Chapter 151 - Convergence

The black lotus pulsed faintly, almost imperceptibly at first, like the heartbeat of the cavern itself. Each carved petal shimmered at the edges of their vision, catching stray glimmers of lantern light and bending it, warping it, as though the stone were breathing, alive in a way that no natural rock should be. The longer they stared, the more it seemed to flex, to stir, as if the cavern itself were waiting, anticipating, ready to close around something, or someone. A sense of sentience pressed down on them, as heavy and oppressive as the stone ceiling overhead.