Richard’s hand stopped half an inch from the button of his inner pocket.
The true secret to descending into the pit was to turn oneself into a stone, passing through passively.
Any active attempt was just giving it an opening.
The iron cage finally reached the bottom. Major Aud’s voice came from outside.
"Gray Eyes, you’re the first one out."
The major made no attempt to call him by his real name.
Richard froze for half a second, then scanned the major with his Spiritual Vision.
The major showed no abnormalities.
Only after confirming it was the real Major Aud did he take his first step.
After he stepped out of the cage, everyone else inside let out a collective sigh of relief.
The salt in everyone’s mouths had almost completely dissolved.
Richard took a breath. The air in the tunnel was much more stable than in the cage.
The Nine-Layered Stone Ring was just ahead, and the Unyielding Pit lay beneath their feet.
But at that moment, he was no longer as afraid of the impossibly deep thing beneath his feet as he had been before.
’No matter how powerful it was, all it wanted was an entrance.’
’As long as I don’t provide one, it can’t get in.’
One end of the tunnel led back to the shaft entrance, while the other extended into the depths.
Major Aud and the first team were already in the center of the tunnel.
"This way." The major raised his hand.
The tunnel stretched for about a hundred yards, ending in a pair of heavy, double iron doors.
Mr. Hutton stepped out from the group.
The old gentleman took a small Engraving Knife from his inner coat pocket.
He inserted the knife’s tip into a small, inconspicuous groove on the Inscription Disc and gave it a gentle flick.
With a soft CLICK from the center of the Inscription Disc, the heavy double doors swung open.
Behind the iron doors was a space containing the Nine-Layered Stone Ring, composed of nine concentric stone trenches spreading out from a central point.
Together, the nine trenches formed a "manhole cover" on the Ether Layer.
The Unyielding Pit lay beneath their feet, filled with thirty feet of earth and concrete, and then locked down by these nine stone rings.
Major Aud began to direct everyone into position.
"Everyone to your positions."
Richard walked over to Mr. Hutton’s side, where several rings of light happened to envelop him.
Mr. Hutton had already opened two small cases.
The first case contained Engraving Knives and chisels of various sizes.
The second held several grayish-white blocks of wax wrapped in oil paper, a few small bags of silver powder, and a silver pot filled with Holy Water.
The old gentleman looked up at Richard.
"The camera."
Richard took the Colton 120 his senior had given him from his shoulder bag.
"Photograph each group as it’s being re-inscribed."
"Right."
Richard raised the camera and aimed it at the trench of the first ring.
Major Aud had taken his position in the outer circle.
He took a small pocket watch from his inner coat pocket and pressed a button on its side.
"Begin."
The old gentleman and two Secretive Ones were responsible for the re-inscribing and repairs, while Mrs. MacNeil was in charge of activation.
The Spirit Medium took a small silver pot from her leather case and tilted it.
A small stream of Holy Water flowed from the pot’s spout, running along the section of Inscription in the first trench that Mr. Hutton had just re-carved.
Where the Holy Water passed, the newly re-carved and wax-filled Inscription began to light up, section by section.
The entire Inscription of the first ring lit up segment by segment, finally forming a complete, closed circle of light.
"First ring activated." Mrs. MacNeil returned the silver pot to her case.
"Ring one is in place." Major Aud pressed the button on his pocket watch.
"Proceeding to ring two, as per protocol."
The second, third, and fourth rings... re-carving and activating each one took at least twenty minutes.
By the time they reached the fourth ring, Richard had already gone through several rolls of film.
The atmosphere in the cavern, initially tense, slowly settled into a steady work rhythm.
The six members of the patrol team were spread out along the outer circle, each one vigilantly watching their assigned area.
Winterworth, meanwhile, kept his eyes on the cavern’s edge, on the entrance to a dark tunnel that led deeper still.
Mr. Hutton’s pace re-carving the Inscriptions in the innermost circle was exceptionally steady.
Midway through the fourth ring, Richard felt an extremely faint vibration from the ground beneath him.
Something was seeping up from the impossible depths below the Nine-Layered Stone Ring.
His inspiration began to flare, a warning.
"...Old Scholar, what’s happening?" he asked, his voice low.
Mr. Hutton was in the middle of re-carving the seventh group of Inscriptions on the fourth ring.
The old gentleman didn’t look up.
"This is normal. Loosening the rings reduces the Seal’s overall effectiveness, allowing the ’call’ from the depths to seep through the cracks."
"Just stay in the innermost circle and pay it no mind."
"...Yes."
Richard raised his camera again.
Mr. Hutton had just finished re-carving the last group of Inscriptions on the fourth ring.
"Activate," he said, standing up and pressing a hand to his lower back.
The old gentleman had crouched and stood up dozens of times today, and his body was starting to give out.
Just as the circle of light for the entire fourth ring began to close...
Major Aud, in the outer circle, suddenly raised his right hand.
"All teams, prepare for combat."
The three members of the first team immediately readied their weapons for battle.
The team leader himself held a modified gun, his left hand gripping the forestock beneath the barrel.
Xiaoma clutched a Silver Dagger and a flintlock gun, his entire body visibly more tense than before.
Richard used his Hidden Spiritual Vision to scan the direction of the dark tunnel’s entrance.
The Ether concentration at the entrance was rising rapidly.
He could clearly see plumes of grayish-white Ether fog rolling out from the mouth of the dark tunnel.
There was something hidden in the fog.
These things had no physical form; they were being driven by some kind of will, assembling themselves within the fog.

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