The descent had grown strangely quiet.
Too quiet.
Leon noticed it first. His boots hit the flawless white steps in steady rhythm as the void stretched endlessly around them, and still nothing stirred.
No shrieks. No claws. No whispers from the dark.
"It's like the corrupt creatures are avoiding the steps," he finally said.
The Dowager didn't slow. Her white robes flowed behind her as she answered over her shoulder, voice calm and steady.
"It's because of how the steps were formed."
Leon's attention sharpened, as he listened.
"After the First Emperor slew the Beast God, he used its bones to build these steps."
That stole the breath from the squad.
Even Leon blinked, momentarily stunned, before his gaze swept over the wide expanse beneath his feet.
The Steps of Liberation stretched endlessly downward, wide enough to fit ten thousand warships side by side.
His mind churned at the thought.
"So he must've been a really big guy," Leon muttered.
