The interior of Gravity Hall felt wrong.
Not dangerous — hostile.
The air pressed down on Kali's skin as if the building itself rejected him. Thick conduits ran along the walls, humming with restrained power. Dozens of sealed chambers lined the hall, each marked with glowing numbers and warnings.
WARNING: Improper use may result in permanent injury or death.
Kali ignored them.
He stepped up to the registration console.
The scanner swept across his body.
Name: Kali
Cultivation Stage: Planetary — Rank 5
Recommended Gravity Load: 2.8x Standard
Kali's jaw tightened.
"Set to 5.0x."
The attendant behind the desk looked up sharply.
"Your body won't survive prolonged exposure at that level."
Kali met his gaze.
"Then I won't stay long."
The man hesitated, then activated the chamber.
"Booth 7."
The chamber was small.
Hexagonal.
Metallic.
Kali stripped off his jacket and stepped inside. The door sealed with a heavy clang.
A calm artificial voice filled the space.
"User Kali. Selected gravity: 5.0x Earth Standard.
Risk of bone fracture: 37%.
Risk of organ rupture: 21%.
Confirm?"
"Confirm."
The world collapsed.
His knees hit the floor instantly.
Five times gravity crushed his spine, his lungs, his organs. Blood rushed to his head. His vision burst with stars. His palms tore open against the metal floor.
Kali tried to inhale.
The air refused him.
His heart slammed against his ribs, struggling to push blood through veins that were being squeezed flat.
He screamed — but no sound came out.
Every instinct in his body begged him to stop.
Kali forced his eyes open.
Images flooded his mind.
His father bent over factory equipment, back permanently twisted from years of strain.
His mother counting credits by candlelight.
Tian's small body glowing with power she didn't understand.
If he stopped…
that future would swallow them all.
Kali clenched his fists.
He began the breathing method the Federation instructors had uploaded weeks ago.
Inhale — slow.
Hold — steady.
Exhale — controlled.
Cosmic energy seeped into his lungs like liquid fire.
Cells screamed.
Bones cracked.
Muscle fibers tore and rebuilt under impossible pressure.
Minutes passed.
Then more.
At the ten-minute mark, most Rank 5 cultivators would have lost consciousness.
At twenty, they would have suffered irreversible damage.
At thirty…
Kali was still kneeling.
Blood streamed from his nose.
His heartbeat stuttered.
His vision flickered between black and red.
Something inside him shifted.
The invisible barrier that marked the ceiling of Rank 5 trembled.
Then — cracked.
The chamber's system alarm blared.
"Warning: User vitals critical. Session terminated."
The gravity vanished.
Kali collapsed forward, gasping.
He couldn't feel his fingers.
Or his legs.
The door slid open.
A pair of boots stopped in front of him.
"Idiot."
Kali forced his eyes up.
A girl stood there, arms crossed, eyes cold and sharp.
Luo Lan.
One of Vanguard Institute's top-ranked elites.
She glanced at the blood pooling beneath him, then at the chamber's display.
5.0x Gravity — 31 minutes
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
"You're trying to kill yourself."
"If I don't…" Kali whispered, "the world will."
Luo Lan stared at him for a long moment. Then she reached into her pocket and tossed a small vial onto the floor beside him.
Grade-C Recovery Serum
"Don't misunderstand," she said. "I just don't want Vanguard's exam statistics ruined by your corpse."
She turned and walked away.
Kali's shaking hand closed around the vial.
He swallowed the serum.
Warmth flooded his veins. Pain dulled. Bones knitted. His body stabilized.
Kali pushed himself upright.
Inside his chest, the Rank 5 wall — that invisible ceiling — now carried a fracture.