Ryu's eyes snapped open.
He found himself sitting in a pool of lava. The lava had an odd cooling effect that definitely wasn't normal, but what he did realize was that he wasn't standing at the moment. When had he begun sitting? Could it be that he had been here the entire time?
Ryu looked around.
The pool of lava was quite small and contained by cultivation standards. It was, likewise, surrounded by nine pillars that seemed to be dripping with dense golden liquid and that fell into the pool. It was clear that the power of this lava pool was being sustained by these pillars.
After a while, Ryu seemed to understand. He had likely been plopped into this pool the moment he crossed the threshold. Everything else had been an illusion. The rise of the nine pillars likely coincided with the dripping liquid from these pillars.
'My body…'