Chapter 25 · The Gatekeeper's Gambit - Chapter 25: Floor Seven Opens

The Spire's authority hit Mo Han like a fist to the chest.

He staggered on the seventh stair, one hand slamming against the stone wall. The Keeper seal on his wrist burned white-hot, and for a second he thought it might just melt the skin off. Behind him, Su Jin sucked in a breath.

"What's happening?" Yun Sheng's voice was tight.

Mo Han forced himself upright. His seal flickered, the silver lines guttering like a candle in the wind. "Wei's trying to lock me out."

"He can do that?" Su Jin moved up beside him, her own Crimson Flame Sect token glowing faint red in the dim stairwell. "The arbitration already ruled against him."

"Senior Keepers have emergency overrides." Mo Han's jaw clenched. "If he activates a lockdown before the execution order processes, he can strip my access and claim I falsified the evidence."

Yun Sheng's face went pale. "So we just—what, we just lose?"

"No." Mo Han started climbing again, faster now. The seal burned hotter with every step, but he ignored it. "He's betting I can't reach Floor Seven before the lockdown completes. If I'm not physically inside when my authority drops, the Spire won't recognize the summons."