Chapter 190: Across the Gaps

They stayed at the edge of the first platform for a long time.

The stone under their feet was dry and solid. Beyond it, the first gap stretched wider than a comfortable jump, filled with the same dense fog that had filled the third frame in the white room. The fog sat perfectly still, level with the top of the platforms, offering no sign of depth or what waited underneath.

Lian crouched and picked up a small piece of broken stone from near the wall. He tossed it into the middle of the nearest gap. The stone disappeared into the fog without a sound. No splash. No impact. Nothing rose to investigate.

Elara watched the spot where it had vanished.

“No reaction,” she said.

Ryzek’s eyes remained on the sequence of platforms ahead. Some of the gaps were narrow enough to step across. Others were clearly too wide, especially with the injuries they were still carrying. The platforms themselves were uneven in size. A few were broad and stable. Others looked barely large enough for two people to stand on at the same time.

“We cross one at a time,” Ryzek said. “No one jumps until the previous person is stable. If something happens in the fog, the others stay on solid ground.”

Lian nodded and moved first.

He backed up three steps on the starting platform, then ran forward and pushed off hard. His boots cleared the edge of the fog and landed cleanly on the second platform. The stone held. No crack. No shift. He moved to the far side of the platform and turned back to watch the others.

Elara crossed next. Her jump was controlled and precise despite the wound on her thigh. She landed without trouble and joined Lian.

Ryzek followed last. The Veyrani made the distance look easy, though the landing still sent a visible jolt through his injured leg.

They repeated the process.

The next gap was narrower. They stepped across it without jumping. The one after that was wider again. Lian took it first once more, landing harder this time as the distance forced more effort from his damaged ribs. He stayed down on one knee for a moment after landing, breathing carefully, then rose and gave the signal.

Platform by platform, they moved deeper into the chamber-like stretch.

The fog never reacted. It did not rise. It did not thin. It simply waited between the stones, silent and opaque. The blue embers continued to drift near the ceiling, giving just enough light to judge each distance.

Halfway across, the pattern changed.

The next platform was smaller than the others, and the gap before it was the widest they had faced so far. Lian stood at the edge and measured it with his eyes. A clean jump was still possible, but there would be almost no margin for error.

He backed up as far as the current platform allowed, then ran and launched himself across.

His lead foot hit the edge of the small platform. The stone held, but the landing was tight. He had to drop into a low crouch and plant both hands to keep from tipping backward into the fog. For a moment he stayed there, weight forward, until his balance settled.

Only then did he stand and move aside for the others.

Elara crossed with less trouble, though her boots landed close to the same edge. Ryzek came last. His jump was strong, but the limited space forced him to stop hard, crystalline ridges scraping lightly as he caught his balance.

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