Ten thousand times normal gravity bore down like solid blocks of lead, crushing Tang Wulin's bones and will inch by inch.
His vision began to blur. He seemed to hear the brittle crack of breaking bones beside his ears—the anguished cry of a body on the brink of collapse.
I can't... give up...
He roared inwardly, but his consciousness was like a candle guttering in the wind, flickering precariously amid the raging storm of gravity.
At last, that taut God Root snapped completely.
Darkness surged in like a tide, swallowing his consciousness whole.
He had no idea how much time had passed. Perhaps an instant, perhaps an eternity.
Tang Wulin felt as though he had dreamed a very long dream. There had been no gravity in it, no pressure, only an empty expanse of white.
When he opened his eyes again, the terrifying gravity that had nearly ground him to dust was gone.
In its place came the cool touch of a breeze against his face.
"Where... is this?"
Tang Wulin sat up in bewilderment.
He found himself in a strange space. Beneath him lay a checkered board, smooth and warm as jade, its alternating black and white squares stretching as far as he could see. The sun, moon, and Stars hung overhead, yet seemed frozen in place, no longer moving.
Opposite him sat a woman.
She possessed an exquisite, tranquil beauty.
She wore a long green dress, its hem spreading across the board like flowing water, as though she were one with this realm. Her long brown hair was loosely pinned up, with a few strands falling beside her ears, lending her an air of languid ease.
Her face was extraordinarily beautiful—not with a sharp beauty that dazzled the passing years, but with a gentleness that had seen