The heartbeat did not fade.
Instead, it intensified.
BOOM… BOOM… BOOM…
Each pulse echoed through the passage like a hammer striking the foundation of existence itself. Situ's one-light-year body stood within the Grandmist currents, unmoving for a brief moment, as if the entire structure of this place was waiting for his next step.
Then, the watching presence shifted again.
Not aggressively.
Not violently.
But decisively.
BOOM!!!
The Grandmist sea beneath him suddenly *tilted*.
It was not space that moved, nor time, nor law.
It was direction itself.
For the first time since entering the passage, Situ felt something resembling motion that did not originate from his own will.
His body was pulled forward.
Not toward a location.
But toward an *edge*.
---
The Grandmist currents around him began to change.
The deeper he moved, the denser everything became.
