Li Mei and Prince Zhao moved down the narrow basalt stairs that led beneath the Hall of Eternal Silence. The sound of the battle above became a dull thud. The air became colder with every step they took. Li Mei used her Golden Finger to analyze the atmosphere of the deep passage. She did not smell the organic decay of a typical cave. She identified the scent of heavy ozone, scorched metal, and a sharp, electric aroma that she called the scent of a falling star.
"The stairs are vibration," Mei said. She placed her hand against the smooth black wall. "The stone is not just sitting here. It is humming at a frequency that matches the silver blessing in your blood."
Prince Zhao held a torch in his left hand. The light reflected off the silver trimming of his armor. He was the invincible warrior who felt the magnetic pull of the chamber below. He felt his own heartbeat sync with the vibrations of the mountain. He did not use his beast form, but the silver light in his eyes was constant and bright.
"We are approaching the center of the Kunlun range," Zhao said. His voice was a low vibration. "I can feel the presence of the first source. It is not a god. it is a power that does not belong to this earth."
They reached the bottom of the stairs and entered a massive spherical chamber. The walls were made of polished obsidian that reflected the torchlight. In the center of the room sat a large fragment of a celestial rock. The rock was the size of an imperial carriage. It was silver and blue and it pulsed with a soft, rhythmic light. This was the Sleeping God of the Tubo legends. It was a meteorite that had crashed into the mountains thousands of years ago.
Li Mei approached the celestial rock with caution. She used her rationality and responsibility to examine the surrounding floor. She saw several bronze pipes that were connected to the base of the rock. These pipes led to a series of stone vats. She used her sense of smell to identify the contents of the vats. She identified the scent of refined arsenic, wolfsbane, and human blood.
"The Shadow Priest has been harvesting the radiation from this stone," Mei said. She pointed to the pipes. "He is mixing the star-metal energy with the arsenic to create a concentrated form of the curse. This is the Background of the entire apocalypse. The original virus was a natural sickness, but this stone acts as a catalyst that forces the body to mutate at an impossible speed."
Mei realized that the alchemical reaction followed a specific pattern of energy transfer. She visualized the interaction between the celestial frequency and the human meridian system. She thought of it as a formal equation where the mutation rate was determined by the intensity of the lunar radiation and the concentration of the arsenic trigger.
"The First Wolf was likely a warrior who touched this stone while he was already sick," Mei explained. "The stone did not curse him. It simply accelerated his survival instincts until they became a physical transformation."
Zhao walked toward the pulsing rock. As he got closer, the silver light in his eyes became a blinding white. The jade key in his pocket began to vibrate so hard it made a ringing sound.
"The Shadow Priest wants to use the jade key to open the core of this stone," Zhao said. "He believes that if he breaks the outer shell, the energy will spread across the entire continent in a single night."
"That would be the final stage of the apocalypse," Mei said. Her voice was filled with a sense of crisis. "It would turn every human in the Tang and the Tubo kingdoms into a crystalline monster or a lunar predator within hours."
A low laugh echoed from the shadows behind the star-stone. The Shadow Priest emerged from a side tunnel. He held his basalt staff high. The crystal on top of the staff was now a dark, angry purple color. He had used the blood of the monks to prime the staff for the final ritual.
"You are too late, Alchemist," the Shadow Priest said. "The frequency has already reached the threshold. The moon is rising over the peak of the mountain, and its light is shining through the vertical shaft in the ceiling."
Mei looked up and saw a thin opening in the rock above. A beam of pure, white moonlight hit the center of the celestial rock. The chamber began to shake. The life and death crisis had moved from the palace to the heart of the world itself.