The journey to the Dragon Kingdom was long, a winding trek under vast, open skies. Yet, with every arduous step, Mei Lin felt something new stirring within her—a steady, warm pulse of power that had once been hidden deep beneath her skin. The Seal of Harmony had indeed begun to awaken, filling her with a nascent strength, though the immense weight of her responsibility was a constant, heavy presence in her mind.
The landscape shifted dramatically as they moved farther east. The towering, mist-shrouded peaks of the Songlin Ridge gradually receded, giving way to sweeping, arid plains that stretched toward the distant horizon of the Dragon Kingdom. The air grew noticeably warmer, thick with the scent of dry earth, and the ground beneath their feet hardened into cracked, reddish soil, dotted sparingly with shallow pools of glowing red water that shimmered with an eerie light.
As the days passed and they neared the kingdom's border, the colossal silhouette of a fortress emerged against the skyline. It wasn't merely built; it seemed to grow organically from the side of a jagged, crimson-hued mountain. Its immense walls pulsed faintly with golden runes, and the entire structure hummed with an energy unlike any Mei Lin had felt before—raw, ancient, and undeniably potent.
"That's the Crimson Spire," Jin murmured, his voice a mix of deep awe and genuine concern. "It's said to be impenetrable. And at its very heart lies the Crimson Warden, the keeper of the second Seal."
Tian let out a dry chuckle, his six tails twitching. "Impenetrable? You don't mean for us, do you, boy?"
"Don't be too confident," Jin warned, a rare seriousness in his tone. "The Warden is no ordinary warrior. He's a living legend, forged in the very fires of war. And from what I've heard, he doesn't take kindly to uninvited guests."
As they drew closer to the fortress gates, Mei Lin's pulse quickened, a nervous flutter deep in her chest. The air here felt charged, alive with concentrated power—every step bringing her closer to the next key, closer to the daunting task of stopping Lord Xian.
Without a creak or groan, the massive gates of the Crimson Spire began to open slowly, as though they had been anticipating their arrival. The moment they stepped inside, the temperature plummeted, and a dense, swirling fog instantly materialized around their feet, obscuring the ground. They were led down a labyrinthine series of dark stone corridors, past towering statues of fearsome dragons carved directly into the walls, their intricate eyes glowing with an unsettling red light that seemed to follow them.
Eventually, the winding path opened into a vast, cavernous chamber, its distant ceiling lost completely in impenetrable shadows. In the absolute center of this imposing space stood a tall, unmoving figure—a man encased head-to-toe in armor of deep, burnished crimson, his face completely hidden behind a formidable, dragon-shaped mask. He stood motionless, radiating an aura of immense power and cold anticipation, as if he had been awaiting their arrival for centuries.
"I am the Crimson Warden," his voice echoed, deep and resonant, filling the vast chamber with its authority. "Why have you come to my domain?"
Mei Lin stepped forward, her heart pounding against her ribs, but her voice held firm despite her apprehension. "We seek the Seal of the Dragon Kingdom. The Celestial War is returning, and we need the second Seal to stop it."
The Warden tilted his masked head, and for a fleeting, unsettling moment, Mei Lin thought she saw the faintest flicker of recognition, or perhaps a shadow of old sorrow, behind the unyielding dragon mask.
"The Seal is not easily earned," the Warden stated, his voice now carrying a chilling sense of finality that brooked no argument.