Memory Passage 1:3
The Mountain stands as firm as steel, barren like the seas, coveting the dark clouds. The man takes a gamble to "dance" with the light, yet is struck upon his hands.
"The Night sky rapidly accelerated, interchanging between a red sky and a starry one. It's as if days went by in a moment's notice, each step I took. The screams behind me became more desperate, yet also resounded less in my ears. Before I took my last step, time seemed to slow down. A colorful river appeared under my feet. I was suddenly forced into a large profound sea. It was harsh, unfriendly — it did not want to recognize me.
I felt my lungs being overtaken by water. Before I knew it, I had lost my consciousness."
When he woke up, his memory was fuzzy. His body ached. What could be heard appeared to be people conversing around Falen. Some were whispering, others shouting.
"Hmph, a mere outsider resting in our quarters? Your seeking death!!" said what appeared to be a youngster, as he tried to reach his hand to grab Falen's collar.
Falen coldly slapped his hand away and hit his throat with a chop. It was swift, almost unnoticeable. The youngster immediately started coughing, holding his throat with both his hands, one over the other.
"You dare show aggression?!" shouted two of the youngsters, possibly following the instigation. They stood with their chests puffed, posture straight, and seemed about to throw a punch.
"Leave him be." A sudden voice echoed through what seemed to be a small room. It came from just outside the door. The door opened not violently, but gently. A figure's shadow gradually showed up. What followed was a man, maybe in his early twenties. He had grand features — eyebrows sharp, skin white as snow. The clothes he wore gave off a cautious yet elegant demeanour. They were light blue, complimenting his tone. He had a black belt fastened on his hips with what appeared to be a flute hanging.
He walked slowly through the youngster crowd with his hands behind his back. He stopped just about three meters away from Falen, and he spoke.
" Do you know where I found you?"
Falen didn't answer. He didn't even glance at him. He was still recovering, and his situation felt surreal.
"You were caught in a dream, a dream in the endless profound. The colorful lights shone brightly. You walked, and then all you felt was a cold hand gripping your back — and you were overtaken by the waves, right?"
Falen still didn't glance, but this time a light flashed across his eyes. He mumbled a bit and then spoke: "What is your purpose, Senior?"
"Purpose? But to save you. Isn't that obvious enough?" He slightly chuckled and waved at Falen before he left. Before leaving he dropped of some medical supplies at his bed.
Obviously, what mattered was his recovery. He was going to leave after.
"It seems like this person specifically saved me. He might have ulterior motives. I'll have to play my part for a while."
After a while, he stood up, and the silk blanket brushed off his shoulder. His body was covered in bloody bandages, from his left hip up to his right shoulder and around. He walked slowly out, although he felt rather dizzy.
A bright light suddenly shone fiercely, penetrating through the trees. It was the Sun! Or rather, it lacked that emotional depth. The real sun resonates in a subtle, nostalgic way. This seemed to be the sun in this area of the world. "I must be far away. Wait, that reminds me — that river," Falen pondered for a while. The area he was in was completely different. There were living people. Also, it was strange how he was able to travel so far as to see a completely different sky. That sea was mysterious. I'll have to inquire more. This might serve as a crucial piece of information.
While in deep thought, he was suddenly startled by a voice asking every disciple to come meet at the main entrance.
While walking, he observed the surroundings. There were small to mid dormitories for the disciples. No civilians lived here. That's odd, he thought. Usually, civilians would live around the perimeters. While walking for several minutes, he saw a large crowd forming.
He wasn't as enthusiastic as the other youngsters. Even though they were all about the same age of 16–17, Falen stood alone just outside the crowd with his arms crossed. Sleepy, almost dozing off, it looked amusing — his head tilted to the side as he listened to one of the sect's elders. Almost falling asleep, he suddenly opened his eyes as the elder spoke of a test.
"Three days from now, you will all meet at the foot of that mountain. You have time to recuperate and to prepare for the exam. This will test your aptitude and skill. Aptitude is useless without practicality. Here, the ones who can please the sect with their capabilities will become inner disciples and receive direct guidance from—"
As he was about to speak, he made a welcoming gesture with his hand. The man in question was none other than the one who had apparently saved Falen from his predicament. His name was just "Wei." He stood on the spot with an upright posture and nodded.
"Mountain? Odd, strange! I never noticed this mountain. It's not even visible from above. It must have some function." As he stared down the majestic towering figure's shadow, he heard the crackling of lightning. Lightning Peak!!!
This was something mentioned in the memories from the silver mirror, but unluckily, that was it. Only the name — nothing else. This mountain seemed to be special amongst a lot of people. It was used as a qualification method for the sect and also might have an underlying story to it.
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Three Days Later at Noon
The youngsters gathered at the foot of the mountain per the elder's words. Already, as if they were in a rush, they formed themselves into groups and stood next to each other. After a while, the elder appeared. He slightly smiled, pointed at the peak of the mountain, and uttered no words.
But Falen immediately understood his intent. As if someone else also noticed, they spoke out: "Senior Elder wants us to climb the mountain and reach the peak. On those peaks, there are three translucent pouches. Whoever can get one will earn a winning place during the end."
The youngsters erupted in shouts, and immediately their shock turned fiery — motivated to start at once.
"This was what a regular person would think. They would fall into deep distress, lose their cool, and become desperate — falling prey to their greed. There was no rush," Falen thought. "He did not mention a timeframe, meaning there is no time constraint. What is the most logical explanation for this? It's that you have to climb or fall and die. There is no time limit because once you die it wouldn't matter. A mountain never has just one pathway. There are multiple ones leading upwards. Sometimes the path back would be blocked or forgotten. Here, it seems once you enter you cannot leave before you complete traversing it."
While all the others left, only four other people remained. One wore a black cloth around his eyes and had a deep scar running from his left eye down to his lip. He sat on top of a boulder and held what seemed to be his walking stick. He was young, even younger than the others — possibly around 15.
Two of the other four sat at an oak table and played chess. They seemed close to each other. These three seemed like they had some knowledge regarding the examination formats, perhaps more experience. "There is no rush. I'll wait and observe."
After a few hours, Falen noticed a shift in the winds.
As he anticipated, there was a storm approaching. The winds became colder and harsher. After a while, the sky was entirely covered by dark clouds. Falen sat and contemplated.
There was a wide array of lightning constantly striking at set intervals. These were lethal. It appeared as if the heavens themselves took it upok themselves to throw them by hand to ensure one's death. It was deathly precise, aiming for one after another. They were struck to death while climbing — not even halfway up the mountain.
"I could make use of them" He thought for a bit and contemplated more. This was ofcourse no game, lives were at stake. But who wouldn't try to ensure their own self preservation over others who would Betray you in a heartbeat? "Hmph, kindness in return for death. Isn't that ironic, Il never preach of kindness and deeds. Its abstract, true human nature is displayed by their inner instincts governed by a means for survival. Even the kindest of a person, would see the absurdity of this hypocritical stance. If you keep trying to please someone with no means for benefit or return your simply ignorant and wasting your time. If you deeply care for someone, then by all means, but if you are stuck in a superficially constructed fantasy where you are tricked into believing you are in obligation to others needs, your not. I am not, if i want to do good deeds, i do it out of my own will, if i decide to harm, then it's the will of my soul. " Falens eyes drooped, as if they were deeply gazing faraway with intent.
Although he also felt an inner conflict with himself, his sense of morality still did exist, just somewhere deeply inside his heart. This was a way to think, to remain cold and rational, this was the way of survival!
Secondly, my formal deduction, based on repeated observation, is the mountain's core mechanism: assume the mountain has natural charge nodes (peaks, ridges, frozen spires, buried crystal veins).
These nodes accumulate energy from storm winds and snow friction (triboelectric effect).
Once a node reaches its threshold charge, it discharges lightning as an after-effect.
I noticed that when the ice crystal transitioned in its glow — specifically when it had a white shiny luster — it struck. It starts from a faint blue glow, possibly from the crystal vein accumulating pressure, then to a medium glow with more depth.
They seem to strike at fixed intervals,I can't afford a single mistake, or it could be bad. After a few more hours, Falen did not take his gaze off the mountain once. He did this to confirm his hypothesises, and in fact, they did turn out to be true.
"Hmm, the core veins seem to be more concentrated at the top."
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The Next Day
"It's time." He stood fiercely in front of the mountain. In front of it, he was small, minute. As he walked, reasonably, the other three who were still there followed along. The storm had calmed down, so the lightning strikes that naturally occurred on the mountain wouldn't be mixed with the ones caused by extreme weather.
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