The tunnels appeared to go on forever, curving like the ribcage of some long-buried creature. Shen Liuxue and Xie Yining sprinted through the damp tunnel, the sound of their footsteps muffled by the layer of dust covering the stones.
Liuxue's attention was on the pulsing of the Reversal Seal on her wrist. It shone just enough to light their way through the winding tunnel system.
Yining caught glimpses of her between gasps. "The seal, is this always what it does?"
"No," she replied simply. "Something awakened it."
Yining's body tensed. "They're close. Three Wardens, possibly four. Searching the mountain."
"Then we move faster," Liuxue didn't slow down.
The tunnel sloped upwards, towards the faint light of the moon. When they were close to the tunnel's exit, the cold air rushed in, bringing with it the smell of pines and snow.
The ledge they stepped onto was halfway up the side of a steep, towering mountain. Below, the valley slept in the darkness of night. Along the tops of the trees, a mist clung, luminous in the moonlight.
Moving forward, the rock face loomed steep and ragged, like splintered swords. But set into this rock was a small staircase, hewn from light-colored stone and filled with greenery.
Yining took a deep breath. "We're close."
"Close to what?" Liuxue raised an eyebrow.
He gestured upwards. "The Mountain of Silent Prayers."
Liuxue surveyed the sheer face of the cliff. "A temple ?"
"No," Yining said softly. "A sanctuary."
She didn't respond.
But the silence remained, thick and holy and ancient. Every step she took echoed through the stillness as if the very mountain was requiring quiet.
Yining led, climbing the stairs. Liuxue followed, her mind alert. Three times she felt the whisper of her nascent power, the sensing of presence, known as Causal Echo. She touched her fingers against the stone rail.
A whisper.
The flicker of motion.
A monk kneeling decades ago, praying for the souls who lost to war.
She blinked and the image faded.
Practical, she told herself. Hazardous, perhaps—but useful.
After this final sharp turn, they found themselves on a plateau, with a small shrine positioned awkwardly close to the edge of the precipice. The shrine was no more than some worn wood, now gray, and a single bell swaying very gently, accompanied by wind chimes of bone and jade.
The chimes rang softly, incongruous with the calm air.
"They're ringing without wind," frowned Liuxue.
Yining nodded. "Warning. The shrine is picking up on heavenly currents."
He walked towards the entry but stopped, turning to her. "Before we go inside, there's something you should know. The monks here were part of an old order. They were neither farmers nor clergy. They were. watchers."
"Watching what?"
"Fate"
"Well, then they would have seen me," Liuxue's jaw clenched.
"Not specifically," Yining replied. "But they foresaw a 'cycle breaker' to come back to this mountain. Someone who would break the will of Heaven."
Liuxue's breath cooled in her throat. "I don't believe in prophecies," she said, as if to reassure herself as much as anyone else. "They are the tools the heavens use to control mortals." The notion, though, that someone, anyone, had known of her return, filled her with an unsettling doubt,
In, she went.
Inside the Sanctuar
Inside the shrine, it was empty. In the middle, an altar of shiny stone rested. The candles were lit, yet there were no flames. On the distant wall, there was a large mural, aged and cracked, yet still visible.
Liuxue drew near slowly.
The woman appeared alone under the fragmented sky. On the ground, there were broken chains, stars, and the shape of a crescent moon.
Her mark.
Yining observed her closely. "This shrine was for her. The woman from the manuscripts."
Liuxue didn't stir. The memory flash flooded back—the battlefield, the chains, the light that couldn't possibly exist.
"She was alone," said Liuxue quietly.
Yining's voice softened. "Every cycle breaker is."
"I do not need prophecy," she said, turning to him, her eyes cold. "I need survival."
"And that," Yining said, "is why this place may help."
He unwound a small piece of parchment from his scroll case. "The head monk at the shrine recorded one last entry before his passing.
He mentioned an underground chamber beneath the altar, a place where an item relating to the Reversal Code is said to reside."
"And you brought me here because you think I can open it," said Liuxue, raising an eyebrow.
Yining nodded. "Only the bearer of the seal can."
Liuxue walks towards the altar. Her footsteps ring out in the hushed surroundings.
The surface was cold against her palms.
The sigil on her wrist grew warm.
There was no reaction for a moment.
The altar then shook.
There was a faint ring of light beneath her palms, growing like ripples on the surface of the water. The stones shifted, rearranging themselves into other patterns.
Yining backed away, her eyes wide. "It's working.
The altar pulled apart, opening onto a staircase leading into darkness.
But just as Liuxue was about to move, a loud "crack" sounded from outside.
Both stopped.
The wind chimes were clattering wildly—in spite of the lack of wind.
Yining paled. "They found us."
Liuxue stepped towards the doorway, her eyes narrowing.
The faint lights twinkled through the mist outside. Cold. Clean. Artificial.
Astral Guardians
But then one light appeared,sharper and more aware.
Then another, fainter voice echoed through the cliff, aided by divine strength.
"Sheng, Liuxue"
Yining's voice trembled. "That's… That's no construct. That's a Celestial Messenger."
Liuxue's heartbeats slowed and grew into something sharp
The Messenger
The Celestial Courts are directly extended by this.
"They had escalated the hunt," she told him
"We go down."
She stepped back to the altar, and her decision was instant.
"But the Messenger—" Yining hesitated
"It won't follow us underground."
"How do you know?"
Liuxue's eyes grew cold. "Because last time they cornered me, they were scared of what was underneath."
Her voice raised gooseflesh on Yining's neck.
The Wardens' footsteps rang out closer—metallic and perfect
Liuxue led the way into the darkness.
Yining followed.
The altar closed abruptly above them, as the first Warden just reached the shrine door.
Silence engulfed them once more. But beneath the silence, something very old began to stir, beneath the shrine.
An artifact waiting for her. "A secret is something hidden intentionally, and what's hidden The truth, which will be no gentle thing."