The next morning felt strange.
Not wrong.
Not haunted.
Just… quiet.
Like the silence after a storm when everything is still standing—but changed.
Shi Mu woke up with clarity she hadn't felt in weeks.
No dreams.
No voices.
No flickering visions in the mirror.
The mark was still there—no longer glowing, but pulsing faintly with warmth. Not foreign. Not invasive.
Familiar.
Settled.
She walked to class without incident.
Students passed her in the hallway as if nothing had changed.
But something had.
Not visible, but undeniable.
Her steps were steadier.
Her gaze sharper.
Her heartbeat quieter.
When she entered the lecture hall, Fu Yunshen was already there.
He didn't say anything.
Just tilted his head the slightest bit.
Are you okay?
The question was in his eyes.
Shi Mu nodded, once.
I am now.
The answer was in hers.
Zhou Zhi burst in minutes later, arms full of snack packets. "Okay, so nobody exploded overnight—that's a win!"
Shi Mu smiled faintly. "You were really expecting an explosion?"
"I was emotionally preparing for a full exorcism, to be honest," he said, dramatically. "Or at least a partial spirit riot."
Fu Yunshen rolled his eyes. "And yet you brought snacks."
"Energy is important during disasters," Zhou Zhi muttered. "Basic ghost-hunting nutrition."
Class passed uneventfully.
But Shi Mu didn't listen much.
She was listening to something else now—
Herself.
Or rather, the complete version of herself.
When she closed her eyes, she could feel it:
The memory of another name.
The certainty of a promise once made.
The acceptance of both past and present.
And most importantly—
The knowledge that she was no longer afraid of what she carried.
[System Notification]
Merge Complete – Host Identity Fully Integrated
New Status: Oathbearer – Tier X
Emotional Stability: High
Brotherhood Value +185 (Post-Merge Stability + Emotional Ground Reclaimed)
Current Total: 6,000 / 1,000,000
That night, she stood by the window.
No glowing mirrors.
No whispers.
No ghosts.
Only her reflection.
Only her voice.
And when she whispered into the glass, she no longer waited for someone else to answer.
She was whole.
At last.