The underground gate chamber pulsed with unnatural light.
Lin Feng stood before the ancient seal, heart thudding. The Sixth Gate—the Gate of Reflection—was unlike the others. It did not challenge the body. It challenged the mind.
He reached toward the gate.
A whisper escaped the seal:
"To reclaim the key, you must face the truth."
He pressed his palm to the sigil.
---
Suddenly, he stood in a palace of light.
Marble halls stretched endlessly. Moonlight poured in from a sky full of stars. And in the center of the throne room—his former self.
The Void Monarch.
Clad in black robes that shimmered with constellations, he sat upon a throne of flowing silver.
Lin Feng stepped forward slowly.
"...So it's you."
The Monarch looked up and smiled faintly. "The new vessel. How are you enjoying my secondhand soul?"
Lin Feng scowled. "You mean our soul."
The Monarch stood, descending the steps. "So full of fire. It reminds me of me, before I broke the world."
"You did break the world."
"And you will too. If you keep clinging to kindness."
Lin Feng's grip tightened on his blade. "Kindness saved me. You died alone."
The Monarch raised a brow. "And what makes you think you'll die surrounded by love?"
Lin Feng said nothing.
"Let me show you," the Monarch whispered.
---
Visions erupted around them.
Cities in flames. Friends betrayed. Ruoxi weeping over his corpse. Yue Lian standing alone in moonlight, still waiting.
And the last vision—Lin Feng, older, powerful, and utterly alone.
"You will walk a path none understand," the Monarch said. "Power isolates. Every step forward pushes someone behind."
Lin Feng trembled.
"I don't believe that."
The Monarch stepped closer. "Then prove me wrong."
He drew his sword.
Lin Feng drew his.
---
They clashed.
Void against void.
Moonlight and memory burned together.
Each strike was a question. Each parry, a denial.
"Do you regret coming back?"
"No."
"Do you wish to be normal?"
"Sometimes."
"Would you give up the power?"
"…No."
The Monarch smiled. "Then you are me."
"I am better than you."
Final blow. Light erupted.
The vision shattered.
---
Lin Feng collapsed to the floor of the real chamber, panting.
Before him, the Sixth Key hovered.
He reached out.
It entered his chest.
[SIXTH KEY: CLAIMED.]
---
Outside, Yue Lian stiffened.
"He did it," she whispered.
Ruoxi exhaled. "He always does."
Yue Lian turned to her. "And when he falls again?"
"I'll catch him."
Yue Lian smiled sadly. "Then we both love a disaster."
---
Later that night, Lin Feng returned to camp.
They sat by the fire.
Yue Lian offered him a bowl of soup.
"Still poison-free," she said.
"Only because I haven't earned it yet," Lin Feng joked.
Ruoxi rolled her eyes. "Both of you need therapy."
Lin Feng sipped. "We've got a sword. That's better."
Everyone laughed.
Above them, a new star glowed faintly.
The Sixth Gate had fallen.
To be continue...