Chapter 74: The Gate of Echoes

The air was thick with the damp scent of soil, mixed with the settling dust from the collapse. The underground ruins had once again sunk into silence.

Lin Han pressed a hand to his forehead, leaning against a half-collapsed stone wall. His chest heaved violently, as if he had just clawed his way back from the brink of an abyss.

Noya's hands were still trembling, her gaze unfocused, as if her mind hadn't yet fully returned from the illusions. Ah Rong, on the other hand, had slumped to the ground, gritting his teeth, his face pale as a sheet.

"That… thing… what was it?" Ah Rong's voice was hoarse, laced with lingering fear.

Lin Han lifted his head, his eyes dark as he stared at the collapsed pit in the distance. His voice was low:

"It hasn't fully awakened."

"But it has opened its eyes."

The words made the air feel even heavier. Noya bit her lip, speaking after a long pause:

"We… have to stop it."

But before they could catch their breath, a sudden tremor rumbled above them. It was the sound of an ancient mechanism being triggered. From the cracks in the distant stone walls, a dim, crimson light began to seep through.

Lin Han's eyes narrowed, his entire body tensing in alarm.

"Oh, come on…" Ah Rong took a deep breath, gritting his teeth. "Again?!"

The crimson light slowly outlined the shape of an ancient door embedded in the stone wall.

It wasn't supposed to exist—yet now, as if responding to an unseen will, it had begun to awaken. Strange symbols carved into its surface flickered with an eerie glow, like forbidden runes being activated.

Noya's eyes widened in shock.

"The Gate of Echoes!"

"The what now?" Ah Rong froze, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Lin Han's expression turned grim. He had heard of it before.

Legends spoke of rare gateways hidden within ancient ruins—called the Gate of Echoes. It was not an ordinary door, but rather a boundary lost to time itself. Stepping through it would cause past and present to intertwine, unraveling the very rules of reality.

And now, it stood before them.

"The gate is… calling to us." Noya's voice trembled, as though something unseen was pulling at her soul.

The door was not just an entrance to the unknown. It felt aware—watching them, waiting for them to decide.

The air grew colder. Lin Han's heartbeat pounded in his chest. He knew that crossing this threshold meant far more than just danger—it meant stepping into the unknowable.

But they had no choice.

Because beyond this door, the truth awaited.

"Let's go."

Lin Han took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Noya and Ah Rong exchanged a glance before following without hesitation.

The moment their feet crossed the threshold—

—the world twisted.

Darkness swallowed them whole.

Time lost all meaning.

Lin Han's consciousness flickered. When he regained awareness, he found himself standing in a distorted space.

This was neither the real world nor a dream. The landscape before him was a chaotic blend of fragmented memories—warped horizons, flickering shadows of ruined buildings, and an air so suffocatingly silent that it pressed against his skin.

"Where… are we?" Ah Rong's voice came from behind.

Lin Han turned—only to freeze.

—Noya was gone.

"Noya?!" Ah Rong's voice rose in alarm, his body tensing.

Lin Han's brows furrowed. His gut twisted.

"We've been separated."

This space did not follow the logic of reality.

But an ominous feeling crept over him.

Then, out of the silence, a voice spoke.

It was deep. Ancient. As if it had traveled across eons just to reach them.

"…You have arrived at last."

Lin Han's breath hitched. His head snapped up—just in time to see the void ahead split open.

A massive figure emerged from the rift.

It was something that defied human comprehension.

Its body was a shifting collage of fragmented histories, its colossal form barely visible through the twisting void. Its "face" was obscured by swirling darkness, but one thing stood out—

—its eyes.

They were vast, bottomless voids.

And they were watching them.

A deep chill crawled up Lin Han's spine. He knew this was no ordinary entity.

This was something that should never have existed.

Ah Rong's face was deathly pale. He opened his mouth, his voice barely above a whisper:

"Lin Han… what is that?"

Lin Han's voice was quiet, yet firm:

"…Something we were never meant to see."

"You have gazed upon a truth not meant for mortals."

The voice resonated directly in their minds, devoid of emotion, ancient and cold.

"And so, as the price for your intrusion—"

Before the sentence could finish, the entire space shook violently.

Lin Han's heart clenched. He grabbed Ah Rong's wrist, his voice sharp:

"RUN—!"

But there was nowhere to run.

The void closed in.

And in the next instant—

—the darkness consumed them whole.

The Gate of Echoes had sealed shut.