The ascent through the Primordial Core’s upright transit shaft took three days of steady, unrushed climbing.
For three days, Lin Tao, Tie Shan, Old Man Geng, and the twelve quarry masters climbed the spiraling stairs of forged star-iron. At every thousand paces, they passed the massive pressure inner walls that had once sealed the Precursor machinery away from the lower continents. The heavy valves hung open now, their high-pressure locking pins disengaged. They allowed cool mountain air to circulate freely into the deep foundations of the world.
They climbed through the underground layers of the land-wide crust. Then, they watched underground waterfalls cascading over dark stone cliffs.
In the old days of the Starry Board, those waters had trickled like stale bile, choked by the energy drain tubes that starved the lower crust. Now, the underground rivers roared with crystal-clear clarity, feeding deep underground water beds that branched toward every mortal province.
On the morning of the fourth day, the mortal vanguard reached the upper airlock of the Black Iron Gorge.
With a deep clockwork sigh, the three-foot-thick bronze blast doors swung outward, admitting the brilliant, blinding glare of a morning sun.
Lin Tao stepped out onto the high stone ledge of Mount Taiyi, raising his hand to shield his eyes.
