***
The wind howled across the jagged cliffs as the trio stood at the edge of the world. Mo Yao, Yín Shu, and Zhao Lian had journeyed for three days since leaving the mountain village, following the half-burned scroll Zhao Lian had taken from the Royal Archives. It had led them to the rumored Dragon Tombs—ancient and forbidden grounds carved into the side of the cliffs, where the first dragons of the realm were said to have vanished.
Zhao Lian adjusted the leather strap of his travel bag, his breath visible in the rising cold. "We're close," he murmured, eyes tracing the worn stone steps leading down into the darkness. "The script spoke of the Sealed Path… guarded by wind and bone."
Mo Yao glanced over her shoulder. "That… doesn't sound friendly."
Yín Shu nodded, hugging her arms. "Still, we've come this far. If there are answers, we need them."
They descended into the tomb, lanterns in hand. The air was heavy, stale with silence and ancient power. Walls were lined with carvings of serpentine dragons coiling around stars. Some of the glyphs pulsed faintly, reacting to their presence.
Suddenly, one carving lit up in gold as Yín Shu passed. Zhao Lian stopped.
"You saw that, right?" he whispered.
Yín Shu turned. The glyph shimmered, then dimmed.
"I felt something… a pull."
Mo Yao frowned. Her fingers brushed against a nearby wall, and a different section of runes flared in violet. She recoiled. "It burned for a second."
"The tomb is responding to both of you," Zhao Lian said slowly. "Separately."
They entered the main chamber—a great circular cavern carved into the rock. In its center sat a stone pedestal wrapped in roots and silver chains. The ceiling opened to a shaft of moonlight that bathed the altar in a ghostly glow.
As they stepped forward, a low groan echoed from the walls.
A shape moved.
From the shadows emerged a cloaked figure, tall and gaunt, its face hidden behind an obsidian mask carved like a dragon's skull.
"Who dares disturb the slumber of the bound?"
Zhao Lian instinctively placed himself in front of the twins.
The figure's voice rasped, layered with something old. "The heirs of dream and flame… and the watcher who was never meant to come."
Mo Yao stepped forward, defiant. "We came for answers."
The figure laughed—a sound like stone cracking. "Then you must awaken the chain that binds the gate. But be warned, knowledge... has a cost."
Yín Shu touched the pedestal. Runes sprang to life, swirling around her hand.
The chamber trembled. The moonlight turned red.
Beneath their feet, the ground split slightly, revealing a glowing sigil—an ancient seal, its power barely held in check.
The figure raised a staff of bone and scale. "Awaken it, and the first trial begins."
Mo Yao reached out, her black hair catching the eerie light. Zhao Lian took her arm. "Are you sure?"
She looked at him—and then at her sister. "We didn't come this far to turn back now."
Their hands touched the seal together.
And the tomb… began to breathe.