**Dawn – Edge of Scarlet Moon Valley**
The sky above the valley wasn't blue.
It was **blood-tinted gray**, like the world had forgotten what color peace looked like.
Yueyin stood at the front, cloak fluttering lightly. The disciples lined up behind her — thirty souls stepping toward the unknown.
Zeravon was last in line.
The moment his foot touched the valley's grass, a soundless vibration ran through him — like a bell rung in a forgotten dimension.
> *Something sees me.*
---
**First Descent – The Crimson Path**
They moved slowly down the red slope. The valley seemed empty, but no one felt safe.
The trees were twisted. Their shadows didn't match their shapes.
A light fog clung low to the ground, but didn't rise.
Even speech felt *muted*.
> "Where are the beasts?"
> "Too quiet…"
> "It feels wrong…"
Yueyin raised her hand to halt them.
> "Stay close. Trust only your senses — not your eyes."
Lin Xu walked near Zeravon and whispered:
> "I heard this place doesn't kill you outright. It waits… till you want to die yourself."
Zeravon didn't flinch.
He *already* knew that feeling.
---
**Midday – First Anomaly**
They came across a massive stone altar — half-buried, with strange red veins running through it.
Yueyin examined it carefully.
> "Not man-made," she said.
> "It's grown. Like bone… shaped into memory."
The runes on the altar pulsed as Zeravon stepped closer.
For a moment, the ground shifted beneath him — like reality had *dipped* around his presence.
One disciple stared at him.
> "Why did it react to him?"
Zeravon took a step back.
> *"I don't belong here."*
> *"But this place… disagrees."*
---
**Nightfall – Campsite Near Hollow Creek**
The group made a rough camp near a dried-out creek. No stars above — just a red haze like bleeding clouds.
Zeravon sat alone again.
He tried to meditate.
But the moment he closed his eyes… he saw a door.
**Not a dream. A memory.**
A black door… with **his own voice** echoing from behind it.
> *"If this opens… the sky won't close again."*
He opened his eyes, breathing heavily.
---
**Elsewhere in Camp**
Yueyin sharpened her blade under dim spirit light.
Lin Xu approached her.
> "You're watching him."
> "He's the only one the valley responds to," she replied.
> "You think he's dangerous?"
> "I think…" Yueyin hesitated, "…he's not supposed to be here. Not in this realm. Not in this body."
Lin Xu looked at her.
> "Then why protect him?"
> "Because the last time this valley pulsed," she said slowly, "…an entire sect vanished overnight."
---
**Late Night – Unseen Event**
Zeravon wandered away from camp, unable to sleep.
Something called him — not a voice, not a presence… just **a pull**.
He found a pond — still and dark.
As he knelt beside it, his reflection didn't show his current face.
It showed **another**.
Older. Wiser. Terrifyingly calm.
The reflection whispered:
> *"You sealed me here."*
> *"But the valley… remembers."*
Zeravon backed away — but the image remained on the surface.
Still watching.
Still waiting.
---
**Final Scene – Morning Bell (Next Day)**
The disciples prepared to go deeper.
Half looked restless. A few were already shaken.
Yueyin stood tall.
Zeravon tied his robe tighter and looked ahead.
For the first time since the journey began… his heartbeat synced with the valley's.
Not with fear.
But with **recognition**.
> *"I don't know what lies ahead."*
> *"But it knows me."*
---