unyielding, unmarked save for a faint ripple, like water frozen in time. The crestless figure stood before it, robed, eyes like voids, their whisper chilling: "Keys, the true lock calls." Master Wu's shadow flickered nearby, blade hidden, his crest a faint glint, a betrayer unbound yet tethered to this deeper game. Huang Yanyan swayed, star-etched dagger faint, its scratched seal—Yue's mark—dim but alive, a Huang seal that had broken the Nexus with her blood, now drained, her knife trembling, blood crusted on her cheek, shoulder and thigh oozing, ribs heaving.
