The sky above Jūryokugakure shimmered with magnetic auroras as Team Kaien stood before the Gravitational Descent Platform, a levitating disc surrounded by orbiting anchors.
Kaien looked at his team—Shisui, Yua, and Makoto—then at their guide for the journey: Raiken Kōetsu, now acting under orders of the Sōkage.
"You'll be descending into the Gravity Sea," Kōetsu explained, his tone neutral but edged. "Below the floating village lies the true foundation of Jūryokugakure—and its greatest secret."
With a pulse of chakra, the platform sank downward. The sky inverted.
As they descended past layers of floating islands and magnetic fields, their bodies began to feel heavier. Not just physically—but spiritually, mentally, as if their chakra was being compressed from every direction.
Yua gasped. "It feels like my lungs are wrapped in chains…"
Makoto grunted, dropping to one knee. "This… is 50x gravity?"
Kōetsu nodded. "Welcome to the Inner Core of the Gravity Sea. Only those trained in Arch Energy flow can survive prolonged exposure. You three will need to rely on your chakra flow and inner balance to resist collapse."
Shisui steadied his breathing, invoking his Aetherion Bloom Technique, circulating chakra with floral precision. The pressure eased, slightly.
At the bottom of the descent, they reached an ancient platform—the remnants of a crater basin layered with spiraling seals and pulsating light.
In the center stood a massive obelisk, black as void, pulsing with heartbeat-like thuds. Metal vines coiled around it. Chains of chakra-bound stones floated above, trembling as if in fear.
Kaien's voice was grim. "That… is the Heartstone Reactor."
Kōetsu crossed his arms. "The source of all gravitational disruption in this land. The fallen star core embedded with Arch Energy."
Yua whispered, "It's alive…"
Makoto frowned. "More like angry."
Kōetsu explained: "This is what my ancestor, Tenshō Raiken, fused with. His will remains here… stabilizing the reactor. But that stability weakens. The reason you were summoned… is because the Heartstone is waking up."