The moment Lu Fan stepped through the gate, light ceased to exist.
He stood in a world of darkness so deep it devoured sound, thought, and even presence. There was no ground beneath his feet, no sky above — only endless black mist swirling like sentient smoke.
For the first time since his ascension, he couldn't sense the Universal Library.
Even his spiritual sense found nothing.
> "So this is… the Shadow Realm."
A whisper echoed from the void — a voice identical to his own.
> "No, Lu Fan. This is you."
The darkness rippled. From it stepped a figure — tall, cold, and perfect. His face was Lu Fan's mirror image, but his eyes burned crimson. His aura radiated both power and despair.
> "I am what you buried," the shadow said softly. "Your fear, your regret, your hatred. The side that begged for death when your family was slaughtered."
Lu Fan's expression didn't change. "You're a memory. Nothing more."
The doppelgänger smirked. "Then defeat me."
Before Lu Fan could move, the shadow blurred forward.
Their fists collided — and the realm shattered into a thousand mirror shards, each reflecting moments of his life.
He saw himself as a boy, training in the rain.
He saw his father, smiling faintly before sending him away.
He saw his enemies — and the moment his hair turned white.
Every reflection whispered his doubts:
> "You failed to save them."
"You became the very thing you hated."
"You're no Sovereign — just a survivor."
Lu Fan gritted his teeth, summoning the Eternal Reversal Art, but the technique faltered. The mirrors absorbed his energy, reflecting it back with equal force.
> "You can't reverse what you don't accept," the shadow mocked.
"The Void Path feeds on truth — and you've been lying to yourself."
Darkness surged, forming chains that wrapped around Lu Fan's limbs, dragging him down into the abyss.
He gasped as visions flooded him — the moment he lost his mother, the betrayal of the Temple, the endless nights of pain. His knees hit the unseen ground.
> "This pain… again…"
> "No, Lu Fan," the voice of the Universal Library finally returned, faint and distant. "Not again — still."
His eyes widened. The Library's voice grew clearer, echoing in his soul:
> "The Eternal Reversal Art is not just for energy. It is for fate itself. Reverse what binds you — not with denial, but with understanding."
A tear slid down Lu Fan's cheek. He looked up at his shadow, who stood tall and silent — waiting.
Slowly, Lu Fan opened his palms, letting the chains dig into his flesh.
"I don't reject you," he whispered. "Because you are me."
The realm trembled.
The shadows writhed and screamed as his white hair glowed brighter, releasing threads of void energy that turned silver.
He pulled the chains into his body — absorbing them — and the shadow's eyes widened.
> "What are you doing—?"
Lu Fan's voice thundered like law itself:
> "Eternal Reversal Art — Second Form: Soul Reflection."
The two merged in a flash of blinding light.
Every doubt, every regret, every failure — consumed, understood, accepted.
When the light faded, Lu Fan stood alone once more.
But his aura had changed — balanced. Neither pure nor dark. His eyes now shimmered with twin hues: one silver, one gold.
> [Trial Complete — Sovereign of Shadows' Will Assimilated.]
[Duality Principle Acquired: Yin Within Yang.]
The Universal Library's voice returned, soft and proud.
> "You have conquered the shadow — not by destroying it, but by embracing it. The next trial awaits."
A silver doorway appeared ahead, lined with faint crimson runes — a far colder, darker energy pulsing behind it.
Lu Fan took one last look at the realm behind him.
His shadow's voice lingered faintly — not as an enemy, but as an echo.
> "Walk forward, Sovereign… and never forget who you are."
He stepped through the gate.
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