---
Beneath still waters, old gods sleep.
But some dreams are sharp.
---
Eastern Outskirts of Linhai – Three Days Later
The forest had changed.
No longer a familiar cluster of plum trees and wild bamboo, it had twisted into overgrown silence — a place untouched by the usual footpaths of travelers or hunters. The trees whispered things they had no tongue to speak.
Rael moved slowly, every step deliberate, his scythe strapped across his back and Mok trailing behind with a thin blade at his waist.
Yue Qingshi walked ahead, her fan opened lazily, but her eyes were always scanning the fog.
They had followed the clues left behind on the Mirror Ash, which responded faintly to the air here — glowing softly like embers in Rael's hand.
> [System Note: Soul Residue Reaction Detected]
[Ancient Qi Pattern Match – 41% Probability: Temple of Forgotten Tides]
[Warning: Location marked 'Sealed' during last celestial census.]
Rael read the lines silently.
Then looked toward the narrowing path ahead.
A staircase, overrun with vines and broken statues, led deeper into the rock face of a sunken valley.
---
Yue Qingshi – A Whisper of Memory
She slowed near a crumbled moonstone pillar.
"Moonlight scars… This place was once a shrine."
Rael raised an eyebrow.
"You've been here?"
She shook her head. "My clan's archive has… warnings. Fragments of old maps."
Mok stared wide-eyed. "What was it?"
"A training temple for soul cultivators. Closed after… something woke up."
Rael's grip on the scythe tightened.
> "Let's wake it again."
---
Temple Gate – Entry Ritual
The gate was stone — obsidian and sea-slick, overgrown with algae, half-submerged in a black pool.
As they approached, a hollow chant rippled through the air. No sound. But pressure. The sensation of being watched from within one's blood.
Rael stepped forward.
The Mirror Ash glowed.
So did his temporary trait: Dual Perception.
For a moment, he saw the gate not as stone — but as a mouth. A massive, patient, sleeping mouth.
A trial.
Not of strength.
But of soul.
> [To enter the Temple of Forgotten Tides, the Echo of the Self must answer.]
The stone spoke in his mind.
> "What do you fear most?"
Rael did not hesitate.
"Becoming them."
The gate rumbled.
The stone parted like old lips cracking apart.
They entered.
---
Inside the Temple – First Hall
The walls were covered in reflective stone.
Not polished.
Alive.
Each mirror showed the trio — but in twisted forms.
Mok saw himself older, cold-eyed, blade soaked in blood.
Qingshi saw herself with silver hair, throne behind her, the corpses of her sect piled below.
Rael?
He saw nothing.
Only the flames.
The fire.
The broken village.
> [Warning: Soul Fracture Surging – Temporary Trait: Dual Perception reaching overload.]
Yue reached for his arm.
"You good?"
"Yeah."
He wasn't.
But he walked forward anyway.
---
Second Trial – The Drowned Court
They entered a wide chamber half-submerged in black water.
Pillars leaned like broken teeth.
In the center stood seven statues, each faceless, draped in robes.
Between them floated a chest. Simple. Sealed.
A voice rose from the water.
> "Only the true self may claim the relic.
Lie, and drown."
The water surged.
Suddenly, three more Raels stepped out of the dark.
Three more Qingshis. Three more Moks.
Identical.
Moving. Speaking.
> "I'm the real one," one Mok yelled. "He's fake!"
> "I never left the Yue Clan," one Qingshi whispered, eyes shining. "He's manipulating me."
> "I never let her die," one Rael said coldly. "I saved Alina. I didn't fail."
Rael froze.
His hands clenched.
He remembered his wife's broken gaze. Her final whisper.
Forgive me.
He stepped forward.
Looked into the eyes of his reflection.
Then punched it straight in the throat.
> [True Soul Acknowledged]
[Chamber Unsealed]
[You have gained: Fragment of Tidal Soul]
[You have earned Trait: Breath Beneath – Breathe and fight underwater | Duration: 72 hours]
The rest shattered like glass.
Rael collapsed to one knee, panting.
Mok helped him up. "That was… weird."
Qingshi stared at her own hands for a long moment.
Then smiled.
"Yeah."
---
Final Chamber – The Eye
A circular hall.
Empty. No ceiling.
The sky above was not the sky of Linhai.
It was water.
Rippling, endless, floating.
And at the center was an eye.
Closed.
Bound in chains of golden script.
Rael felt it.
Even the devil inside him recoiled.
> "We go no further," it growled. "That… is not of this age."
But the system didn't warn them.
Only one line appeared:
> [Observer Detected – Data Not Authorized]
[Recording…]
The eye twitched.
Rael backed away.
Qingshi turned pale.
Mok vomited from pressure alone.
Then the chamber began to collapse.
Stone fell. Water surged upward like reversed gravity. Chains snapped.
They ran.
Rael scooped Mok onto his back, shielded Qingshi with his qi, and dove through the opening as the world inverted—
And then—
Silence.
---
Surface – Drenched, Gasping
They coughed up brine.
Laid on the forest floor, shaking.
The temple was gone.
Vanished behind them like it had never been there.
Only the Mirror Ash remained in Rael's palm — now black.
Burned out.
> [You have survived: Temple of Forgotten Tides (Fragment Trial)]
[Data Uploaded to TAO Archive – Level 3]
[Reputation in hidden sect: ????????? increased.]
[Note: Memory Fragment Locked – Future trigger pending.]
Rael didn't move for a long time.
Then finally sat up, dragging his body against a rock.
"I want to kill the one who built that place."
Qingshi, still pale, smiled.
"Get in line."
---
Far Away – Within the Bone Throne Hall
Warden Grey watched the reflection fade from the Bone Mirror.
His finger twitched.
"So. You passed."
He turned to a figure kneeling behind him.
"Activate the Dream Carver. Tell the others — The Reaper's soul is incomplete."
A pause.
"But it won't be for long."