The Hollow Mirror Forest loomed before them like the boundary of another world.
Mist curled across the ground, coiling around the roots of ancient trees whose trunks were wider than small houses. Their bark gleamed faintly, as if coated with a thin layer of glass. The canopy above shimmered with silver reflections instead of leaves — a maze of mirrored fragments that caught every stray glimmer of light.
Ren Xiang exhaled slowly.
His Inner Sea shivered.
The Mirror-Void pulsed under his ribs, whispering softly.
Karyon raised his staff, its copper surface absorbing the scattered reflections. "This place was once a sanctuary," he said, voice heavy with memory. "A place where cultivators came to test their true selves."
Ilvara muttered, "And then the first tear appeared."
Karyon nodded. "Yes. The Abyss infected it, and it twisted into… this."He gestured toward the forest."The trees now reflect not light, but intent."
Ren Xiang inhaled. "Intent?"
Ilvara stepped forward. "Yes. Not who you are — but who you fear you are."
Karyon tapped his staff on the ground. "Within these trees, anything your heart tries to hide will manifest as an enemy."
Taro would have fainted instantly. Mira would have walked into the forest without blinking.
Ren Xiang?
He already knew what waited for him.
Nocturn's echo.The shadow of the man he used to be.The version of himself that failed.
Ilvara looked at him. "Xiang. Before we enter, say it plainly. What do you fear?"
Ren Xiang didn't answer immediately.
He closed his eyes, allowing the Mirror-Void to pulse freely for a moment.
A memory flashed.
A lab in his past life.Machines humming.A quantum resonance engine glowing with unstable light.Warnings flashing red.His colleagues shouting.And in the center of the anomaly—
Something staring back at him.
Nocturn's sliver of consciousness, peering through the rupture he created.
And then—
The collapse.
Ren Xiang opened his eyes.
"I fear becoming what I once awakened."
Ilvara nodded once. "Then you must ensure you never take a step in that direction."
Ren Xiang inhaled. "I will."
"Good," she said.
Karyon planted his staff firmly. "Now… the entrance test."
Ren Xiang frowned. "Entrance… test?"
The forest responded to his words.
A wave of mist rippled outward as if something massive exhaled. The mirrored leaves above vibrated softly. The ground shivered beneath their feet, and the air thickened — pulling Ren Xiang's hair and cloak forward.
Ilvara muttered, "It's waking."
Karyon exhaled. "It senses him."
A deep groan echoed through the trees.
Branches twisted. Roots tore upward. And then — a single path opened between the trees, carved not by nature but by intelligent intention.
Ren Xiang stepped forward.
But Karyon placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Not yet. There is one more thing."
Ren Xiang paused. "What?"
"The forest requires blood."
Ilvara held out a dagger.Her expression was grim.
"Your journey will be bound to your intent," she said. "Once you bleed upon its roots… the forest will not allow you to retreat."
Ren Xiang took the dagger without hesitation.
He sliced the edge of his palm.
Warm blood dripped onto the root of a massive tree.
The effect was immediate.
The forest trembled — violently.
Mirrored leaves exploded in a storm of glittering shards. The mist rushed forward like a living creature. The ground groaned. And then—
A whisper.
"Ren… Xiang…"
Ilvara stepped back, blade ready.
Karyon tightened his grip on his staff.
Ren Xiang ignored the voice.
He walked.
The forest swallowed them instantly.
Daylight vanished behind mirrored branches. The mist distorted shadows, shapes, and silhouettes until nothing seemed real. Ren Xiang could feel his heartbeat echoing through the forest — as if the trees themselves were breathing in rhythm with him.
Ilvara moved ahead, eyes scanning the reflections. "Stay close. The forest bends reality. If you wander more than a few steps away, you'll lose orientation."
Karyon remained at Ren Xiang's side, murmuring, "Feel the Void Sutra within you. Let it guide you when the forest tries to twist your senses."
Ren Xiang inhaled.
Warm breath.Cold breath.Dual breath.
His mirrored meridians glowed faintly beneath his skin. His real meridians pulsed irregularly. The shard of Nocturn's echo-mark remained dormant — for now.
The deeper they moved into the forest, the more the reflections changed.
At first, Ren Xiang saw only natural distortions — his face stretched, his limbs elongated by the curved mirror-like bark.
Then the reflections began to shift.
In one tree, Ren Xiang saw a version of himself lying dead among shattered glass.
In another, a Ren with shadowed eyes.
In another—
A Ren standing beside Nocturn.
Ilvara moved quickly, slicing through a reflective branch. The image shattered.
"Don't look too long," she warned. "The forest is reading your fear."
Karyon added quietly, "And your possibilities."
Ren Xiang clenched his jaw.
He kept walking.
But the forest grew bolder.
Reflections began speaking.
"Failure…""You will become him…""You cannot repair the Sea…""She will die for you…"
Ren Xiang paused — that last one hit harder.
Ilvara sensed it. "Ignore them. They mean nothing."
Karyon frowned. "Not nothing. They are seeds of fear. The forest makes them bloom."
Ren Xiang swallowed."Mira…"
Ilvara looked at him sharply.
"Do not think of her. The forest will use her image against you."
Ren Xiang inhaled slowly. "I know."
But images of Mira's awakening flashed in his mind. Her trembling voice. Her eyes shining with fear and courage. Her whisper—
"Don't die."
The forest reacted instantly.
Something stirred ahead.
Karyon's expression darkened. "Brace yourselves."
The mist thickened. Reflections distorted. Shapes moved among the trees.
Dozens of silhouettes stepped forward — each one shifting unpredictably, glimmering with mirrored surfaces instead of flesh.
Ilvara spat, "Mirror-beasts."
Karyon nodded grimly. "Born from fractured intent."
Ren Xiang stepped back, preparing a stance.
Ilvara raised her blade. "They mimic not your form — but your doubts."
Karyon tightened his grip. "Xiang. This is the first test of your Mirror-Void."
Ren Xiang inhaled.
His breaths aligned.
Dual Breath flared.
The forest's reflections hummed violently — reacting to the resonance inside him.
And then—
The mirror-beasts ATTACKED.
Ilvara moved first.
Her blade cleaved through two beasts in a single arc, their mirrored bodies exploding into a rain of glitter that dissolved upon hitting the ground.
Karyon slammed his staff into the earth.A shockwave rippled outward, fracturing five beasts at once.
Ren Xiang moved instinctively.
Dual Breath surged through his legs, amplifying his movement. He sidestepped a beast, slammed his palm into its reflective surface —
CRACK!
The beast shattered.
Another lunged from behind.Ren Xiang turned smoothly, using mirrored meridians to predict its movement.
He struck its core.
CRACK!
Three more emerged.
Ren Xiang inhaled.Dual Breath aligned.
He thrust his fist forward —
A wave of resonance exploded outward, absorbing into the beasts and rupturing them from within.
Shards rained like silver snow.
Karyon murmured, impressed. "Your control is improving."
Ren Xiang wiped blood from his lip. "But still unstable."
Ilvara pointed ahead. "We need to move. The forest won't give us time to rest—"
A low growl cut her off.
Trees bent.
Reflections shattered.
Mist recoiled.
Karyon's face turned white.
Ilvara stepped protectively in front of Ren Xiang.
Ren Xiang narrowed his eyes.
A new creature stepped into view —
tall, human-shaped, but with a body made of cracked mirrors, each fragment reflecting a different image of Ren Xiang.
One shard showed him dying.One showed him corrupted.One showed him killing Mira.One showed him kneeling before Nocturn.
Ren Xiang's breath hitched.
Ilvara whispered, "This one is not a beast."
Karyon replied,
"No. This is a Mirror-Eater."
Ren Xiang's spine tightened."What does it eat?"
Karyon's voice was a whisper.
"Paths."
Ilvara gripped her blade. "It consumes the futures of those who fail."
Ren Xiang stepped forward.
The Mirror-Eater tilted its head, fragments clinking softly.
The reflection where Ren knelt before Nocturn glowed brighter.
Karyon yelled, "Xiang—be careful—!"
The Mirror-Eater lunged with blinding speed, its many reflective arms stretching unnaturally, aiming for Ren Xiang's chest—
Ren met it head-on.
Dual Breath detonated.
The impact sent both crashing backward.
Ren hit the ground hard.
His Inner Sea screamed.The shard pulsed painfully.
The Mirror-Eater reformed instantly, stepping closer.
Ilvara slashed it — but her blade passed halfway through before getting stuck.
She cursed.
Karyon thrust his staff — but the creature dissolved into smoke and reformed behind Ren Xiang.
Ren twisted, barely avoiding the killing blow.
The Mirror-Eater whispered with a dozen distorted versions of Ren's voice:
"YOU CANNOT REPAIR THE SEA."
Ren Xiang grit his teeth."That's not your decision."
He inhaled.
Dual Breath flared.
Mirrored meridians glowed.Real meridians trembled.
He thrust both palms toward the creature.
The Mirror-Eater caught his resonance—
And REFLECTED IT BACK.
Ren Xiang screamed as the force slammed into his chest, sending him flying into a tree with bone-cracking force.
Ilvara shouted his name.
Karyon's eyes widened in horror.
The Mirror-Eater approached slowly.
Karyon whispered,"He reflects what you are. You cannot defeat him with your fear."
Ren Xiang coughed blood.Fear…
Of failing.Of becoming corrupted.Of losing Mira.Of dying again.Of becoming Nocturn.
The Mirror-Eater's shards glowed brighter.
Ren Xiang's breath shook.
Ilvara swung again —Karyon blasted with resonance —the creature ignored them both.
Its eyes — four irregular slits — fixed on Ren Xiang.
Karyon shouted, "Xiang! You must override the fear! Replace it!"
Ren Xiang forced himself up, trembling.
"What do you fear most?" Ilvara cried.
Ren Xiang's mind raced.
Nocturn.Death.Failure.Losing control.Losing—
Mira.
His heart clenched painfully.
The Mirror-Eater's shards shifted —the reflection of Mira dying glowed intensely.
Ren Xiang's eyes widened.
No.
No.
That could never happen.
He inhaled.
The warm breath surged.Cold breath responded.Two currents merged.
Not fear.
Not pain.
Resolve.
The Mirror-Void inside him flared with a clean, sharp light.
Ren Xiang stepped forward.
The Mirror-Eater paused.
Ren Xiang's voice was steady:
"I fear myself.But I will not fear for her."
Dual Breath resonated—
But this time—
His meridians aligned in razor clarity.
The Void Sutra diagram flashed across his Inner Sea.
The Mirror-Eater took a step back.
Too late.
Ren Xiang pressed his palm forward.
"VOID RESONANCE — FIRST FORM."
A brilliant shockwave erupted outward.
Silent.Pure.Precise.
It didn't strike the creature's body.
It struck its core reflection — the shard that showed Mira's death.
The shard shattered.
The Mirror-Eater screamed —its entire form splintering violently —its mirrored limbs collapsing inward —until it imploded into a burst of silver dust.
Silence fell.
Ilvara stared. "You… learned a Void Sutra form already?"
Karyon's voice trembled. "That is impossible."
Ren Xiang exhaled.
His body nearly collapsed.
But he remained standing.
Barely.
"I don't have time," he whispered.
Ilvara placed a hand on his shoulder."You do now."
Karyon nodded slowly."The forest has acknowledged your entrance."
Ren Xiang looked deeper into the mist.
The path ahead glowed faintly.
Ilvara sheathed her blade.
"Then we walk on."
Ren Xiang inhaled.Dual Breath steady.
And the three of them stepped deeper into the Forest of Fractured Echoes.