Chapter 188: Weighing the Paths

The three frames stayed open.

Lian stood in the middle of the white room with the other two, staring at the choices the tomb had given them. The dark corridor. The flooded chamber. The fog that refused to show anything useful. No new marks appeared. No voice came to explain the rules further. The place had finished talking.

Ryzek walked closer to the first frame and stopped a short distance from it. He studied the long stretch of dark stone and the blue embers drifting near the ceiling.

“This one is narrow,” he said. “If something comes at us, we see it early. But if the path closes behind us or something blocks the way forward, we have no space to work with.”

He moved to the second frame next. The still water and white pillars reflected each other in perfect silence.

“This one is open. Too open. Nothing is moving. That usually means one of two things. Either it is safe, or whatever is in there does not need to move until something steps inside.”

Elara stayed near the third frame for a while. The fog shifted and thinned in places, but never long enough to show a clear path or a clear threat. She finally stepped back.

“This one is useless. No information. We would be walking in blind. We should drop it.”

Lian and Ryzek both agreed without much discussion. The fog frame stayed open, but none of them treated it as a real option anymore.

That left two.

They spent a long time going back and forth between the corridor and the water chamber. Ryzek pointed out that the corridor limited the number of enemies that could attack at once. Elara pointed out that the water could hide depth, traps, or things waiting under the surface. Lian listened more than he spoke, walking from one frame to the other, checking the edges, the light, and the way the images sat inside the frames.

No one rushed the decision.

Their injuries were still fresh. The pills had only taken the edge off. Resources were low. Whatever waited beyond either frame would have to be faced with what they had left. Choosing wrong would not be a small mistake.

Ryzek eventually folded his arms and looked at the other two.

“We stay together. That part is not up for discussion. Whatever we pick, all three of us go through the same one.”

Elara nodded. Lian did the same.

They returned to the first frame again. The dark corridor stretched on, quiet and clear. Then they walked back to the second frame and watched the still water for a longer time. The pillars stood without marks. The surface of the water never rippled.

Time passed.

Finally Lian spoke.

“The corridor. We take the path we can actually see.”

Elara looked at the dark stone passage for a few more seconds, then gave a short nod. Ryzek offered no argument. His eyes stayed on the corridor, already measuring the width and the distance to the first bend.

The choice was made.

Lian stepped up to the edge of the first frame and stopped there. The image of the corridor sat in front of him like open air. He did not cross yet.

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