Chapter 22 · The Gatekeeper's Gambit - Chapter 22: The Flame She Didn't Lend

Mo Han hit the ground inside the Black Gate and the cold bit through his robes like teeth.

No time to adjust. No time to think. Somewhere in this twisted pocket of the Spire, his own copy was hunting Yun Sheng, and the only thing keeping her alive was whatever head start she'd managed to scrape together.

He forced himself to his feet. The space around him didn't make sense—walls that curved into ceiling, floors that might've been sky if he tilted his head wrong. Classic trial architect bullshit. Build a maze that broke spatial logic so disciples wasted time figuring out which way was up.

But Mo Han wasn't here to pass a trial. He was here to pull a record that shouldn't exist.

He pressed his palm flat against the nearest surface and pushed a thread of his Keeper authority into it. The texture under his hand shifted, cold stone warming just enough to recognize him. He wasn't a disciple. The Gate's rules had to account for that.