The Infant Living Ghost Pagoda drifted nearer and bent its massive head toward the maze of crevices. For a breath it only stared, its face tightening with something like suspicion.
Through every segment of its warped body, it caught the faint, distinct signatures of four living beings hidden in the stone.
It moved closer to Fay, Oswin, Jenkii, and Jackson.
All four began circulating qi through their organs, forcing blood and breath into stillness, willing their hearts to slow.
Jackson went further than the rest. His eyes glazed over as he used the Sanguine Triumvirate Arts to stop his heart outright.
For all the backwardness of Samsara, the cultists had created a monstrous and brilliant method. Too many techniques could be folded into that single art, and this was one of them.
The creature licked its lips. Then it frowned.
Its steel flesh began to press and reshape itself, forcing its bulk toward the angled cracks above the four disciples.
