The western skies were unnatural.
Even before reaching the canyon, Seo Joon could see the distortion in the horizon. Black lightning tore across crimson-stained clouds, striking the same distant point over and over again.
Each strike felt deliberate.
Like a hammer hitting a weakened chain.
A flying spirit vessel carved through the wind at high speed.
At its bow stood Seo Joon and Seol Ah, robes fluttering violently. Behind them, three inner court elders maintained a steady formation, their combined auras shielding the vessel from the unstable atmosphere.
Below, the land grew barren.
Forests disappeared.
Rivers ran dry.
The closer they approached the fracture site, the thinner spiritual energy became — replaced by something colder.
Heavier.
Distorted.
The lead elder's expression hardened.
"The corruption has already spread this far."
Cracks zigzagged across the earth like scars. In some places, black mist seeped from the ground, poisoning the air. Cultivators would not survive long in such conditions.
Seo Joon's Abyssal Heart reacted faintly.
Not violently.
But attentively.
It recognized this energy.
The spirit vessel descended at the edge of the canyon.
The moment Seo Joon stepped onto the ground, a tremor passed through the earth.
Boom.
Another bolt of black lightning struck the canyon's center.
The impact released a shockwave that bent space briefly before snapping back into place.
Seol Ah narrowed her eyes.
"It's not natural lightning."
The elder nodded grimly.
"It's forced resonance. They're striking the seal from the outside."
They advanced carefully.
As they neared the canyon's edge, the full sight revealed itself.
The canyon was enormous — miles wide and impossibly deep. Its walls were carved not by erosion, but by force. Ancient symbols glowed faintly along the stone, half-erased by time.
At the very center of the canyon floor—
A massive circular seal array lay embedded in the rock.
It was cracked.
Thin lines of darkness seeped from the fractures like bleeding wounds.
And above it hovered several black-robed figures.
Shadow Abyss Cult.
They were channeling energy into a ritual formation suspended in the sky, redirecting the black lightning into precise points along the seal.
Each strike widened the cracks.
One of the cultists noticed the newcomers.
"They've arrived."
The ritual did not stop.
Instead, a group of elite cult members rose to intercept.
The air tightened instantly.
The elders stepped forward.
"Protect the vessel," one commanded.
Seo Joon stepped ahead instead.
"I can feel it," he said quietly.
From within the cracked seal, a deep resonance pulsed in rhythm with his heart.
It wasn't calling him.
It was responding.
The first cultist attacked.
Dark spears formed from condensed corruption, raining down from above. The elders intercepted most of them, their techniques illuminating the canyon in flashes of gold and blue.
But one spear slipped through, aimed directly at Seo Joon.
He did not dodge.
The Abyssal Heart pulsed once.
Dark energy rose from his body like a quiet tide.
The spear disintegrated before touching him.
The cultist faltered midair.
"You are synchronizing faster than predicted…"
Seo Joon's gaze sharpened.
He stepped forward and leapt into the sky.
His movement tore through the unstable air, leaving a ripple of darkness behind him.
He struck the nearest cultist with a palm infused with controlled Abyssal energy.
The impact did not explode outward.
It imploded.
The cultist's defensive aura collapsed inward, crushing him into unconsciousness before he fell into the canyon wall.
More cultists attacked simultaneously.
This time, they formed a rotating formation, channeling black mist into a concentrated beam aimed directly at Seo Joon's chest.
They were testing resonance again.
Forcing contact.
Seo Joon felt the pull intensify.
From below, the cracked seal glowed brighter.
The elders shouted warnings.
"Do not let it synchronize!"
But Seo Joon closed his eyes briefly.
He remembered the Shadow Refinement Chamber.
The ancient presence.
The origin power.
Instead of resisting the pull—
He redirected it.
The incoming beam of corruption met his aura and began flowing around him instead of into him.
He guided the energy downward.
Straight into the cracked seal.
The canyon shook violently.
The cultists froze in shock.
"What is he doing?!"
Seo Joon descended toward the canyon floor, landing directly before the fractured array.
He placed his hand over one of the glowing cracks.
The Abyssal Heart beat slowly.
Steady.
Measured.
He pushed controlled origin-infused Abyssal energy into the seal.
Not to break it.
To stabilize it.
The crack trembled.
Then—
Stopped widening.
The black lightning from above struck again.
But this time, the energy dispersed across the surface of the seal without deepening the fracture.
The cult's ritual destabilized instantly.
"No!" one of them shouted.
"He's reinforcing it!"
High above, hidden within a rift of darkness, the cult leader observed silently.
His layered voice murmured,
"He chooses preservation…"
The canyon continued shaking as Seo Joon maintained contact with the seal. Sweat formed on his forehead. The pressure from within the fracture pushed back against him like a living force trying to escape.
And for a brief second—
He felt it clearly.
A vast presence.
Watching him from the other side.
Not rage.
Not chaos.
Awareness.
His eyes snapped open.
The presence pressed once against the seal.
Testing him.
Seo Joon did not retreat.
He pushed back.
Calm.
Controlled.
Unyielding.
After several long seconds—
The pressure receded.
The crack dimmed.
The lightning in the sky weakened.
The cultists hesitated.
Their ritual array shattered under the destabilized resonance.
The remaining elites retreated quickly, vanishing into shadows before the elders could pursue.
Silence fell across the canyon.
The black lightning ceased.
Only faint smoke rose from the damaged ground.
Seo Joon removed his hand slowly from the seal.
The cracks had not vanished.
But they had stopped spreading.
For now.
The lead elder descended beside him, eyes wide with disbelief.
"You stabilized an ancient lock."
Seo Joon looked down at the faintly glowing symbols beneath his feet.
"It wasn't trying to destroy me," he said quietly.
"It was testing me."
Seol Ah stepped closer.
"What did you feel?"
He paused.
"Something waiting."
Far below the seal, beyond layers of ancient chains, the colossal eye opened once more.
And this time—
It did not push against the barrier.
It simply watched.
Above the canyon, dark clouds slowly began to part.
But the air remained heavy.
The first lock had held.
Yet both sides now understood something new.
Seo Joon was not merely a key to break the seal.
He might be the only one capable of deciding its fate.
And that truth would change everything.