Reborn as the Last van Ambrose

Grim felt himself falling through endless blue-green light. The sensation was unlike anything he’d experienced—not the swift drop of a physical fall, but something more profound, as if the very fabric of reality stretched and twisted around him. Water surrounded him, yet he could breathe normally. His body tumbled around like it was weightless.

Then, abruptly, the falling stopped. Grim found himself floating in a luminescent tunnel. The walls appeared to be made of water held in place by something he couldn’t see. The walls glowed with an ethereal blue light. Small currents of golden energy spiraled through the light.

"Get up, Ambrose," Bi’an’s voice came from ahead. "The Jiaolong moves quickly. We cannot afford delay."

Grim got to his feet, surprised to find solid ground beneath him. Despite being surrounded by water, the tunnel itself remained dry. Ahead, Bi’an and Suanni were already moving forward.

Grim hurried to catch up. "Where are we?"

"Between realms," Suanni answered without slowing. "This is a corridor that connects your world to ours."

"It feels... alive," Grim observed, watching the swirling patterns in the walls.

"In a sense, it is," Bi’an replied. "These passages form naturally where the boundaries between realms grow thin. They respond to those who know how to call them."

"Like the Jiaolong did?"

Suanni’s mane rippled, sending small embers floating through the air. "Yes. Though he shouldn’t have been able to. Unless you have a key or someone showed him how."

"He’s clearly been preparing for this," Bi’an added, his iron-hued scales gleaming in the blue light. "The question is why."