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Chapter 194: The Mirror of the Eternal Gate
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Act I: A Chamber of Passage
The Gallery opened into a chamber where towering gates shimmered, each carved with symbols of beginnings and endings.
Ne Job stepped forward, Twinkle buzzing with a steady rhythm, its hum echoing like hinges opening.
Ao Bing muttered, "This place… it feels like every door leads somewhere."
Taiyi Zhenren scribbled quickly. "The mirror here is not a barrier. It is a passage."
At the center stood a mirror framed by radiant gates, its surface alive with thresholds both open and closed.
It spoke in a voice solemn and commanding:
> "I am the Mirror of the Eternal Gate. I hold what opens, what endures in passage, what carries truth across."
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Act II: The Weight of Passage
The interns gazed into its surface.
Visions unfolded, showing truths carried by gates.
- Ao Bing saw battles where victory came only by stepping through fear.
- Taiyi Zhenren saw scrolls sealed and unsealed, wisdom preserved in entry and exit.
- Ne Job saw miracles crossing from silence into light, inscribed into the Registry as bridges eternal.
Twinkle pulsed brightly, resonating with the gates.
The mirror whispered:
> "To guard me, you must cross without fear."
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Act III: The Mask's Intrusion
From the shadows, the Mask of Misrule hissed.
> "Gates are mine to corrupt. I will twist passage into exile, and exile into chaos."
The Mirror of Endless Deception flickered, shards gathering again.
The Mask reached toward Eternal Gate, trying to fracture its openings into despair.
Ao Bing staggered. "The gates shut against me!"
Taiyi Zhenren trembled. "My scrolls vanish into locked doors!"
Ne Job steadied them. "Gate is not exile. It is passage."
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Act IV: The Trial of Gate
The Mirror of the Eternal Gate spoke:
> "Intern, to protect me, you must cross."
Ne Job gazed into its radiant surface.
He saw himself faltering, afraid of doors closing forever.
He whispered:
> "I cross. Even when gates shut, I endure. Even when exile waits, I carry forward."
The mirror glowed brighter, its gates steady.
Twinkle pulsed strongly, harmonizing with the passage.
Ao Bing's fists steadied.
Taiyi Zhenren's scrolls aligned.
The Mask recoiled, his corruption faltering.
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Act V: The Clash
The Mask screamed, hurling shards of deception.
Illusions tried to twist gate into exile, scattering the interns into despair.
Ao Bing staggered. "My courage fades at the threshold!"
Taiyi Zhenren trembled. "My wisdom dissolves in locked doors!"
Ne Job stood firm. "Gate is not exile. It is truth carried in passage."
The awakened mirrors — Patience, Friendship, Courage, Sorrow, Endless Paths, Forgotten Names, Silent Echoes, Shattered Promises, Hidden Truths, Eternal Doubt, Living Light, Boundless Hope, Unbroken Unity, Eternal Harmony, Final Resolve, Infinite Resolve, Last Question, First Dawn, Endless Return, Forgotten Future, Silent Dawnfall, Eternal Song, Endless Silence, Forgotten Flame, Eternal Return, Eternal Choice, Hidden Dawn, Endless Oath, Eternal Memory, Eternal Threshold, Eternal Light, Eternal Shadow, Eternal Balance, Eternal Dawnfire, Eternal Storm, Eternal Ocean, Eternal Sky, Eternal Flameheart, Eternal Songfire, Eternal Silenceflame, Eternal Starfall, Eternal Horizon, Eternal Root, Eternal Crown — joined with Eternal Gate.
Their glow struck the Mask's illusions.
Exile became clarity.
Deception dissolved.
Twinkle hummed, resonating with the Miracle Registry.
Ao Bing laughed, fierce and kind.
Taiyi Zhenren footnoted every gate restored.
Ne Job stood firm, passage and truth united.
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Act VI: The Mirror's Gift
The Mirror of the Eternal Gate calmed, its surface shimmering with radiant openings.
It whispered:
> "Intern, gate is not chaos. It is passage eternal. Guard it well."
Ne Job bowed.
Twinkle pulsed softly.
The Gallery shimmered, stable once more.
The Mask of Misrule retreated into the shadows, his voice echoing faintly:
> "You may resist gates today. But exile always waits."
The Gallery fell silent.
The mirrors glowed.
And Ne Job walked on, ready for what lay ahead.