CHAPTER NINETY- ONE :The ice beneath Billy’s boots shifted as he sprinted toward the relic beam, its pulsating light a cruel reminder of the station’s deadly choreography. Every step had to be precise; misstep, and the energy would crystallize him, freezing blood and bone alike. The air itself seemed alive, humming with latent power that vibrated through his chest and made his teeth chatter, even inside his insulated jacket.Owen was close behind, his breath puffing in tight clouds, rifle aimed but useless against the energy blast that moved like a predatory animal. “Billy! Move faster! That beam—if it hits you, you’re gone!”Billy’s heart pounded. He had seconds, maybe less, to act. The Luoshen relic beam was no ordinary weapon. It reacted to the smallest fluctuations in movement and temperature, an intelligent force designed to punish the unwary. He felt its icy tendrils brush against his sleeve as he leapt over a glowing node, shoving a console to redirect part of the energy. Spar

CHAPTER NINETY-THREE :The storm outside hadn’t stopped — it just changed its rhythm. What started as a blizzard had become a low, animal growl that rolled through the base’s steel bones. Every metal sheet vibrated with it, like the place itself was shivering.Billy stood near the observation deck window, watching frost crawl slowly up the glass. His breath left small clouds that disappeared too fast, as if the air didn’t want to hold onto warmth anymore. Behind him, Tyla paced — slow, methodical steps that matched the ticking sound of the loose bulb overhead.“You’re thinking too loud,” she said without looking up.“I’m thinking we’re being watched,” Billy muttered. “That’s not loud. That’s survival.”Tyla stopped pacing. Her reflection met his in the glass. “By who? The Curator? Or your own shadow?”He didn’t answer. The question hit deeper than it should have. Because she was right — part of him was running from himself. From the decisions that led them here. From the weight of bei

CHAPTER NINETY-FIVE :The cold, eerie silence of the hidden temple pressed against Billy like a living thing. The Luoshen murals stretched along the ice-laced walls, illuminated by the pale beams of their flashlights. Every figure etched into the stone seemed to be watching, judging, waiting. Billy’s boots crunched softly on the frosted ground as he moved, his eyes scanning the murals with a mixture of curiosity and dread.Tyla, carrying a compact scanning device, stayed a step behind him. “These markings… they’re not just art,” she murmured, her voice barely carrying over the low hum of the station’s failing systems. “They’re records. Stories… histories. Prophecies, maybe.”Billy nodded without answering, feeling a chill beyond the icy air. He had learned, painfully, that anything ancient connected to the Luoshen carried weight — and danger. The murals here depicted a pattern of the constellations, interwoven with human figures, some triumphant, others kneeling or recoiling. It was a

CHAPTER NINETY-SEVEN :The moment they stepped deeper into the temple, the air thickened, heavy with the scent of ice, stone, and faint ozone from the lingering relic energy. Billy felt the weight of the murals pressing against him—not literally, but in the way history seemed to converge around this place, demanding his attention. Every pulse from the walls whispered urgency: move carefully, every step matters.Tyla scanned the floor ahead, her device humming faintly. “The glyphs indicate the path splits here,” she said, pointing to two corridors carved into the rock. “One leads toward the next energy node, the other… toward what I think is the protector. But the readings are inconsistent. There’s something masking the true path.”Billy’s hand tightened around the strap of his pack. “So we’re going in blind? That’s just what we need—more surprises.”“Not blind,” Owen corrected, his voice low and measured. “We follow the energy signature. It’s weak, but it’s there. Whoever or whatever

CHAPTER NINETY-NINE :The Luoshen temple trembled beneath them, its massive stone walls groaning under the strain of the recently activated pillar. Billy’s heart pounded like a war drum as he and his team stared at the central star-point, which now emitted a beam of ethereal light that shot upward, cutting through the shadows of the temple with surgical precision. Dust swirled in the air, stirred by the rising energy, and the faint glow of the runes pulsed rhythmically, as if counting time in a language older than memory.Tyla’s voice was sharp, snapping him back from his trance. “Billy! We need to move! The structure can’t hold this much energy for long!” She grabbed his arm, pulling him away from the vibrating pedestal. Her eyes, wide with urgency, darted across the chamber. “Every second we linger, the temple becomes more unstable. The star-point’s resonance—it’s collapsing the foundations!”Billy’s teeth clenched. “I can’t just leave it—Owen, the beam—it’s aligning with the next c