The group moved silently through the shifting corridors of the Skytomb Bastion. After surviving the Trial of Conviction, Riku felt an unusual weight settle over him not just exhaustion, but expectation. Every step forward peeled back another layer of who he was, who he had to become.
[Current Dominion Crests: 3/8]
[Next Trial Location: Heart of the Ember Sanctum – Coordinates Updated]
Ayumi ran calculations on her interface. "We'll need to descend three more layers. But the path ahead is… unstable."
Kira frowned, watching a flickering hallway ahead twist like a mirage. "It's folding space. The Bastion's losing cohesion."
"Or something's forcing it to collapse," Riku said.
The system pinged.
[WARNING: Domain Resonance Spike Detected. Origin – Unknown Flame Signature. Estimated Power Class: A-Rank+]
Riku turned to his group. "Get ready. We're not walking into a trial. We're walking into a battlefield."
Lower Bastion – Ember Sanctum Perimeter