The ridge groaned beneath them as dawn bled slowly into the sky. What had cracked in the darkness now revealed its intent in the light. Fractures ran like veins across the stone, some thin as threads, others wide enough to swallow a boot whole. Dust hung in the air, stirred constantly by the wind that cut across the skyline without mercy. Every breath tasted of grit and cold. The valley no longer felt passive. It felt deliberate.Su Yu stood at the front, weight low, stance wide, reading the stone as if it were a living thing. The ridge was no longer something to cross. It was something to negotiate with. Behind him, the soldiers tightened their formation instinctively. No commands were given. Everyone understood that sound carried too far here, and hesitation carried farther still.The injured soldier remained at the center. His breathing was shallow but steady. Linxue adjusted the harness again, fingers numb but precise, redistributing weight so no single carrier would bear too much

The terrace did not feel stable. It felt paused. Stone beneath their boots held with a tension that pressed upward, as if the ground itself were bracing. Dust still drifted through the air in slow, lazy spirals, catching the pale light and making distance hard to judge. Below the terrace, the valley dropped away into shadow so deep it seemed to drink sound. No echoes returned from the collapse behind them. The ridge had not simply fallen. It had been swallowed.Su Yu stayed low, one hand pressed flat against the surface, feeling for vibration. The stone was quiet, but not calm. It carried a faint internal pressure, like something waiting for release. He shifted his weight carefully, then looked ahead. The thin line of stone leading forward was barely wider than a man’s shoulders. It curved slightly, hugging the cliff face before disappearing around a jutting wall of rock.There was no choice.The soldiers tightened formation again, moving without instruction. Exhaustion sat heavy in t

The ledge narrowed as it climbed, pressing the column toward a dark corridor formed by two massive stone walls leaning inward. The air changed immediately as they approached. Wind no longer screamed. It hissed, trapped and redirected by the tight space. Sound behaved strangely here. Footsteps seemed to vanish instead of echoing. Breathing felt louder than movement. The valley had closed its mouth and begun to listen.Su Yu slowed them again. Darkness pooled ahead, thick and uneven, broken only by faint veins of pale stone running along the walls like scars. The ground sloped upward at an uneven angle, forcing careful placement of every step. The stone here was dense but layered, plates pressed together under unimaginable weight. It did not shift easily. When it did, it would not do so gently.The injured soldier was brought forward carefully. Linxue adjusted the harness once more, tightening it so the weight stayed close and low. Her arms trembled from exhaustion, but her hands remain

The ridge ahead rose sharply, jagged and unforgiving, cutting into the darkness like a broken blade. The narrow path they had just crossed ended abruptly at the base of a towering spire of dark stone. Its surface was slick, streaked with veins of mineral that glimmered faintly in the dim light, and sheer enough that a single misstep could send a man plummeting into the blackness below. The wind funneled through the gaps, cold and relentless, carrying a low hum that vibrated through bone and muscle alike.Su Yu moved first, testing each hold with meticulous care. The stone flexed faintly beneath his weight, solid but alive. The column followed in silent synchronization, each step calculated, each shift of weight deliberate. Behind them, the injured soldier remained stable, rotated carefully, his harness adjusted to keep him close to the carriers’ center of balance. Linxue’s hands never left the straps, correcting minor sways before they could become dangerous. Every movement was precis

The spire rose like a jagged spear from the valley floor, impossibly narrow at the top, polished smooth in some places, fractured and sharp in others. Darkness pooled along its base, swallowing the shadows of the ridge behind them. The wind here was relentless, funneling from unseen depths below, slicing sideways and upward, carrying the faint hum of the valley’s awareness. Each gust threatened to throw the soldiers off balance. Every step forward was a negotiation with gravity, stone, and the unseen forces that had made this valley a test of endurance and will.Su Yu led the column with meticulous care, hand pressed against the stone whenever possible, testing flex, pressure, and stability. The injured soldier remained at the center, rotated continuously, harness adjusted to perfection. Linxue moved alongside him, hands constantly correcting micro-swings, ensuring that even the slightest shift in weight would not destabilize the team. Carriers followed in perfect synchronization, mus