Dawn crept into the Celestial Meridian Sect like a cautious visitor, brushing against rooftops, stirring the wind chimes, awakening the sleeping disciples in waves. Ren Xiang opened his eyes long before sunlight touched his face.
Two pulses beat inside him.
Two rhythms.
Two systems.
The real meridians — warm, organic, familiar.
The mirrored meridians — cold, crystalline, sharp like a blade's reflection.
They pulsed asynchronously, one half-step ahead, creating an uncomfortable tugging sensation across his ribs. Sweat soaked his shirt. His fingers trembled. The mirror-meridians drank energy like parched beasts, constantly hungry.
Ren Xiang inhaled slowly.
One breath.Two currents.
If he didn't learn synchronization soon, the mirrored meridians would pull too much from the real ones. Ilvara had warned him:If the mirror surpasses the original… the original dies.
Ren Xiang sat upright, focusing inward. He imagined his Inner Sea — damaged, cracked, yet glowing faintly. Energy swirled inside it like mist over broken glass. A faint trace of the Whisper-Echo's mark pulsed faintly at the sea's edge.
He steadied his breath.
Slowed his heart.
Let the mirror-meridians echo his real ones —
The rhythms began to align.
And then—
A spike of pain rammed into his chest.Ren Xiang doubled over, gasping.
"Okay," he muttered through clenched teeth, "that was too fast."
He inhaled again.
This time, the mirrored meridians responded more gently. The real meridians trembled but didn't collapse.
He exhaled.
A faint hum rippled under his skin — a harmonious note between two dissonant systems.
It wasn't perfect.
But it was progress.
Ren Xiang stood, wiped sweat from his brow, and rolled his shoulders."Mira is going to mock me for nearly dying in bed," he murmured. "I must prevent that."
He stepped into the courtyard.
And froze.
Mira was waiting outside, leaning against a railing with her arms crossed, eyebrows raised.
"You almost died in bed, didn't you?"
Ren Xiang blinked."…Why would you assume that?"
"Because I know you," she said flatly. "You push yourself until you break something. Then you push again."
Ren Xiang sighed. "I'm fine."
Her gaze softened — barely. "If you die before I surpass you, I will resurrect you just to kill you again."
Ren Xiang actually smiled."That would be… complicated."
"Good. Complications suit you."
Before he could reply, loud footsteps approached.
Taro Flint ran into the courtyard carrying a tray stacked with steamed buns, three bowls of congee, two apples, and a suspiciously large chicken leg.
"REN!" Taro shouted. "I BROUGHT FOOD! For all of us!"
Mira flicked his forehead. "You stole that chicken leg from the kitchens."
"No, I merely relocated it," Taro said defensively, clutching the tray. "Also, Ren needs food. He looks like a dying crane."
Ren Xiang accepted the congee with a quiet nod. "Thank you."
Mira added, "Eat slowly. If your meridians destabilize because you inhaled breakfast too hard, Ilvara will bury all three of us."
Taro gulped.
Ren Xiang raised a brow. "You think she would bury you too?"
"Yes!" Taro cried. "Because she knows I would panic and cause more trouble!"
Mira nodded seriously. "True."
Ren Xiang sipped his congee, amused despite himself.
As he ate, he felt the mirrored meridians responding — absorbing nutrients differently, faster, with an almost predatory efficiency.
That was dangerous. Very dangerous.
He exhaled slowly and whispered to the mirror-meridians, "Not too fast. Not yet."
The mirrored pathways dimmed slightly, lowering their absorption rate.
Mira watched carefully."You did something."
"Yes."
"What?"
"Something internal."
"Ren," Mira warned, "if you say 'something internal' every time you nearly die, I will strangle you with my sash."
Ren Xiang nodded. "I understand."
She narrowed her eyes. "Do you?"
"Probably not."
She exhaled sharply. "At least you're honest."
Taro grinned. "Honesty is Ren's second-best quality."
"What's the first?" Mira asked.
Taro pointed dramatically at Ren Xiang's face."His ability to look calm while being completely insane!"
Ren Xiang actually laughed.
The simple warmth of this brief conversation steadied him — more than the food, more than the breath training. These two… perhaps they grounded him.
But the moment faded when a shadow passed overhead.
A hawk descended into the courtyard, wings wide, carrying a scroll tube sealed with red wax. It landed on the railing and extended the message toward Ren Xiang.
Mira's eyes narrowed. "From the Elders?"
The hawk bowed its head.
Ren Xiang broke the seal and unrolled the scroll.
Words written in sharp, precise strokes greeted him:
Report to the Inner Meridian Hall.—Elder Ilvara
Mira stiffened. "Already?"
Taro gulped. "Good luck! Don't die! Or do — but tell me before you do so I can say something dramatic!"
Mira smacked him again.
Ren Xiang stood and bowed lightly."I'll return."
Mira nodded once. "Be careful."
Taro added, "Be unpredictable!"
Ren Xiang paused."…That will not be a problem."
The Inner Meridian Hall was built into the mountain's heart. Ren Xiang walked through its polished stone corridor, the torches flickering in rhythmic bursts — as if synced with someone's pulse. The walls hummed faintly with energy.
Ilvara stood at the center of the grand hall, wearing a heavier robe today — one embroidered with silver meridian patterns. She wasn't alone.
Two elders flanked her — Elder Karyon, the Master of Internal Energies; and Elder Junya, the Sect's strategist. Their expressions were heavy.
Ren Xiang bowed. "Elders."
Ilvara studied his face. "You stabilized?"
Ren Xiang nodded. "Mostly."
Karyon stepped forward. His eyes were deep-set, intense. "Child, we have examined the valley after the breach."
Junya continued, "We discovered something we hoped never to find."
Ren Xiang waited.
Ilvara motioned to the table at the hall's center. On it lay several crystalline fragments, faintly dark, pulsing with corrupt resonance.
Ren Xiang inhaled sharply."Whisper-Echo residue."
Ilvara nodded. "Yes. But more than that."
She pointed at a fragment.
"These fragments carry an imprint."
Ren Xiang stepped closer, carefully examining them.
His heart froze.
The imprint pulsed in three beats.A slow resonance.A bending of air.A pattern unmistakable to him.
His knuckles whitened.
"Nocturn."
The name escaped him before he even realized.
Karyon's eyes widened. "You… recognize the signature?"
Junya leaned forward. "Explain."
Ren Xiang forced himself to breathe. "It's not the Echo that marked me. It's the one that created the Echo."
Karyon whispered. "Not a scout, then. A herald."
Ilvara's jaw tightened. "And you know this how?"
Ren Xiang's gaze darkened."I've seen it before."
Silence rippled through the hall.
Ilvara stepped closer."Xiang… who are you really?"
Ren Xiang inhaled shakily.
"I…"He hesitated.He could not tell the whole truth. Not now. Not yet.
"I have knowledge from… somewhere. Not from this life. And not from this world."
Ilvara's eyes widened slightly.Junya inhaled sharply.Karyon almost flinched.
Ilvara spoke first, her voice low."You have memories of another life?"
Ren Xiang nodded. "Yes."
"From the future?" Junya whispered.
Ren Xiang hesitated. "Yes."
"And in that future," Karyon added, "you encountered Nocturn?"
Ren Xiang swallowed. "More than encountered. I died because of him."
The hall froze.
Ilvara's face shifted — not disbelief, but grim acceptance.
"Then," she said carefully, "the Outer Abyss is not simply stirring. It is remembering."
Ren Xiang nodded. "And seeking."
Junya stepped forward."Ren Xiang. The Sect has made its decision. You are no longer a simple novice."
Ren Xiang blinked. "What am I?"
Karyon raised a carved wooden token.A silver halo symbol etched into it.
"This is the mark of a Provisional Shadow-Seeker."
Ilvara continued, "A position created for those who can track and combat shadow entities."
Junya added, "There have only been two Shadow-Seekers in the Sect's history."
Ilvara met Ren Xiang's gaze.
"The first was the Mirror-Sage."
Karyon added quietly, "The second died without leaving a body."
Ren Xiang clenched his fists. "And the third?"
Ilvara placed the token in his hand.
"You."
A cold wind ran through the hall.
Ren Xiang closed his eyes.
Two meridian systems pulsed beneath his skin —one real, one mirrored.
Two destinies converging.
Two worlds colliding.
He opened his eyes slowly.
"What must I do?"
Ilvara exhaled."Tonight, you begin training in the Dual Breath Discipline."
Karyon continued, "Tomorrow, you study the Lines of Reflection and the art of mirror-counter resonance."
Junya's voice lowered."And soon… you will leave the Sect."
Ren Xiang blinked. "Leave?"
Ilvara nodded. "Yes. You cannot stay here. Your presence draws them. The shadows will come again — and next time, they won't send an Echo."
Ren Xiang felt his heartbeat strengthen.
"Where must I go?"
Ilvara looked toward the north — toward a distant land shrouded in mist and legend.
"To the Hollow Mirror Forest."
Karyon whispered, "Where the Mirror-Sage died."
Junya added, "Where the first Abyssal tear appeared."
Ren Xiang exhaled slowly.
"I understand."
Ilvara stepped closer, placing a firm hand on his shoulder.
"This path will break you," she said quietly. "But if you survive… you may be the one who can stop Nocturn from rising again."
Ren Xiang nodded.
"I will survive."
Ilvara's gaze softened."For all our sakes… I pray you do."
That night, after the elders dismissed him, Ren Xiang walked alone through the silent pavilions. The moon glittered overhead like a shard of crystal. The wind was cold.
He reached the cliff, where Mira and Taro sat waiting.
Mira stood immediately. "Well?"
Taro leaned forward. "What did they say? Did they promote you to Ultra Super Elder? Can you fly now? Did you grow a third eye?"
Mira shoved him aside.
Ren Xiang held up the token.
Mira's face paled. "A Shadow-Seeker…"
Taro gaped. "REN GOT A SPECIAL TITLE?! Does this mean I can be his assistant?!"
Mira hexed him with a glare.
Ren Xiang looked at her quietly."I have to leave the Sect soon."
Mira's breath caught. "Leave? Why?"
"Because shadows will come for me here," Ren said softly. "I must go somewhere they already fear."
Taro whispered, "Where is that?"
Ren Xiang exhaled.
"The Hollow Mirror Forest."
Silence.
Mira stepped closer. "Ren… That place kills full elders."
Ren Xiang nodded.
"I know."
Mira's eyes softened slightly. "When do you go?"
"Soon."
"Then," she whispered, "I'll train too. So when you return… I can meet you as an equal."
Ren Xiang blinked — genuinely moved.
Taro puffed his chest. "And I'll train with Mira! Mostly! As long as she doesn't make me do anything too hard!"
Mira smacked him again.
Ren Xiang breathed softly.
Two breaths.
Two meridians.
Two destinies.
One path forward.
"Thank you," he whispered.
The wind carried his words away.
Far above the mountains, the crack in the sky pulsed —brighter now.
As if listening.
As if calling.
As if waiting for him to come.