The Gate of Finality

Only rapid breathing could be heard in the storage room. Lu Yuan stared at the symbol of chains Entanglement the door on the animal hide, his fingertips tapping on his knee. Yun Youzi's words, "The Gate of Finality," hit everyone's ears like a block of ice.

Lin Xiao licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, his voice low. "Elder Yun, explain yourself."

Yun Youzi's aged fingers hovered above the symbol, trembling slightly. "In the oldest fragments... almost mythically, it's mentioned." He raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "It's usually associated with ' the Shackles of the world,' 'untouchable taboos,' and 'the gate of destruction and rebirth.' What it specifically refers to, no one knows."

Shen Moxin adjusted her glasses. "The description is vague, but extremely targeted. Destruction and rebirth coexist, signifying enormous risks and rewards." She pointed to the animal hide, "' The Eye of Shadow ' clearly possesses more specific information."

Lu Yuan spoke, his voice steady. "The information is right here." He looked at the black-clad leader slumped in the corner, his eyes unfocused.

The interrogation did not take too long.

Lu Yuan carried the person to a closed stone chamber nearby. He didn't torture him. He moved a rock and sat opposite him, slowly releasing his Soul Power, a subtle and gentle suggestion, combined with the torchlight and his overly calm eyes.

Shen Moxin was recording outside. Yun Youzi leaned against the door, closing his eyes to rest.

At first, the middle-aged Soul Master pursed his lips tightly. Lu Yuan wasn't in a hurry.

"Your goal is the Source Seed, right?"

"..."

"We still need to find clues about the 'door'."

The prisoner's eyelids twitched.

Lu Yuan continued, speaking calmly. "One of the orders has a very high priority: if any 'door' is found, especially if the ' Gate of Finality ' marker shows signs of activation, stop it at all costs. If necessary, destroy the core of the ruins."

The middle-aged Soul Master suddenly looked up, his pupils contracting.

Lin Xiao chuckled. "You guessed right."

The pressure builds up little by little. Soul Power subtly seeps into the cracks of the mind.

Half an hour later, the prisoner broke down.

He collapsed, and began to explain in broken sentences.

They are "Squad Seven Four," an action team under "The Eye of Shadow." Their primary mission is to retrieve or destroy the "Source Seed" and experimental records. Their secondary mission is to investigate clues about the "Gate's" activity.

"The higher-ups... are very wary." His voice was hoarse. "' The Gate of Finality '... cannot be touched. The orders say that if the markers are active, or if the energy resonance is close to the fluctuations of the 'Gate'... use every means possible, even if it means blowing up the ruins, to stop it."

What exactly is it?

The prisoner shook his head blankly. "I don't know. I've only heard higher-ups mention it... It could lead to a 'collapse of the rules,' the source of the disaster."

I asked a few more questions, but I knew very little. The team operates independently, transmitting signals regularly; failure to return on time is considered a failure.

After asking the questions, Lu Yuan signaled for him to be taken away and placed under strict guard.

The stone chamber returned to silence. The torches crackled.

Shen Moxin closed the notebook. "'Rules collapse'... that description is terrifying."

Yun Youzi opened his eyes and slowly said, "Ancient records are often exaggerated, but there's no smoke without fire. For an organization dedicated to eradicating forbidden knowledge to be so wary... the danger is beyond imagination."

Lu Yuan didn't speak. He walked back to the stone platform, his gaze falling on the symbol again. Then he took out the simplified map of the middle-level ruins given to him by Yun Youzi and spread it out beside him.

Move your finger along the markings on the sketch to compare the structure.

Lin Xiao leaned closer. "What are you looking for?"

"Location."

The charcoal lines gradually overlapped with the outline of the sketch. Shen Moxin and Yun Youzi gathered around. The air seemed to freeze.

Lu Yuan's finger stopped.

Point to a region on the simplified diagram: an energy disorder zone, a vertical fissure, and remnants of experimental failure.

It was deep within that failed laboratory where they discovered the "Source Seed" and suffered spatial trauma.

On the sketch, the symbol "Gate of Finality" is marked precisely on the blank edge representing the unknown space below the rift.

Lu Yuan raised his head.

"Below that crevice," he said softly, "Could there really be a 'door'?"

Shen Moxin gasped. "The fluctuations of the Source Seed... could it be the Key to approaching or activating that 'door'?"

Lin Xiao licked his canine teeth, his vertical pupils flashing with a mixture of excitement and wariness. "Interesting. We've gotten close to the big guy."

Lu Yuan felt his heart pounding heavily, a mixture of excitement at approaching the answer and wariness of facing an abyss. If what lay behind the "door" was truly an uncontrollable danger that could lead to the "collapse of the rules," they would be playing with fire on the edge of a cliff.

But he couldn't resist. This temptation pointed directly to the underlying logic of how the world works, and directly to the "Shackles" he was pursuing.

He looked at Yun Youzi. "Elder Yun, what do you think?"

Yun Youzi remained silent for a long time. The firelight illuminated his deeply wrinkled face. Finally, he spoke slowly, each word carefully chosen.

"The risks... are enormous. Unprecedented." He paused, then changed the subject, "But... if this is truly the relic of ancient sages attempting to touch the core of the ' Shackles,' then what lies behind the 'door' might not be pure destruction."

He looked at Lu Yuan, a complex light in his aged eyes. "It could be the hidden truth. Or... the starting point of another path."

"The key is," he emphasized, "Whether we have the ability to control it, rather than be consumed by it."

His gaze fell on Lu Yuan. "Your research, your understanding of the nature of energy, and your ' Key ' trait... these may be our only possible security credentials at present. But these alone are far from enough."

Yun Youzi looked up at the dark stone chamber ceiling, as if he could penetrate the rock layers and see into the deep cracks.

"We need to prepare more. We must better understand the stability of that fissure and the exact connection between the ' Source Seed ' and it. Approaching rashly could be suicidal."

Lu Yuan listened silently. The rhythm of his tapping changed; it became faster and lighter.

The knocking stopped.

"Then let's figure this out first." He stood up, his voice regaining its composure. "Start with the energy fluctuation patterns of the rift, and the resonance patterns between the ' Source Seed ' and the energy field of the ruins. The prisoner's confession and this sketch have given us direction, but also served as a warning."

He looked at the crowd.

"Until everything is ready, that rift is designated as the highest forbidden zone."