The wind had shifted.
The elders didn't notice it. The instructors dismissed it.
But the birds stopped flying.
The leaves no longer danced.
And in the silence above the Cloud Vein Mountains — something descended.
**She fell.**
Not like a meteor. Not like a weapon.
She fell like a **petal** from a tree that no longer bloomed — soft, weightless, and quiet.
---
### **Zeravon's Room – At That Same Moment**
He couldn't sleep.
Even silence now felt… loud.
Zeravon sat on the edge of his bed, staring out the window. The storm clouds he'd seen in the distance were now gone, as if **they had never existed**.
> *"Why does it feel like something is about to change?"*
His thoughts were interrupted by a sound — faint, sharp.
**A crash.**
Far off — beyond the outer sect wall. Deep into the mountain forest.
No one else heard it.
But he stood.
And walked toward it.
---
### **Forest Edge – Hidden Ravine**
The moonlight shone brighter here.
Zeravon walked past the cracked trees and scattered stones. He followed the trail of bent branches and scorched moss — as if something **divine** had grazed this place.
And then he saw her.
---
She lay still in a bed of silver grass, her robes torn, streaked with light-blue markings that shimmered faintly. Her black hair fanned across the ground like spilled ink. Her body was unharmed — but **wrong**. Not like someone unconscious.
Like someone **sealed**.
> *"She… fell?"*
No blood. No wound. But **a powerful presence** that made even the wind bow in her direction.
And yet… she looked fragile.
Zeravon stepped closer and kneeled beside her.
His hand hovered above her forehead.
And for a single moment — **his seal resonated**.
Not a crack.
Not a break.
Just a faint warmth.
Like his existence recognized hers.
---
**Far Above – Upper Realm Gateway**
A Divine Guard knelt before an old man in regal blue armor.
> "Princess Yueyin… has vanished."
The elder's fist clenched.
> "Lower Realm?"
> "Confirmed. But she carried the Soul-Hiding Pearl."
> "Then no one will find her."
The elder looked up at the distant heavens.
> *"Unless… he finds her first."*
---
### **Back in the Forest**
Zeravon carried her gently to a hidden cave under the cliffside — a place no disciple ever came.
He didn't know why he was helping her.
Only that he **had to**.
Her breathing was steady. Her body — still glowing faintly.
Hours passed.
Just before dawn… she stirred.
Her eyes fluttered open.
**Violet.**
Clear, otherworldly — like starlight in a still pond.
She looked at him.
Not with fear.
Not with confusion.
But with **recognition**.
> "You…"
Her voice was soft — almost surprised.
> "…I found you."
Zeravon froze.
> "Do I… know you?"
She smiled faintly.
> "Not yet. But you will."
She sat up, slowly. Her hand reached into her robe and pulled out a **silver-wrapped crystal vial** etched with foreign runes.
> "This… is not from this realm."
> "It's a *Star-Rain Essence* — a cultivation enhancer from the Upper Realms. If you absorb it… your foundation will purify. You'll be able to walk the cultivation path properly."
Zeravon hesitated.
> "Why give it to me?"
Yueyin looked into his eyes — as if seeing through time itself.
> "Because one day, you'll save me."
---
### **Dawn – Zeravon's Room**
He returned before the others awoke.
The vial clutched tightly in his hand.
No one saw him.
But something **had changed**.
He placed the vial down. Sat. Breathed.
And for the first time — truly began to **cultivate**.
Qi didn't just enter his body.
It **danced**.
The once-silent air now flowed toward him like rivers seeking the ocean.
---
**Far Above – The Scroll of Bound Names**
The golden cracks stopped spreading.
A voice echoed softly, surprised:
> *"The girl has moved before time."*
Another replied:
> *"Then his journey… has truly begun."*
---