Chapter 187: Three Paths

Lian kept his hand inside the recessed print, uncertain whether removing it would close the gates again. The cool pressure against his palm stayed steady and unchanged.

Ryzek moved first.

He walked toward the frames with careful steps, four amber eyes examining each one in turn. Elara followed a few paces behind him, her blade still in hand, though she held it loosely now. Lian waited until both of them had drawn closer before he slowly lifted his hand from the platform. The silver lines on the floor dimmed but did not disappear. The images inside the frames remained clear.

The first frame showed a long corridor of dark stone. Floating blue embers drifted near the ceiling, casting a cold light across the walls. The passage stretched far into the distance before bending out of sight. Nothing moved inside it. The air beyond the frame looked dry and still.

The second frame opened onto a wide chamber filled with calm, dark water. Tall white pillars rose from the water at regular intervals, their surfaces smooth and unmarked. The water reflected the pillars perfectly. There was no visible shore, only the endless shallow expanse and the pillars continuing into the distance until they faded.

The third frame remained the most difficult to read. Dense fog shifted behind the surface, never settling long enough to reveal what lay beyond. Occasionally the fog thinned for a fraction of a second, hinting at uneven ground or broken shapes, but the details never held.

Ryzek stopped in front of the first frame.

“This one is the most straightforward,” he said. “A corridor. Limited space for large threats. But it also means limited room to maneuver if something blocks the path.”

Elara stood before the second frame, studying the water and the white pillars.

“The water is still,” she said. “No current. No obvious movement. That could mean it’s safe... or that whatever lives there doesn’t need to move until something enters.”

Lian remained near the platform, eyes fixed on the third frame. The shifting fog gave him nothing solid to judge. Every time he thought he saw a shape, it dissolved again. Of the three, it offered the least information and the greatest uncertainty.

Ryzek turned away from the corridor image and looked at the other two.

“We have no knowledge of what the tomb considers a proper trial,” he said. “Any of these could be a path of combat, a path of endurance, or something else entirely. Choosing wrong may cost us more than time.”

Elara stepped back from the water chamber and glanced at Lian.

“You were the one measured,” she said. “Did the presence that examined you leave any impression about which path is intended?”

Lian shook his head once.

“No. It only accepted the measure and opened the choices. Nothing more.”

Ryzek folded his arms, crystalline ridges catching the soft light.

“We should not separate,” he said. “Whatever we choose, we choose together.”

Elara nodded. Lian did the same.

Their eyes returned to the three paths.

The dark corridor.

Lian stepped away from the platform and walked slowly toward the frames, stopping at a point where he could see all three at once.

“We need to decide.”

Power Scale / Cultivation Realms (Quick Reminder)

Foundation Realm (Layers 1–9): Body forging, no external Qi.

Circuit Awakening Realm (Early–Peak): First Qi loop, internal bursts.

Core Condensation Realm (Early–Peak): External Qi release, short flight.

Stellar Circuit Realm (1–9 Stars): True flight, Qi armor, energy projection.

Nebula Dominion Realm and higher: Domain control, galaxy-level power, etc

Power Scale Reminder

Lian Yu: Stellar Circuit Star 1.

Elara Voss: Core Condensation Peak

Keep it as reminders