The sensation of falling hit him.
It was nothing like free fall. It felt more like sinking through thick, icy darkness.
There was nothing around him to use as a reference point, only darkness so absolute it could drive a person mad, and a pressure that grew heavier and older by the moment, as though it came from the dawn of the universe.
The pressure did not bear directly on his body. It seeped into his soul, trying to break his will and awaken his deepest fears.
Even Qin Chuan felt his thoughts begin to slow, as though the all-pervading darkness were dragging against them.
"Hmph..."
With a thought, Qin Chuan gathered his mental power and shut out the invasive pressure.
He could tell this darkness was not merely an absence of light. It was a tangible field of energy steeped in negative forces.
The presence below grew clearer: immense and chaotic, yet faintly governed by some unfathomable order. It had an unnerving quality of being alive.
It was as though something lay asleep at the bottom of the Abyss, breathing, each breath stirring the endless darkness.
"An outsider... Another... pitiful soul... craving power..."
A broken thought, like countless overlapping mutters, suddenly sounded in Qin Chuan's mind.
There was no discernible emotion in the voice, only cold, indifferent scrutiny, as though a being far above him were looking down at an insignificant insect.
Qin Chuan's gaze sharpened, but he did not answer.
He knew it was likely a remnant of the sleeping being's will, or perhaps a mental trap.
He focused intently, his senses sweeping the depths below like a finely tuned radar, searching for the slightest fluctuation of energy.
"Your ambition... A firefly in the dark... So conspicuous... And so... small..." The voice returned, carrying an indescribable note of