THE LATE AWAKENER: NEVER MEANT TO RISE

Chapter 2: Descent into Darkness

Alexander Kane hit the bottom hard.

The impact drove the air from his lungs and sent fresh pain exploding through his already battered body. He rolled across jagged rocks, scraping his arms and legs, before slamming into a cold stone wall. For several long seconds he lay there, gasping, every breath feeling like knives in his chest.

The suppressing formation in the abyss pressed down on him like a mountain, squeezing his meridians and making even the smallest movement feel impossible. His Qi Refining First Layer cultivation offered almost no resistance.

Above him, the tiny circle of light from the outer sect square had vanished completely. No one would come looking. Victor Lang was probably still laughing with the crowd.

Alexander pushed himself up on shaking arms, ignoring the blood trickling from fresh cuts. “One more day,” he muttered under his breath, repeating the thought that had followed him down. “Just needed one more day…”

He forced his eyes open and looked around. The cave he had landed in was dimly lit by a faint, pulsing blue glow coming from a small alcove a few meters away. A jade slip rested on a natural stone pedestal, its surface swirling with ancient characters that seemed to shift when he stared too long.

“That… that has to be something useful,” he whispered, voice hoarse. “Even if it’s just a scrap of energy, it might buy me time.”

He crawled forward on hands and knees, each movement sending fresh waves of pain through his crushed meridians. The suppressing formation grew heavier the closer he got to the jade slip, as if the abyss itself wanted to keep the treasure hidden.

“Come on… just a little further,” he told himself, reaching out with trembling fingers.

A deep, guttural roar echoed from the deeper part of the cave.

Alexander froze. The sound vibrated through the stone floor, low and hungry. Dust trickled from the ceiling.

“Not now,” he muttered. “Not when I’m this close.”

He stretched his arm farther, fingertips brushing the edge of the jade slip. The moment he made contact, a rush of fragmented images flooded his mind — visions of long-dead cultivators, betrayals in grand halls, powerful techniques being stolen and hidden away. Scenes that looked disturbingly similar to his own expulsion.

The roar came again, much closer this time. Heavy footsteps shook the ground.

Alexander yanked his hand back slightly but kept contact with the jade slip. “Whatever you are, give me something I can use. 

Anything!”

The beast burst into view, a massive scaled creature with glowing red eyes and rows of jagged teeth. Saliva dripped from its jaws as it locked onto him, clearly seeing an easy meal.

“You picked the wrong day to be hungry,” Alexander growled, even as fear tightened his chest. He kept one hand on the jade slip while scrambling backward with the other. “I’ve already been thrown away once today. I’m not dying to you too.”

The beast lunged, claws scraping stone as it closed the distance in a single bound.

Alexander rolled to the side at the last second, the creature’s jaws snapping shut where his head had been. Pain flared in his side from the rough landing, but he refused to let go of the jade slip.

“Come on!” he shouted at the glowing artifact. “If you’re worth anything, show me! I’ve got nothing left to lose!”

Another roar filled the cave. The beast turned, tail whipping across the floor and forcing Alexander to duck low. He could feel the jade slip growing warmer in his grip, the ancient energy inside it starting to stir against the abyss’s suppression.

The creature reared up, preparing to strike again.

Alexander stared straight into its glowing eyes, breath coming in short bursts.

“I said… give me something!”

The jade slip pulsed once, bright and sharp, sending a tiny thread of unstable energy into his meridians just as the beast’s claws came slashing down.