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Chapter 280: The Mirror of the Eternal Mountain
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Act I: A Chamber of Unyielding Heights
The Gallery opened into a chamber where radiant mountains rose in luminous majesty, their peaks piercing the heavens with immovable strength. The air was heavy yet noble, as though every breath carried the weight of endurance.
Ne Job stepped forward, Twinkle buzzing with a steady hum, its rhythm echoing the pulse of resilience.
Ao Bing muttered, "This place… it feels like nothing here can be shaken."
Taiyi Zhenren scribbled quickly. "The mirror here does not bend. It stands."
At the center stood a mirror framed by luminous peaks, its surface shimmering with eternal endurance.
It spoke in a voice deep and immovable:
> "I am the Mirror of the Eternal Mountain. I hold what endures, what rises unbroken, what carries truth into strength."
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Act II: The Weight of Endurance
The interns gazed into its surface.
Visions unfolded, showing truths carried by mountains.
- Ao Bing saw battles where courage meant standing firm against storms that sought to break him.
- Taiyi Zhenren saw scrolls preserved in mountain vaults, wisdom safeguarded in unyielding stone.
- Ne Job saw miracles rising in silence, inscribed into the Registry as mountains eternal.
Twinkle pulsed brightly, resonating with the chamber's endurance.
The mirror whispered:
> "To guard me, you must stand without fear."
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Act III: The Mask's Intrusion
From the shadows, the Mask of Misrule hissed.
> "Mountains are mine to corrupt. I will twist endurance into stubbornness, and strength into despair."
The Mirror of Endless Deception flickered, shards gathering again.
The Mask reached toward Eternal Mountain, trying to fracture its peaks into rubble.
Ao Bing staggered. "The mountain crumbles beneath me!"
Taiyi Zhenren trembled. "My scrolls scatter into broken stone!"
Ne Job steadied them. "Mountain is not stubbornness. It is strength."
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Act IV: The Trial of Mountain
The Mirror of the Eternal Mountain spoke:
> "Intern, to protect me, you must stand."
Ne Job gazed into its towering surface.
He saw himself faltering, afraid of heights too immovable to endure.
He whispered:
> "I stand. Even when shadows break, I endure. Even when despair waits, I carry forward."
The mirror glowed brighter, its peaks steady.
Twinkle pulsed strongly, harmonizing with endurance.
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 mountain into stubbornness, scattering the interns into despair.
Ao Bing staggered. "My courage fades in crumbling stone!"
Taiyi Zhenren trembled. "My wisdom dissolves in broken peaks!"
Ne Job stood firm. "Mountain is not stubbornness. It is truth carried eternal."
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, Eternal 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, Eternal Gate, Eternal Tower, Eternal Anchor, Eternal Bridge, Eternal Labyrinth, Eternal Flame of Truth, Eternal Spiral, Eternal Compass, Eternal Lantern, Eternal Seed, Eternal River, Eternal Tree, Eternal Star, Eternal Dawn — joined with Eternal Mountain.
Their glow struck the Mask's illusions.
Stubbornness became clarity.
Deception dissolved.
Twinkle hummed, resonating with the Miracle Registry.
Ao Bing laughed, fierce and kind.
Taiyi Zhenren footnoted every mountain restored.
Ne Job stood firm, mountain and truth united.
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Act VI: The Mirror's Gift
The Mirror of the Eternal Mountain calmed, its surface shimmering with radiant endurance.
It whispered:
> "Intern, mountain is not chaos. It is strength eternal. Guard it well."
Ne Job bowed.
Twinkle pulsed softly.
The Gallery shimmered, unyielding once more.
The Mask of Misrule retreated into the shadows, his voice echoing faintly:
> "You may resist mountains today. But collapse always waits."
The Gallery fell silent.
The mirrors glowed.
And Ne Job walked on, ready for what lay ahead.