The air over the Celestial Meridian Sect was still — unnaturally so. The kind of silence that arrives just before a storm. Moonlight traced silver edges along the rooftops, reflecting like tiny blades across the tiled surfaces.
Ren Xiang sat cross-legged at the cliff edge, wind brushing his hair, robes fluttering around him. Below, forests swayed in the night breeze like sleeping giants. The Hollow Mirror Forest lay far beyond the northern horizon, but he could already feel a faint pull — like a whisper tugging at his broken Sea.
The Void Sutra's diagram pulsed in his mind. Lines. Patterns. Resonance latticework. A path only he could walk.
But tonight wasn't for training.
It was for reflection.
For what he was about to leave behind.
Footsteps approached quietly.
Ilvara sat beside him without a word. She didn't speak at all for a long while — she simply let the silence settle. Ren Xiang respected that.
Finally, she said:
"You're afraid."
Ren Xiang didn't deny it. "I would be a fool not to be."
Ilvara's eyes softened. "Fear is not weakness. It is sight."
Ren Xiang nodded. "What if my Sea doesn't stabilize? What if the shard breaks free? What if I… become something I fought in my previous life?"
Ilvara turned her gaze toward the moon. "Then we will end you."
Ren Xiang blinked — startled.
Ilvara smirked faintly. "Fear can be eased by honesty. If you lose control, I will not hesitate."
Strangely, that comforted him.
"But," she added, "I believe you won't."
Ren Xiang blinked. "Why?"
"Because you have people who tether you," Ilvara replied. "People who would drag you back even from the Abyss."
He inhaled. "Mira…"
"And Taro," Ilvara said with a sigh. "Though I often question his usefulness."
Ren Xiang smiled slightly.
Ilvara stood. "Sleep, Xiang. Once we begin the journey, you won't rest again for a long time."
She walked away.
Ren Xiang watched her leave, then looked back at the moon.
"…I will come back."
The wind whispered across the valley — as if answering.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Sect —
Mira knelt in the center of her room, palms pressed together. The lantern at her side flickered, though there was no wind. Her breathing was jagged. Her skin prickled.
Something inside her chest pulsed — a faint glow beneath the skin.
The Celestial Pulse.
She had felt… something during Ren's battle. Something awaken, stir, shift.
Now, that something demanded release.
Mira inhaled sharply.
A silver spark ignited at the core of her sternum.
She gasped, clutching her chest as a wave of light rippled outward. Her meridians lit up faintly — not like Ren's, which flickered between warm and cold, but with a steady radiance like starlight coursing through her veins.
Her eyes widened."…I…"
A tremor shook her entire body.
Energy burst from her palms, cracking the floor beneath her knees.
At the same moment —
Ren Xiang, still sitting outside, lifted his head sharply.
"She's awakening," he whispered.
The mirrored meridians inside him pulsed in response, sensing the change in her resonance.
Mira fell forward, clutching the floor, but light swirled from her back in a ribbon of stars. Her entire room lit up, shadows fleeing from the sheer brilliance. Her heartbeat thundered.
Her breath came in fast, painful bursts.
"I— I can't—"
A surge of power coursed through her, threatening to tear her apart. Her vision blurred. Her meridians strained.
A scream tore from her lips—
And suddenly—
A calming presence touched her ribs.A warmth.A steadying pulse.
Another heartbeat.
Someone grabbed her shoulders.
"Mira."
Her eyes snapped open.
Ren Xiang stood behind her, hands pressed gently against her back, his mirrored and real meridians flowing in parallel lines. His Dual Breath steadied her wild awakening.
"…Ren…" Mira gasped. "It— hurts—"
"I know," he said softly. "Breathe with me."
She trembled. "I can't— it's too much—"
"You can," Ren Xiang whispered. "Follow my breath."
He inhaled.
She followed.
He exhaled.
The light inside her shifted.
The Celestial Pulse found rhythm — aligning with his steady guidance. Mira's shaking slowed. Her meridians stabilized.
The pain eased.
She collapsed against him, panting.
Ren Xiang didn't move, supporting her weight effortlessly.
After a long silence, Mira whispered,"…You felt it?"
"Yes."
"How?"
Ren Xiang's voice softened. "I feel everything connected to the world's resonance now."
Mira leaned her forehead against his shoulder.
"I don't want you to go," she whispered.
Ren Xiang closed his eyes.
"I know."
She grabbed the fabric of his robes. "Then stay."
He hesitated — painfully.
"I can't."
"Why not?" she demanded.
Ren Xiang swallowed. "Because Nocturn won't stop. The forest is the only place I can repair my Sea. And if I don't…"
He didn't finish.
Mira closed her eyes. "…I hate this."
Ren Xiang exhaled.
"So do I."
They remained like that for a long moment — Mira trembling with the fading aftershock of awakening, Ren silently anchoring her with Dual Breath.
Eventually, she steadied.
"I can walk," she said quietly.
Ren Xiang nodded, letting her stand.
She looked at her hands — still faintly glowing.
"So this is… my power."
Ren Xiang nodded. "Celestial Pulse is rare. And powerful. And it will grow with you."
Mira smiled weakly. "I won't let you go far ahead, Ren."
He smiled faintly."I know you won't."
She stepped closer. "When you come back… I'll challenge you."
Ren Xiang met her gaze. "I welcome that."
She blinked away the sheen in her eyes. "Then don't you dare die."
Ren Xiang bowed his head. "I won't."
She turned toward the door — then stopped.Without looking back:
"Don't go alone."
Ren Xiang whispered,"I never truly am."
Across the Sect, the night grew colder.
Taro, who had wandered into the kitchen to steal dumplings, froze mid-bite.
Something was in the shadows.
Something tall.
Something wrong.
A crooked silhouette stepped from behind a pantry shelf — limbs too long, spine bending backward unnaturally. Its head scraped the ceiling, and its jaw hung loose like a broken mask.
Its voice was two voices overlapping:
"SHARD—WE SMELLTHE SHARD—"
Taro screamed.
He flung the dumplings at the creature and sprinted for the exit.
The creature moved—
Fast.
Too fast.
It blurred, appearing behind him in a breath, long arms reaching—
A blade flashed.
A brilliant arc of light cut through the air.
The shadow-creature shrieked as Ilvara landed between it and Taro, blade dripping with black ichor.
"Taro, run."
Taro ran before she finished speaking.
Ilvara turned to the monster, eyes narrowing.
"This one isn't sent to kill," she murmured. "It's sent to scout."
The creature lunged.
Ilvara intercepted, blade slicing through its arm — but the limb grew back instantly, twisted and more grotesque.
Ilvara grimaced. "Adaptive regeneration. A new type."
The creature's two-voices hissed:
"REN XIANG—WHERE—"
Ilvara's eyes sharpened."Not tonight."
She cut.Again.Again.
Each slice burned with white flame.
After a final shriek, the creature dissolved into a pool of black vapor — then vanished completely.
Ilvara exhaled and wiped her blade."They have started hunting within the Sect's borders."
She looked toward the courtyard, where Ren Xiang stood at Mira's door.
"Then we leave at first light," she whispered.
Dawn arrived quietly — pale gold spreading across mountaintops.
Ren Xiang stood at the gate of the Sect, cloak tightened around him, backpack strapped, eyes bright but heavy. Mira and Taro stood in front of him.
Mira was composed — but too composed.Taro sniffled loudly.
"Ren…" Mira murmured. "If you die—"
"I won't."
"You better not."
Taro shoved a paper-wrapped bundle into Ren Xiang's hands. "Dumplings! Take them! I made them! Mostly!"
Ren Xiang accepted. "Thank you, Taro."
Taro wiped his eyes. "I'll… keep Mira safe until you come back."
Mira smacked him."I don't need— okay maybe a little — but shut up."
Ren Xiang laughed softly.
Ilvara and Karyon appeared behind him.
"It is time," Ilvara said.
Ren Xiang turned back to Mira.
She stepped forward — grabbed his sleeve — and whispered:"I'll be waiting."
Ren Xiang nodded.
Then he followed Ilvara and Karyon down the northern path.
He did not look back.
But he felt Mira's gaze on him until the mountain disappeared behind trees.
Hours later, deep in the northern valley—
Ren Xiang halted.
His chest tightened.
Ilvara sensed it instantly. "What is it?"
"The shard," he whispered. "It… reacted."
Karyon raised his staff. "Danger?"
Ren Xiang shook his head slowly.
"No. Not danger."
He looked into the distance.
"The Hollow Mirror Forest. It's calling."
Far ahead, between two mountains, a misty silhouette loomed.
Tall. Silent.Ancient.
A forest that reflected the souls of those who entered.
Ilvara inhaled sharply."Then your trial begins."
Ren Xiang stepped forward.
The forest pulsed faintly.
Like a mirror waiting for him.
Like a mouth waiting to swallow destiny.