The shadows between the fifty-pace black glass pillars peeled away. It showed twelve towering figures advancing in disciplined formation.
They were Netherworld Specter Wardens. Ancient bio-clockwork custodians tasked with maintaining physical security within the registry hall. Standing over eight feet tall, their bodies were forged from linked plates of blackened star-fallen bronze, bound together by dense cords of solidified rotting ectoplasm. In their right gauntlets, each warden swung a massive soul-chain flail. Three spiked iron orbs linked to a central shaft by glowing emerald chains that whistled through the freezing air with terrifying speed.
Lin Tao stepped back. He dropped into a low, balanced stance as his test lens locked onto the lead warden.
Slamming-spiritual hybrids, Lin Tao observed. He watched the glowing chains trace complex sharp-angled arcs in the air. Their flails strike with both physical mass and spiritual soul-rending hum. But their spinning rhythm is governed by the underlying a deep hum clock cycle of the underworld core.
The wardens moved in perfect exact timing, their iron-soled shin guards clanking against the marble floor. As they advanced, the liquid silver in the gutters rippled wildly from the static-electric wash streaming from their bodies. They didn’t speak. Their bronze visors glowed with cold green tracking reticles that locked onto Tie Shan and Lin Tao.
