The pulse beneath the battlefield did not fade.
It continued, slow and steady, like a distant heartbeat.
Kael did not rush toward the center of the basin immediately. Instead, he studied the terrain around the crack. The dark mist was flowing in lines, not randomly. It moved toward several broken pillars positioned in a circular pattern.
Formation anchors.
"This battlefield was sealed intentionally," Kael said.
The imperial scout frowned. "Sealed? By who?"
"By someone who didn't want what's inside to leave."
Silence followed.
The Montrell cultivator looked uneasy. "You think that thing is waking up?"
"It's reacting," Kael replied calmly. "Not fully awake."
He walked toward one of the pillars.
The surface was cracked, but faint symbols were carved into it. Most had faded, but the structure was still intact.
"This isn't just a battlefield," Kael continued. "It's part of a layered formation."
He extended a small amount of Qi and touched the stone carefully.
The pillar vibrated faintly.
Then—
A section of ground several meters away shifted slightly.
The others turned.
A narrow stone stairway revealed itself beneath collapsed debris.
The imperial scout stared. "That wasn't visible before."
"It wasn't meant to be," Kael said.
He stepped toward the opening without hesitation.
"You're going down there?" Montrell asked.
"Yes."
"That could be the source."
"Exactly."
After a brief pause, the others followed.
The stairway descended into darkness.
The air grew colder.
Not freezing—just stale.
As if it had not been disturbed in decades.
Faint blue light began glowing along the walls as they stepped lower. Ancient formation lines activated under their presence.
"Stay close," Kael said calmly.
The Montrell cultivator did not argue this time.
At the bottom, they reached a circular chamber.
Unlike the broken ruins above, this room was intact.
Stone walls smooth.
Formation lines carved deeply into the floor.
At the center—
A suspended black crystal.
Roughly the size of a human torso.
Dark energy pulsed inside it.
Slow.
Heavy.
Contained.
The heartbeat they felt above came from this.
The imperial scout whispered, "That's not an Azure Core…"
"No," Kael replied. "It's something older."
He stepped closer.
The formation beneath the crystal was layered and complex. Several sections had cracked. Time had weakened it.
And their presence above had likely accelerated the strain.
Montrell swallowed. "Can we destroy it?"
Kael studied the formation carefully.
"If we destroy it without stabilizing the seal, whatever is inside disperses."
"And if we leave it?"
"It will break on its own eventually."
Silence filled the chamber.
A tremor ran through the room.
Cracks along the floor widened slightly.
Dark mist leaked from beneath the crystal.
Kael felt it clearly now.
Not just residual battlefield energy.
Consciousness.
Weak.
Fragmented.
But present.
Something ancient was trapped inside that core.
And it was testing the seal.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from the stairway.
Another team had found the chamber.
Aric entered first.
Behind him were two other cultivators, both injured slightly.
Aric's gaze locked onto the black crystal.
"So you found it," he said calmly.
"Yes," Kael replied.
The tension in the chamber rose.
Two strongest candidates.
One unstable seal.
Ancient unknown inside.
Aric stepped forward slowly.
"This wasn't mentioned in expedition briefing."
"No," Kael agreed.
Aric looked at the cracked formation lines.
"This is beyond Core Formation level."
"Yes."
Another tremor shook the chamber.
A fracture spread across the crystal's surface.
A faint whisper echoed through the room.
Not sound.
Pressure.
Intent pressing against their minds.
One of the Foundation Peak nobles stumbled backward.
"It's affecting thoughts," he said weakly.
Kael immediately reinforced his circulation.
His chaotic Qi suppressed the invading pressure easily.
Aric did the same.
Core Formation stabilized him.
The others struggled.
"We can't fight whatever is inside directly," Aric said.
"No," Kael agreed. "We stabilize first."
Aric glanced at him briefly.
"Temporary cooperation?"
"Yes."
No hesitation.
They moved to opposite ends of the formation circle.
Kael examined the damaged nodes.
Three were fractured.
If those collapsed, the seal would break.
"Channel energy into outer rings," Kael instructed calmly.
Aric followed without argument.
Their Qi flowed into separate formation lines.
The chamber vibrated violently.
Dark mist surged upward.
The fracture in the crystal widened further.
For a moment, a shadowy silhouette flickered inside.
Large.
Not human.
Watching.
Kael increased pressure.
His chaotic Qi adapted to the formation's pattern and reinforced weak points.
Aric's refined Core energy stabilized the outer ring.
The Montrell cultivator supported secondary nodes.
The imperial scout maintained perimeter.
The crystal trembled—
Then—
The fracture halted.
The pulse slowed.
The mist retreated slightly.
Not sealed permanently.
But stabilized.
Silence returned gradually.
Sweat covered several foreheads.
Aric stepped back first.
"That won't hold forever," he said.
"No," Kael replied.
They both understood.
This battlefield was not just relic hunting.
It was containment.
And the empire likely knew more than they revealed.
Footsteps echoed above again.
This time, heavier.
The Third Prince entered the chamber.
His expression did not show surprise.
"You found it faster than expected," he said calmly.
Kael and Aric exchanged brief glances.
So he did know.
The prince stepped toward the crystal.
"This," he said, "is why the expedition was necessary."
Kael looked at him evenly.
"You needed young Core cultivators to reinforce a failing seal."
The prince smiled faintly.
"Among other things."
The shadow inside the crystal shifted again.
Watching.
Waiting.
Not fully awake.
Yet.
The battlefield was no longer just competition.
It was a timer.
And that timer had started.