The shields of runes all drew back into the stone tablet. The Underground Palace collapsed, and the sand above sank inward, exposing ruins that had lain silent for ten thousand years.
The entire Secret Realm shook with it.
Strange phenomena arose everywhere.
Dark clouds gathered over the desert, where no rain had fallen in ten thousand years.
Boom-
Lightning flashed and thunder roared. Rain poured down.
As though the sky were weeping.
Raindrops struck Lou Yunxiao's face.
Cold. Relentless.
His consciousness slowly returned.
Almost at once, Lou Yunxiao opened his eyes.
Within his field of vision-
There was no longer darkness. He could see light again.
He could see the dark clouds, the raindrops, the birds sheltering from the rain.
He pressed a hand to his chest.
Thump-
Thump-
The heart he had shattered with his ice sword was beating hard...
-When you open your eyes again, you'll be able to see.
-And right here... it'll go thump, thump, too.
-Then we'll escape together.
A Ke!
Where was A Ke?
Lou Yunxiao scrambled to his feet, stumbling before he could steady himself. His foot landed in the soft, muddy sand, twisting at the ankle, and he turned to look behind him.
He saw the shattered remains of the Underground Palace, its vast complex of buildings exposed beneath the sky.
Only the towering stone tablet remained standing, like a tomb.
"A Ke-"
Lou Yunxiao staggered toward it, guided by the Pale Silver Sword.
He dropped to his knees beside the stone tablet.
He frantically clawed at the muddy sand with his hands.
He faintly heard the Red Cloud Sword humming.
"Red Cloud!"
Lou Yunxiao moved aside the stone slab pinning down the Red Cloud Sword, revealing the person lying on the ground.
Rain streamed down.
It washed away the dried blood