CHAPTER 13: The Whispering Pages

Their footsteps echoed across the ancient chamber as Xiao Feng and Chen Hao stepped inside. Unlike the treasure room, this space was devoid of gold or jewels. No traps. No Watchers. Just silence—an eerie, thoughtful silence that seemed to watch them.

At the center stood a stone pedestal, cracked with time. Upon it rested a book unlike any they had ever seen.

Thick. Heavy. Its cover was wrapped in rusted bronze chains, and the leather binding was so dark it seemed to absorb the torchlight. Strange symbols moved along the edges, as if alive, constantly shifting like whispers between languages long forgotten.

Chen Hao furrowed his brow. "This room… it's too quiet."

Xiao Feng tilted his head. "Something's here. It's not treasure. It's knowledge."

Drawn forward by something unseen, Xiao Feng reached out. As his fingers grazed the cold metal, a thin, jagged shard hidden in the chain nicked his palm. Blood welled up instantly—one drop falling onto the cover of the book.

And then, everything changed.

The chains began to shake. Not violently, but with a slow, deliberate motion—as though they were responding. One by one, the links uncoiled, falling away with metallic clinks that echoed too long in the stillness.

The book opened itself.

A sudden gust of wind swept through the chamber, despite no opening. The torches flickered, and the temperature dropped. Purple smoke began to seep from the book's pages, rising and swirling in the air around Xiao Feng.

Then came the vision.

Xiao Feng's breath caught in his throat as his mind was pulled elsewhere.

He saw nothing at first—only thick, shifting purple smoke. Within it, a blurry silhouette began to emerge.Taller. Shrouded in a long cloak. And behind him—

A dragon.

Not Lei Long.

This one was darker, with glowing silver scales and long, jagged wings. The figure stood with one hand resting on the beast's head. The dragon was calm, reverent even.

Xiao Feng tried to see the figure's face, but the smoke curled too thickly, distorting every detail. Still, he felt something cold press against his spine.

The figure slowly turned.

Just before the vision faded, Xiao Feng glimpsed eyes—bright, piercing, violet—watching him.

And then—

Darkness.

He staggered backward, gasping.

"Xiao Feng!" Chen Hao rushed to steady him. "What did you see?"

Xiao Feng's voice was low, uncertain. "A vision. I couldn't see his face. Only his eyes… and a dragon. A powerful one. I felt like…"

He paused.

"Like he was waiting for me."

Chen Hao looked around nervously. "There's something about this place I don't like. Let's move."

Xiao Feng nodded. As they turned to leave the chamber, a low rumble echoed from the walls. Stone slid aside at the far end, revealing a narrow passageway that led downward—deeper than any part of the Abyss they had yet seen.

But before stepping forward, Xiao Feng turned back. The book behind them had closed itself… and now bore a new line etched in blood-red across its cover:

"You are the key."

Chen Hao read it aloud. "You are the key? What does that mean?"

Xiao Feng didn't respond immediately. His fingers brushed the mark on his palm—the mark that had glowed when the obelisk opened, the mark that now pulsed faintly.

He was about to speak—when suddenly, the flame from Chen Hao's torch vanished. Total darkness.

A whisper echoed through the chamber, not in words, but in feeling. A presence.

And then—

a second voice echoed inside Xiao Feng's mind.

"You've awakened me… and I remember you."

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To Be Continued…

Who was the voice? What did it mean by remembering him? Is Xiao Feng truly the key… or the trigger?

The Abyss has only begun to reveal its truth. And now, something ancient is watching.