As I turned around and saw who was there, my breath caught in my throat. My eyes widened in both shock and pleasant surprise.

"Master...?" My voice came out softer than I expected, laced with confusion and disbelief. The air around me suddenly felt heavier, as if the very space we occupied had changed with her arrival. Why was she here?

I instinctively looked toward Baoyu for answers, my mind racing to piece together an explanation. My heartbeat pounded in my ears. What was happening? Why was Master here, and what did it mean? But Baoyu, noticing my questioning gaze, didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he turned to look at Jing Xuan before speaking.

"He has passed the Trial of Will."

Master’s expression hardened for a moment, her usual unreadable gaze settling upon me. Then, just as quickly, her face returned to its serene normalcy, though there was a flicker of something—concern?—in her eyes. A barely audible sigh escaped her lips, lost in the vast emptiness around us.

I finally took in my surroundings. It was a void of endless white, stretching infinitely in all directions. The silence was oppressive, thick and unbroken, as if sound itself had been swallowed by the abyss. The only thing breaking the monotony was a single round table in the middle, surrounded by chairs. Seated in one of those chairs was Master Jing Xuan. The stillness of the place made me feel like an intruder in a dream.

Before I could gather my thoughts and ask what was going on, Master rose from her seat, her robes flowing like waves in still water. "Let’s talk first," she said, her tone final. "Then we begin."

Baoyu, understanding her words, started to dissipate into light fragments. But before completely vanishing, his voice echoed one last time, carrying a cryptic warning.

"Once I open it, be quick. They will know. They will come."

A cold shiver ran down my spine. The weight of his words settled heavily in my chest, pressing against my ribs. They? Who are they? I wanted to ask, but Baoyu was already gone, leaving behind only the fading echoes of his words. The void seemed even quieter without him, and for a brief moment, I felt truly alone.

Master’s gaze lingered on the space where Baoyu had been before shifting back to me. I could see the weight of something unspoken behind her eyes—an unshakable certainty, a burden she had carried alone.

"It’s alright," she said calmly, her voice carrying an eerie sense of finality. "It will all be over in a minute."

A part of me wanted to protest—to demand answers now—but I knew better. Master was not someone who spoke in riddles without purpose. If she told me to wait, it was because the answers were coming.

Still, frustration bubbled inside me. First, Baoyu left me with questions, and now Master was doing the same. The silence stretched, and my mind filled with a hundred different possibilities, each one darker than the last. But I clenched my fists and swallowed my irritation. Instead, I nodded and followed as she turned away and walked forward.

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She didn’t look back as she spoke. "You have questions. I know. You want to ask why I am here, what the Trial Ground is, and who the people Baoyu mentioned are. I will tell you. But how much you understand—that is up to you."

I stayed silent, focusing on her every word, my breath steady but tight in my chest.

"First, know this—I have been here since the day I dropped you into this world."

I froze mid-step. "What?" My voice barely left my lips, yet it echoed strangely in the void, as if the space itself refused to let the words fade away.

"Yes," she confirmed, glancing at me briefly before continuing. "I left you here knowing what you are—the Guardian of the Book for this generation. This place is sacred to all Guardians, and it is where they must stay until they complete the Trial Ground. Only after passing it can they step into the outside world. It is a place of growth and protection."

Guardian of the Book. Those words rang in my mind like a bell tolling in an empty hall. Something deep inside me stirred, an unexplainable weight pressing against my soul, as if I had always known but had chosen to forget.

"Once you leave this place, all cults will come after you like mad beasts. The previous Guardian, too, passed the Trial Ground, but even they could not escape the pursuit of those cults. The book was lost after their death."

I felt my heart tighten. The book... that small, unassuming book I had found in the village. It had always felt important, but now I realized just how crucial it was. It had cost someone their life.

Master stopped walking, turning to face me directly. "I am a member of the Sanctum Keepers. Baoyu is one of us as well. We exist to protect the Guardian and the Book. But there is a reason I have kept you hidden from the others."

There was a brief pause, and her gaze sharpened.

"There is a mole among us."

The words struck like a blade to my gut. My breath hitched, my body tensing as the full weight of her statement sank in. A traitor. Someone within the Sanctum Keepers had betrayed the previous Guardian, leading to their death. And now... I was next.

Master continued, "The Void Cult discovered that village before we even did. They knew the book was there. But how? How could they have known unless someone told them? That is why I did not tell the others about you. Baoyu and I decided it was safest to keep you hidden until you passed the trial."

My thoughts swirled like a storm. The book. The village. The betrayal. I had been caught in something far bigger than I ever realized.

Seeing my expression, Master placed a hand on my shoulder. Her touch was light, but grounding. "Do not let fear cloud your judgment. Once you enter the Trial Ground, they cannot touch you."

Her words reassured me, but only slightly. "And if I fail?"

She looked me straight in the eye, her voice steady and unyielding. "Then you will die."

I swallowed hard. There was no sugarcoating, no false comfort. Just reality. I nodded, pushing away the fear clawing at my chest.

Master turned and walked forward again, her pace unwavering. The air around us grew heavier with each step, charged with an unseen force. A distant hum reverberated through the space, a low, ancient sound that made my skin prickle. After a few minutes, she finally stopped and spoke.

"We’re here."

I looked ahead, and my breath hitched. Before us stood an enormous gateway, ancient and alive with an unknown power. The air crackled around it, the very fabric of space bending slightly at its edges. Strange symbols covered its surface, shifting and rearranging themselves like a living entity. A pulse ran through the structure, faint yet commanding, as if waiting for something—or someone.

"This is the entrance to the Trial Ground," Master said, her voice solemn. "Once you step inside, there is no turning back. The trial will test not just your strength but your will, your mind, and your very soul."

I exhaled slowly, my hands clenching into fists. "What do I have to do?"

Master gave me a rare, small smile—one that held the weight of both trust and expectation. "Survive."

And with that, the gateway began to open.