The system had been quiet.
Too quiet.
And when systems are silent, it usually means they're hiding something.
Shi Mu stared at the interface for over an hour that evening.
No alerts.
No dream logs.
No errors.
Just a glowing panel blinking its default message:
"All parameters stable."
But she wasn't.
The mark was back to pulsing faintly under her skin.
Her memories were fracturing in fragments too scattered to decode.
And the presence—the one in the mirror—hadn't spoken again.
But it was still watching.
"System," she said aloud, voice steady. "I want full administrative access."
The response came immediately:
[Request Denied][User Clearance Level: Restricted][Further probing will be logged as non-compliant behavior.]
She frowned.
"Then log it."
In Room 415, Fu Yunshen reviewed his own terminal.
The same pattern.
The same silence.
Even his level-three clearance couldn't access the hidden memory core surrounding Shi Mu's mark.
"This isn't standard containment," he murmured.
Zhou Zhi looked up from his snack. "Then what is it?"
Fu Yunshen didn't answer.
Because the only thing worse than a system lying—
Was a system that lied by omission.
Later that night, Shi Mu bypassed the front interface.
She dug into sublayer code she'd never been allowed to see before—manual back doors hidden in administrative routines. It wasn't easy. It wasn't clean.
And it definitely wasn't legal.
But it worked.
The system flickered.
Then gave way.
[Welcome, Shi Mu.][Legacy Recognition Activated.][Spirit-Bound Oath – Full Terms Unlocked.]Oath Date: UnknownCounterparty: [Redacted – Internal Entity, Tier X Binding]Terms: "One body. One name. One life."Clause: "When she remembers, I will return."
Shi Mu's hands trembled over the keys.
One body.One name.One life.
Someone hadn't just made a promise with her.
Someone had made a promise as her.
Fu Yunshen arrived minutes later—system alert pinging from the breach.
He looked at the screen. Then at her.
"You weren't supposed to see that."
"I know."
"You're in danger."
"I know that too."
Her voice was firm.
"But I'd rather be haunted by the truth than protected by a lie."
[System Notification]
User Breach Logged – Legacy Path Unlocked
Oath Status: Awakening Imminent
Brotherhood Value +180 (Truth Confronted + Risk Taken Together)
Current Total: 4,740 / 1,000,000
Shi Mu stepped back from the screen.
Eyes clear.
Hands steady.
If someone was coming back—
Then this time…
She'd be ready.