The black hole was like a giant mouth. After the stone platform slowly sank into the ground, it still greedily devoured the surrounding darkness. That deep beastly roar echoed in the cave, seemingly carrying some ancient imposing pressure that made people's hearts palpitate.
Kalle stood at the edge of the cave, his cloak fluttering slightly. His body under the cloak seemed to be drawn by this force and gradually moved closer to the unfathomable darkness.
"Kalle!" Cangzhua suddenly leaped onto the stone platform and blocked Kalle's path. There was a clear warning in his eyes. "Don't go any further. There's something... not right down there."
Kalle stopped in his tracks and stared into the depths of the cave out of the corner of his eye. "I feel the call."
Ezer stood beside him, gently tapping the wall with his fingers, and said with a half-smile, "That call sounds more like the last seduction before the prey steps into the trap."
The staff in Daelin's hand emitted a faint light, and she cautiously looked around. "The power of the King of the Wolf Spirit may be far more than what we've seen so far. This black hole is not an ordinary crypt. It's more like a door to an existence that has been deliberately concealed."
"The Gate of the Wolf Spirit," Sykes said suddenly, his voice low and determined. "This is not just a legend."
Kalle frowned slightly. "You knew this before?"
A trace of complex emotion flashed in Sykes' eyes. "Just a guess."
A faint chill filled the air. Along with the wind blowing from the depths of the cave, it seemed as if something was silently spying on them.
**"We have to go down,"** Kalle said, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
Ezer shrugged and smiled helplessly. "Jumping into a trap even though you know it's a trap, you're really a stubborn guy."
"Sometimes, the trap is the only way forward," Kalle said, and with a flick of his cloak, he stepped into the black hole first. The darkness instantly engulfed his figure.
Cangzhua let out a low growl and followed closely behind.
Ezer sighed and jumped down. Daelin and Sykes entered the cave last. The light from the staff was like a floating lamp in the darkness, casting light on the backs of the four of them.
Inside the cave, the darkness was extremely deep.
The four of them walked slowly along the narrow passageway. Their footsteps were particularly clear in the deathly silence, as if they were the only ones in the entire cave.
"This place doesn't look like a graveyard. It's more like a labyrinth," Ezer said, gently knocking on the wall with his knife, trying to determine the direction. "We may not be under the original ground surface anymore."
Daelin stopped, crouched down, and placed her palm on the cold stone floor. After closing her eyes and feeling for a moment, she slowly opened her eyes. "No... this isn't underground."
"What?" Cangzhua sniffed suspiciously and was immediately taken aback.
At some point, a faint fishy smell filled the air. The surrounding walls gradually became damp, much like a cave at the bottom of a river.
Kalle slowly raised his long sword, and the blade reflected a pair of faintly flickering spots of light.
It was a pair of greenish-gray eyes.
"Someone's there!" Kalle shouted in a low voice and swung his long sword. The sword light was as swift as lightning, slashing towards the black shadow at the edge of the wall.
However, as soon as the blade struck, those eyes dissipated like bubbles, and the black shadow dissolved into the stone wall along with them, as if it had never existed.
"What the hell is that?" Ezer looked at the wall in surprise and doubt. "Can this stone swallow people?"
"They're souls," Daelin said with a solemn expression and slowly stood up. "The lost souls that are trapped within the Gate of the Wolf Spirit."
Kalle's eyes narrowed slightly. Just as he was about to move forward, Sykes suddenly said, "Wait a moment."
Everyone's gaze converged on him.
Sykes walked slowly to the cave wall and gently placed his palm on the wall surface. A rare look of confusion appeared on his cold face. "There's more than just lost souls in this wall."
He closed his eyes as if listening to some kind of sound. After a moment, he opened his eyes and his voice was slightly lower. "It's a heartbeat."
The air froze instantly.
"A heartbeat?" Ezer raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure it's not your imagination?"
Sykes slowly shook his head, his expression complex. "There's something alive behind the wall."
Kalle stared intently at the wall, and a flash of cold light appeared in his eyes. "No matter what it is, we have to keep moving forward."
Without hesitation, he raised his blade and hacked hard at the stone wall.
The moment the blade collided with the stone wall, a deafening roar suddenly rang out! The stone wall collapsed rapidly like a shattered mirror, revealing a much broader underground space.
Deep in the cave, an ancient stone hall stood quietly in the blood-red light. In the center of the stone hall, a huge black wolf coiled. Its eyes were tightly closed, and countless black chains were wrapped around its body. The ends of the chains were connected to the huge pillars around the stone hall, as if sealing this sleeping beast.
"The King of the Wolf Spirit..."
Daelin's voice trembled, and there was an undeniable shock in her eyes.
However, as the group arrived, the eyes of the King of the Wolf Spirit slowly opened. Those green wolf eyes were like cold stars, staring fixedly at Kalle who was standing in front of the stone hall.
Kalle stared at the King of the Wolf Spirit, and that deep call sounded in his ears again: "Kalle..."
This time, the voice was even clearer.
"The bloodline in you will eventually awaken the true king."