CHAPTER 151 — THE FIRST STRIKE
The fall stopped. Not gently. Not violently.
Simply—ended.
Long Hao landed on solid ground.
No sand this time. No cave entrance.
No sky. No horizon.
The world around him was an endless plane of pale light, like polished marble stretching infinitely in all directions. Above him hung nothing. Below him, no shadow followed his feet.
Silence.
Complete.
Then—
Footsteps.
Measured.
Calm.
He did not turn immediately.
He already knew.
"You saw through comfort," Zehell's voice echoed softly behind him.
He turned.
She stood several paces away.
Not armored.
Not distorted.
Not flickering.
She was exactly as she had been in Ruinsand—green hair flowing lightly in an unfelt breeze, brown eyes steady, spear absent.
But something in her gaze had changed.
There was no softness now.
No hesitation.
Only clarity.
"You finally saw through me," she continued.
Long Hao's jaw tightened.
"So you admit it."
A faint smile curved her lips.
