Night.
They didn't leave the ruins immediately.
Instead, Elder Su constructed a temporary hut and lit a protective incense circle around the pavilion's fragments still intact.
"I need time to analyze the talisman's decay pattern," she said. "And you need to meditate."
"Why?"
"In case the delayed effects start unraveling your soul like noodles."
"Not So Lovely."
Tian Shen sat cross-legged under the remains of a lotus pavilion.
He tried to focus, but was unable to. He opened his eyes. The night sky above Lotus Pavilion was filled with streaking silver clouds and faint stars.
He whispered, almost to himself:
"…What did it leave inside me?"
...
Later that night, Elder Su opened her private jade slip and recorded a message to herself.
"Anomaly #116: After entering the Lotus Pavilion Ruins, spatial phenomena of extreme magnitude were triggered.
