The silence in the pavilion held for a long moment after Lin Tian's words. Xueya and Su Lan exchanged a look, the kind that spoke volumes without a sound.
"Keys," Su Lan repeated slowly, her healer's mind picking at the statement. "What does that mean, practically?"
Lin Tian walked to the window, looking out at the misty peaks. The weight of the Grand Elder's decree was a solid thing in his chest. "It means no one can stop me from going anywhere in this sect. It means I can take anything that isn't nailed down, and if it is nailed down, I can take the nails too."
"That sounds like an invitation to chaos," Xueya murmured, but a flicker of heat in their bond told him she wasn't entirely opposed.
"It's an invitation to answers," Lin Tian corrected, turning back to them. "We brought back a piece of a dead god from that Rift. The System ate it. We need to know what else is out there, and why."
He felt the System stir in the back of his mind, a silent pulse of agreement.
