The Sky Temple loomed above Li Tian's group, its colossal structure defying gravity as it floated atop an inverted mountain, its spires clawing at the heavens like the petrified bones of a god. The air crackled with ancient qi, thick enough to taste—a metallic tang that coated the tongue and hummed in the marrow. Bridges of shimmering light arced between the temple's tiers, their glow dimmed by centuries of neglect, while the Hollow Star's presence pulsed from within, a rhythmic *thud* that echoed in Li Tian's corrupted veins.
"Well," Yan Mei muttered, craning her neck to stare at the temple's underbelly, where jagged runes flickered like dying stars, "this isn't ominous at all."
Goran hefted his bone staff, its surface still smoldering from their last skirmish. "How do we get up there? Levitate?"
Li Tian's obsidian hand clenched, the Primal Core in his chest flaring in response to the temple's energy. "The Magic Emperor's disciples didn't walk. They *ascended*." He nodded to a fractured stone dais embedded in the plateau beneath the temple—a relic half-buried in rubble, its surface etched with serpentine glyphs.
Xia knelt, her healing qi brushing the dais. "It's a conduit. But the mechanism's dormant."
"Then wake it," Li Tian said, pressing his corrupted palm to the glyphs.
---
**The Conduit's Trial**
The dais shuddered, spectral chains of qi erupting to bind Li Tian's wrist. Visions tore through his mind: the Magic Emperor's final moments, his body dissolving into the Hollow Star's maw, the temple sealing itself with a scream of fractured reality. A voice, raw with millennia of sorrow, boomed:
*"Prove your worth, successor. Sacrifice your weakest."*
A phantom blade materialized, hovering at Xia's throat.
"Li Tian—!" Yan Mei lunged, but the chains held her fast.
*"Her life for passage,"* the voice demanded.
"No one dies today," Li Tian snarled. The Primal Core surged, blackened veins writhing as he channeled its energy into the dais. The chains shattered, the phantom blade dissolving into mist. The dais cracked, its glyphs flaring gold-and-black as a bridge of light solidified, spanning the void to the temple's lowest tier.
Goran whistled. "Guess we're 'worthy.'"
---
**The Ascent**
The bridge thrummed beneath their feet, its qi-infused stones vibrating with dissonant harmonies. Halfway across, the Shrikes screeched a warning. From the temple's spires, crystalline raptors dove, their wings slicing air with blade-like precision.
"Voidspawn!" Yan Mei hurled a dagger, shattering the lead raptor. "Eyes open!"
Goran's staff spun, deflecting talons, while Xia's qi barrier repelled debris. Li Tian stood at the center, his corrupted arm absorbing strikes, each impact deepening the cracks in his flesh.
"They're herding us!" Goran barked as the bridge narrowed, forcing them single-file toward the temple's gaping entrance.
The raptors broke off abruptly, repelled by an unseen ward. The gates slammed shut behind the group, sealing them in an antechamber bathed in sickly green light.
---
**The Chamber of Whispers**
The walls writhed with murals of the Magic Emperor's reign—his triumphs, his alliance with the Primal Core, his descent into madness. At the chamber's heart hovered a fractured crystal, its shards suspended in delicate equilibrium.
Xia approached, her healer's instincts overriding caution. "It's a lock. The temple's core is sealed."
Li Tian's hand reached instinctively, the Primal Core resonating with the crystal. The shards realigned, forming a key. The floor shuddered, a staircase spiraling upward into darkness.
"Stay close," Li Tian ordered, his voice fraying. The Hollow Star's whisper slithered through his mind: *"You are mine."*
---
**Elder Ming's Warning**
As the group climbed, Li Tian activated the Celestial Mirror. The artifact's surface rippled, revealing Elder Ming's haggard face.
"The Veil weakens," Ming rasped, his hand aged and trembling. "The Mirror's hunger grows with your distance. Hurry."
The transmission flickered, the Mirror's light dimming. Xia gripped Li Tian's arm. "We can't turn back."
"We don't," Li Tian said, resolve hardening.
---
**The Guardian's Gambit**
The staircase opened into an observatory, its domed ceiling a map of dead constellations. Below, a guardian clad in Primal Core armor stirred, its void-black eyes locking onto Li Tian.
*"Turn back,"* it intoned, raising a blade of frozen starlight.
Goran attacked first, his staff clashing against the guardian's weapon. Yan Mei flanked, daggers probing for weaknesses, while Xia's barriers deflected retaliatory strikes.
Li Tian stepped forward, the Core's light clashing with the guardian's. "Stand. Down."
The guardian hesitated, its gaze reflecting Li Tian's corruption. *"You… are already lost."*
"Not yet." Li Tian seized the guardian's blade, primal energy surging. The armor dissolved, its essence absorbed.
The ceiling parted, revealing the temple's pinnacle—a throne of frozen flames, its apex pulsing with the Hollow Star's heartbeat.
---
**The Edge of Destiny**
The group stood at the threshold, the Hollow Star's voice a roar:
*"Kneel, and I spare them."*
Li Tian's corruption surged, his vision blurring. Xia's qi anchored him. "Remember the Bastion. Remember *us*."
The throne's flames dimmed, a path materializing.
"We enter together," Li Tian said.
---