Chapter 9 · The Gatekeeper's Gambit - Chapter 9: The Black Door Wants Her Back

Mo Han had about three seconds before Wei locked every stairwell in the tower. The voice still echoed across the roof, that flat demand hanging in the frozen air. Return the stolen player.

The black door stretched across half the trial platform now, its surface rippling like oil on water, and Mo Han could feel the pull of it even from where he stood. Every disciple on the roof had gone silent. Su Jin grabbed his sleeve. Her hand was shaking.

"What does it mean, stolen player?" Her voice came out too loud in the stillness. "Mo Han, what the hell is that thing?"

He did not answer. He was already counting steps to the nearest stairwell, calculating how many floors down Yun Sheng had made it before the tower froze. Wei stood on the far edge of the platform, his face twisted with something between rage and fear. The senior Keeper had one hand pressed against the trial array's control stone, and Mo Han could see the glow spreading under his palm as he tried to override the lockdown. Wei was fast.