Daoist temple · underground palace
The hall grew ever darker and more obscure, a profound gloom spreading in every direction. Statues stood in ring after ring, with the emperor's statue, the Dragon Maiden Statue, and the Nine-Tailed Fox at the very center.
Perhaps it was an illusion, but they seemed to carry a faint glow, making everything within a foot of them clearly visible. As the distance increased, however, that light seemed to be swallowed by the surrounding darkness, until all that remained farther away was a spine-chilling abyss.
Another faint ring of light lay on the floor, growing increasingly distinct. Sensing its change, the man in blue slowly turned around. A drop of blood fell from his fingertip, spreading a spot of brilliant red across the floor.
Boom!
The light flared abruptly. The spreading scarlet seemed to activate everything, and an invisible circle expanded into three concentric rings around the man in blue. A triangle within them gradually lit up.
Boom! A muffled peal of thunder sounded in the sky. Strangely, there was neither rain nor snow. It sounded like wheels rumbling through the arch of a bridge, its echoes lingering so long that they could be heard even in the underground palace.
Apart from this manifestation of the Thunder Method, the masked man in blue stood motionless, his gaze seeming to pierce the void and take in distant events.
"The Thunder Method, the Brahma Deity, the dragon's son-they have all gathered... we can begin..." The man in blue withdrew his gaze and murmured in a low, slightly hoarse voice.
It seemed he was not merely muttering to himself, but speaking to someone who was not present. Yet in this vast underground palace, there was no one besides him, only ring upon ring of lifeless statues.
Firelight flickered. Though