Chapter 554: The Champion of the Bad Omen

The path downward was a descent into madness. The very rock of the mountain groaned around them, vibrating with a power that felt fundamentally wrong. They emerged into a cavern so vast it felt like a subterranean world. Its ceiling was lost in oppressive darkness, but the space was illuminated by a terrifying, beautiful light source at its heart: the System Stone. It was a crystal the size of a citadel, a multifaceted jewel of pure magic that pulsed with the lifeblood of the world. But it was...