As Xiao Chen stepped into the third floor,
The world shifted.
His foot sank—
As if stepping into a soundless abyss.
Mist churned around him.
His vision blurred.
And in his ears—
A deep, resonant heartbeat echoed.
He couldn't tell—
Was it his own?
Or the tower's?
Suddenly,
A wave of heat surged toward him—
Like fire licking his skin,
Tearing through the silence.
Flames burst forth.
The air thickened like molten iron.
Even breathing became a torment.
The space twisted.
Before him—
A courtroom emerged.
Gray.
Dim.
Devoid of light.
High walls surrounded him.
On the seats above,
Countless faceless figures sat in silence—
Draped in black robes,
Holding heavy gavels.
Their eyes turned toward Xiao Chen—
Cold.
Piercing.
Like needles stabbing into his soul.
At the center of the tribunal—
She appeared.
That once-familiar face—
Now cold as frost.
No trace of the gentleness he remembered.
Only disdain.
And distance.
Her gaze pierced him.
Her voice—
Sharp as blades.
"You're selfish.
You're cowardly.
You're a hypocrite."
"If your nature weren't so filthy—
Would I have suffered such a fate?"
Xiao Chen stared at her,
Shaken.
He tried to speak—
But found himself bound by invisible chains.
No sound escaped his lips.
That familiar figure
Had become his harshest judge.
There was nowhere to run.
Suddenly,
A crystalline light appeared in the void.
An ancient mirror hovered in the air—
Its surface like rippling water.
The will of the tower poured in.
A voice whispered:
"The Mirror of Three Thoughts.
Judge the good and evil—
Only then shall the true self be revealed."
The mirror shimmered.
Light flowed across its surface.
And the first memory
Began to emerge.
Illusion One: The Spirit Jade Unsealed
The spirit jade hovered in midair.
At the moment his blood touched it,
A faint glow emerged.
The remnant soul of Ni Linhai whispered:
"…Whether you seek revenge…
That's your choice…
But live…
Live…"
Then came the voice of judgment:
"You say you don't hate fate?
Then what were the words you screamed in your heart at that moment?"
"You claim not to know the Startrace Sect—
But every time you held the spirit jade,
Did you not wonder—
If you had been born into the sect,
Would you already stand above the peaks?"
"You don't lack resentment.
You simply don't dare to name it.
You hate being the child who escaped.
You hate that your life feels borrowed."
Xiao Chen's expression shifted.
A sharp pain pierced his heart.
He had thought it before—
If only he had been born into the sect…
Would everything have been different?
He never admitted it.
But the thought had stabbed through countless silent nights.
Through that unspoken longing.
The light twisted.
The world trembled.
A low hum echoed in his mind.
The illusion rippled—
And shattered.
The mirror cracked like water—
Revealing the second memory.
Illusion Two: The Death of the Black Bear
The forest was damp.
The Moonwheel Black Bear burst from the trees.
A young girl cried out, stumbling backward.
Xiao Chen roared.
His innate strength erupted.
He struck the bear's skull with his bare palm.
The sound of bone shattering thundered.
Blood sprayed across the clearing.
"You say you did it to protect her—
And that's true.
But you can't deny—
In that moment,
You felt something you'd never felt before."
"Not sword.
Not artifact.
Your own strength—
Crushing a beast's skull with your bare hands."
"You enjoyed the absolute control that power gave you."
"You say you fear losing control—
That you fear not being able to stop.
But that fear—
Isn't it because you know…
You'll want to do it again?"
Xiao Chen's throat moved.
But no words came.
He remembered that moment too clearly—
A rush of power.
A thrill he wasn't supposed to feel.
He wasn't suppressing violence.
He was suppressing desire.
Just before the illusion shattered,
The bear's lifeless eyes
Reflected his own face—
Stunned.
And exhilarated.
The image broke.
The chill lingered.
The mirror's spirit flame flared—
Revealing the third memory.
Illusion Three: The Death of Mei Renyi
The illusion unfolded.
The village appeared in fragments.
Mei Renyi's twisted face.
His wife's mocking eyes.
The villagers' whispers and scornful glances.
Old Liu lay on the straw mat at the door—
Eyes hollow.
Breath fading.
The scene shifted.
Xiao Chen struck.
His palm shattered Mei Renyi's chest.
Blood burst into the air.
"You say it was for your grandfather—
That you killed Mei Renyi for revenge.
But do you remember that moment?"
"That wasn't vengeance.
It was exhilaration."
"You used that reason
To make a choice you never dared admit—
You chose to kill him.
And you enjoyed it."
Xiao Chen looked down
At the image of himself striking.
His chest ached.
He knew that blow was for Old Liu.
But he also knew—
In that instant,
His eyes held more than rage and sorrow.
There was a trace—
Of long-suppressed resolve.
And pleasure.
The stone tribunal fell silent.
At its center,
The chief judge rose—
Her face eerily similar to hers,
But cold as ice.
Her gaze locked with Xiao Chen's.
Her voice—
Sharp.
Unforgiving.
"You've never committed evil?
You're wrong.
You simply haven't acted on it—
But evil has long made a home in your heart."
"Can you face the real you?
The one who could fall at any moment—
Who craves destruction—
Who resents every twist of fate?"
"How will you judge yourself?"
Around him,
Shadows emerged—
Whispering softly,
Like voices drilling into his mind.
"You think suppression erases its existence?"
"You killed with pleasure—
And pretended innocence."
"You don't even dare admit your hatred—
And you speak of justice?"
"You're not good—
You're just afraid."
The voices wove together,
A web of doubt,
Snaring every thread of thought.
The pressure wrapped around his soul
Like iron chains—
Crushing.
Suffocating.
Just as his mind neared collapse,
A voice rang out—
Calm.
Steady.
It felt like it came from within—
Warm.
Gentle.
"Evil is not in being accused—
But in being ruled by malice."
Xiao Chen closed his eyes.
He remembered his earliest self—
Not perfect.
Not flawless.
But sincere.
The life-mark in his palm glowed.
Its heat surged outward,
Scattering the chains around his soul.
He raised his hand.
Roared:
"I'm no saint.
Yes—
I have hatred.
But that doesn't mean
I'll let it lead me."
The tribunal began to collapse.
One illusion after another shattered.
Silent dust fell through the void.
Darkness retreated.
A staircase emerged—
Stretching quietly upward.
The elder's voice echoed:
"Judgment of Malice—
Soul tier broken.
Your obsession…
Has grown purer."
Xiao Chen stood in the dim light,
His heart still pounding.
Her earlier words echoed in his mind—
Cold.
Unfamiliar.
"If your nature weren't so filthy—
Would I have suffered such a fate?"
But just now—
That same voice had said:
"Evil is not in being accused—
But in being ruled by malice."
Two truths.
Ice and fire.
From the same shadowed figure.
The voice was too familiar—
So familiar it felt
As if it had been tied to him
Long before fate began its cycle.
"Who is she… really?
If she's an illusion—
Where did this illusion come from?
If she's real—
What have I forgotten?"
This wasn't the first time
He had seen that figure.
Nor the first time
Her voice had guided him through trials.
But this time—
She was both judgment
And salvation.
"Why…
Why does she always appear
When I'm lost?"
Confusion surged like a tide.
Xiao Chen looked up
Toward the void at the end of the staircase.
In his eyes—
A trace of obsession.
And a yearning
He could not name.