The night deepened.
Within the Moonlight Court, lanterns flickered in meditation halls and courtyards, casting warm glows over jade tiles and drifting petals. But the inner sect elders remained absent—locked in their secluded retreats, oblivious to the shifting undercurrents.
Rael sat cross-legged on the balcony of his assigned quarters, the moonlight pale against his skin. Beneath the surface of his chest, the absorbed Moon-Flesh Core still pulsed faintly, its rhythm subtle, yet undeniably not his own.
Temporary.
Unstable.
The system had warned him, and Rael believed it.
But he hadn't taken the core for power alone.
He had taken it to learn what others had buried.
"What kind of Heir leaves behind a beating heart?"
---
Below his balcony, Wei Lin practiced footwork drills with a wooden sword. Her movements were disciplined, honed by repetition, but Rael noticed the hesitation in her strikes. She fought like someone who hadn't yet faced death.
She looked up.
"You're awake again?"
He didn't reply.
Just nodded.
She didn't need to know what stirred behind his silvered eyes.
---
Later that night, Rael left the Moonlight Court.
Not through the front gates.
Not with permission.
He passed through the narrow stone ravine at the court's southern end, emerging beyond the barrier veil that marked the inner sanctum. Here, only senior disciples and shadow envoys were allowed to tread.
And Rael had killed one such envoy days ago.
He wore the man's torn robe now.
But not for disguise.
For memory.
"Let me see what your world tried to hide."
---
System Alert: [Shrouded Grounds – Yunlo Whisper Path] Entered
Hazard Zone Rank: Yellow-Red (Tier 3 threats confirmed)
Warning: Visibility reduced. Spiritual perception dampened.
Suggestion: Proceed with a Spirit-Tethered Item or Clan Seal.
---
The fog here was thick.
Not natural.
Alive.
Rael stepped through it barefoot, feeling the stone beneath his soles. The scent of old incense and rotting beast blood mingled in the air.
Suddenly—
A soft voice.
"I thought only shadows knew this path."
Rael paused.
A figure stood by a cracked lantern tree, dressed in light azure robes embroidered with phoenixes.
Hair like falling ink.
Eyes pale silver.
Yue Qingshi.
---
She tilted her head.
"You're not supposed to be here."
He met her gaze calmly.
"Neither are you."
---
For a long moment, neither moved.
Then she stepped closer.
The silver tassels of her earrings danced in the wind.
"You don't wear your spirit signature properly. That means you're either clever… or cursed."
Rael said nothing.
But his hand rested casually on the bone dagger at his waist.
She smiled faintly.
"You're interesting. Like a song out of key."
She turned, walking further into the fog, deliberately slow.
"Come. You're already dead if you stay still."
---
Rael hesitated—then followed.
The fog parted slightly as she walked.
And he noticed it: how the mist coiled around her but didn't touch her. How her presence… repelled something unseen.
She spoke as they walked.
"Yunlo Path used to be the resting ground for dead heirs. Failed cultivators. Unstable prodigies. Their remains weren't buried—only... spread."
Rael watched the ground.
Bones beneath the fog.
Some cracked.
Some too fresh.
So this is where the sect sends its shame.
---
They reached an open basin surrounded by jagged stone pillars, like the ribs of a fallen titan. In the center stood a silver bell hanging from an ancient arch.
Beneath it, an altar.
Rael stepped forward slowly.
"What is this place?"
Qingshi's voice dropped.
"A test."
"For who?"
"For both of us."
---
Before Rael could ask more, the silver bell rang once—without wind or touch.
---
System Alert: Trial Initiated – [Mirror Echo Rite]
Soul Reflection: Active
Condition: Face yourself. Survive.
Trial Modifier: [Moon-Flesh Instability]
→ Distortions may occur.
---
The world shifted.
Qingshi vanished.
So did the bones.
Rael stood in a field of snow under a blood-red moon. But this snow melted where it touched him. It hissed on his skin. The sky churned like a storm of ash.
And ahead of him stood a boy.
Thin. Younger. Black eyes. Pale lips.
Himself.
---
But the boy was smiling.
Wrongly.
Like a wolf mimicking a child.
"Hello, Rael."
The boy stepped forward, barefoot, leaving no prints in the snow.
"You buried me a long time ago."
Rael's jaw clenched.
"You're not real."
The boy laughed.
"Of course I'm not. But neither are you."
---
The boy attacked.
Fast.
Faster than Rael remembered ever being.
He dodged the first strike, barely—then countered, but the boy wasn't there anymore. He struck from behind, drawing blood.
He knows my habits.
He's me.
---
System Trait Triggered: [Memory Trace Combat – Level I]
You may recall one past movement sequence to counter
Duration: 30 seconds
Cost: Cognitive Stress.
Available Memory Trace: [Forest Feint – Three-Shadow Flow]
---
Rael used it.
Let the memory guide him.
He shifted, rolled, and lunged—bone dagger slashing through the boy's ribs.
But the boy only laughed.
Bleeding.
Still smiling.
"You think this wins?"
And then—
The boy changed.
Eyes turned black.
Veins silver.
And the moon above shattered.
---
Pain.
Real, this time.
Rael dropped to one knee, clutching his chest.
Moon-Flesh instability… it's reacting to the reflection.
I can't win by brute force.
He looked up.
"I see," he whispered.
Then he stood.
"You're not my shadow."
"You're the hunger they put in me."
---
Rael breathed slowly.
Centered himself.
And closed his eyes.
---
He didn't strike.
He waited.
He listened.
To wind.
To steps.
To blood.
And when the boy attacked again—Rael turned and embraced him.
The blade passed through him.
But the reflection shuddered.
And then…
Fell apart.
---
The field of snow melted into light.
Rael was back in the basin, gasping, kneeling by the silver bell.
Qingshi stood nearby, watching.
"Most fight themselves in that rite," she said softly. "Few survive."
He didn't answer.
She stepped closer and touched his shoulder.
"You're dangerous."
"So are you," he replied hoarsely.
"Yes," she smiled. "But I don't hide it as well as you."
---
Above them, the moon passed behind drifting clouds.
And something in Rael's body began to shift again.
But he didn't resist.
He had faced his shadow.
Now it was time to forge something new.