Kaelen stepped forward, inspecting the charred residue of the silver needle. "The platform consumes divine energy like a bottomless pit, seeking to devour whatever life touches its surface!"Melvin focused his internal perception upon his lower abdomen, evaluating the tension along the crimson thread fused into his sixth meridian.The magnetic pull vibrating within his Dantian maintained an absolute, unvarying frequency.The energetic draw failed to intensify when Melvin stepped closer to the platform, and the tension failed to slacken when he retreated several paces backward.Melvin deduced the underlying architectural limitation, explaining the mechanics to Kaelen. "This colossal formation cannot forcibly extract my core from afar, meaning it can exclusively receive my spiritual vessel when I step upon the central dais willingly."Kaelen clenched his fists, his voice ringing with fierce defiance. "Then we hold the absolute advantage, Supreme Master, so long as you refuse to cross th

Archivist Lu watched the young physician advance toward the next cluster of stone-bound captives, his calm facade shifting for the very first time. A subtle, cold tension tightened the corners of Lu's lips, marking the first authentic emotional reaction the architect had displayed since arriving.Archivist Lu acknowledged the diagnostic defeat within his gaze. "You perceive the architecture of my existence with remarkable clarity, yet understanding a machine grants zero immunity from its wheels."Archivist Lu stepped down off the perimeter of the black disc, planting his linen boots directly upon the granite of the third terraced ring. The exact second his physical weight settled upon the stone, the parasitic drain across the entire nine-mile crater doubled in violent intensity. A suffocating crimson vortex surged through the terraced floorboards, dragging hundreds of captive souls toward total biological expiration.Melvin expanded his diagnostic senses toward the fourth inner pedest

"My legs remain fully functional, Supreme Master, and the circulation is returning rapidly," Kaelen announced with immense relief, pulling his armored boots entirely free from the solid trap.Melvin placed his glowing palm directly over Kaelen's leather cuirass to scan the thoracic cavity. "Two of your four knitted rib fractures sustained heavy muscular strain, zero bones fractured a second time.""I absolutely refuse to ascend these terraces while you face this crazy demonic trial alone!" Kaelen gripped his black iron sword tightly, his jaw set with fierce, unwavering determination.Melvin issued a strict medical decree, "You may remain on the explicit condition that you exclusively work the outermost ring and carry only one human body at a time.""I accept your tactical parameters completely, sir, and I shall move these civilians to safety," Kaelen vowed solemnly, hoisting the unconscious worker onto his broad shoulders.Melvin descended to the fourth terraced ring, finding a flat p

Melvin observed the vast ring of human souls surrounding the nine-mile abyss, feeling their combined vitality resonating through the earth."Recalculating the energetic formula against nine hundred additional human pulses grants me roughly fifty minutes upon the focal point," Melvin murmured to himself.Melvin stepped forward with majestic poise, leaving the lower terrace behind."The required supply has arrived, Lu, so witness the true application of Sovereign medicine!" Melvin shouted toward the grey-robed avatar.Archivist Lu offered a polite, silent bow, gesturing gracefully toward the central obsidian disc.Melvin walked calmly onto the black platform, approaching the towering pillar of crimson light.He positioned himself precisely upon the geometric center of the dais, allowing the subterranean array to engage his spiritual vessel.The central socket seated upon his celestial core on immediate contact, producing a sensation completely dissimilar to a physical wound."The connec

Chloe Sterling woke up upon the third terrace, rubbing her temples in profound chronological confusion. "My memory ends entirely with the armed convoy stopping on the federal highway," Chloe murmured, staring at the alien golden sky above her.Manager Lin extracted herself from the softened granite, walking out on her own unsteady legs. "I require zero assistance and zero stretchers, okay!" Lin ordered the approaching federal medics, waving them away twice with fierce independence.Evelyn Cross remained unconscious upon the black disc, her cardiac rhythm dropping off the rigid forty beats a minute mark inside the first hour. Melvin checked Evelyn's wrist pulse, finding a natural, organic drift of three or four beats per minute."Her vital signs fluctuate naturally again, proving she is a human soul again as opposed to a mechanical socket," Melvin declared, observing the stabilizing patient.Kaelen looked toward the northern horizon, his voice trembling with dread. "Patriarch Xue's dem