The knock never came again.
Rayen didn't move. Didn't breathe deeper. He simply waited, listening to the silence as if it were another machine to diagnose.
Thirty heartbeats passed.
Then sixty.
Only then did he exhale.
"Q.E.D. — initiate full sweep. I want every trace of that thing."
[ Q.E.D. ALERT – Passive External Scan Activated ]
▓ Residual Qi Signature Detected: 0.0121%
▓ Decay Type: Non-cultivation, ambient-layer transference
▓ Fluctuation Pattern: Incomplete recursive harmonic
▓ Anomaly Origin: Underground, approx. 2.6 meters below surface
▓ Confidence: 74% — likely artifact, not individual
Rayen narrowed his eyes.
Beneath me?
He stood, joints stiff and skin still tingling with simulation fatigue. The simulation spiral thread inside him spun weakly in the background, but he muted its flow. No outward emission. No trace left behind.
"Could it be related to my Q.E.D.? A signal echo from the crash?"
[ Q.E.D. HYPOTHESIS – Low Overlap Signal Detected ]
Signature shares 0.014% structural pattern with original recursion matrix. Insufficient for definitive classification.
"Low confidence. High danger."
He rubbed his forehead. Still sore from forming the second spiral thread. No food. No rest. And now an unknown pulse beneath his floorboards.
I didn't come here to chase ghosts. But they're chasing me now.
He sat cross-legged on the mat again. Fingers trembling slightly, but breath even.
"Spiral Breath. Version zero-point-three. Start."
[ SPIRAL BREATH v0.3 – INITIALIZING ]
▓ Simulation Fidelity: +6%
▓ Host Death Profile Integrated (Offset: 3.7%)
▓ Spiral Loop Harmonics Adjusted
▓ Inhale Phase: Begin
He inhaled.
Slow. Measured. Exact.
Qi flickered across artificial modeling channels—thin, weak, but real.
The spiral twisted inward.
Thread Two began to form.
[ Qi Absorption: 0.021% ]
[ Spiral Thread Count: 2 / 9 ]
[ Loop Retention: 44.9% ]
[ Artificial Anchor Node: Holding at 88% Efficiency ]
[ Risk: Low. Spiral Stable. ]
The thread pulsed inside him—slight, distant, but firm. Not power, not yet. But potential.
Two threads. From nothing. Built, not gifted.
He let the spiral hold a moment longer—then sealed it in passive retention.
[ Q.E.D. NOTICE – Refinement Mode Available ]
Spiral loop will retain stability for up to 4.3 hours under passive mode. Recommended: Low-activity state to preserve core.
He exhaled.
The ache in his limbs remained. But so did the thread.
That made it worth it.
Then something cracked.
Not a sound.
A memory.
A pulse echoed at the back of his mind.
Not Qi.
Not simulation feedback.
Just... memory.
A sterile room.White walls.A glowing neural cradle lined with silver tubes.His voice—flat, certain.
"Initiate recursion lock."
"Thread me through."
Pain.
Not spiritual.
Cognitive.
A scream without a mouth.
And then—Blackness.Falling.Spinning into this world.
[ Q.E.D. NOTE – Neural Trauma Marker Detected ]
[Echo associated with Pre-Transfer Terminal Event.]
[Source: Host Memory.]
[Containment Protocol: Passive Reinforcement Enabled.]
Rayen didn't flinch.
Didn't blink.
He simply straightened his back—and pushed the spiral forward.
That was Earth. This is recursion.
Let's see what they have left to teach me.
He rose and opened the hut door.
The sky had cracked from black to indigo. Most outer disciples still rested or prepared for breath practice.
He stepped into the open.
No one noticed him at first.
Then the whispers began.
"Didn't he… fail the Mirror?"
"I heard his core collapsed."
"He should be in bed. Or the grave."
Rayen ignored them.
He walked with shoulders level and feet silent.
The robe hanging off his frame may have been the same—but his posture was different.
Inside, his Spiral moved.
And it obeyed only him.
He found the far edge of the eastern field and sat near the old Spirit Engraving Stone.
The surface was etched with failed signatures. A graveyard of aspirations.
Rayen sat among them like a ghost.
"Q.E.D.—loop stabilization. Ten-minute refinement intervals. Silent Mode."
[ Spiral Breath v0.3 – Background Simulation Active ]
▓ Signature Suppressed
▓ Energy Feedback Null
▓ Next Loop Enhancement: +5.3% expected over 60 minutes
He breathed. Not for Qi. But for calibration.
Time passed.
Then footsteps approached.
Even. Familiar.
"You're alive."
Rayen opened his eyes.
Lin Xue stood above him. Her face unreadable. Her voice calm.
"Barely," he said.
She sat beside him, uninvited.
"That's more than I expected."
She studied him. No reverence. No disgust. Just... assessment.
"You failed forty-seven times. Then vanished."
She folded her arms.
"And now you're breathing. Quietly. Centered."
"What changed?"
Rayen watched the horizon for a breath, then said:
"Nothing. I just stopped trying to copy them."
She raised a brow.
"You sound like a heretic."
"Maybe that's what it takes."
She didn't smile.
But she didn't leave either.
And that meant she was either curious—
—or dangerous.
[ Q.E.D. ALERT – Passive Pattern Syncing Complete ]
[ Observation: Lin Xue exhibits 63% probability of recurring presence. Potential variable. Risk: Minimal at current stage.]
Then let her stay. If she's watching, she'll see the wrong things.
The summons came before second bell.
Rayen had just returned to his hut when a junior messenger arrived, out of breath, holding a sealed scroll.
"You are to report to the Spirit Platform for reassessment."
Rayen accepted the scroll in silence.
He didn't need to open it. The paper was ceremonial. The intent was plain.
Someone noticed. Two threads in silence. A ghost from a broken body now walking again.
Someone up top wanted proof. Or a purge.
"Reassessment," he muttered.
They mean: show us what you are. Or die trying.
---
The path to the Spirit Platform wound along the base of the inner sect's perimeter. Black stone and white-slate tiles reflected the early sun. Outer disciples rarely walked this path unless summoned.
Rayen passed few people. But he noticed the eyes.
Not curious.
Alert.
Even the wind felt watched.
The Spirit Platform loomed ahead—an elevated octagonal array, inlaid with etched sigils and ringed by white-jade poles. At its heart sat the Mirror: an obsidian slab the size of a doorway, mounted on a bone-colored triangle frame.
The Spirit Mirror.
Meant to reflect one's inner truth. Talent. Dao alignment.
Lies didn't last long under it.
"Rayen Wu. Step forward."
He obeyed.
Three elders stood off to the side. One in brown robes, two in inner sect gray. They watched him like a puzzle they had already decided was missing pieces.
"Stand before the mirror. Place your palm. Channel no Qi. Let the Dao observe."
He walked to the base of the slab and stood still.
His own reflection stared back. Thinner than it should be. Scar over one brow. No fire in the eyes. Just ice.
He raised his hand.
"Q.E.D.," he whispered, lips unmoving. "Prepare emulation."
[ Q.E.D. ALERT – EMULATION READY ]
▓ Mode: False Root Signature
▓ Type: Metal-aligned Spiral Thread
▓ Intensity: Minor
▓ Duration: Max 9.6 seconds
▓ Mirror Penetration Risk: Medium
He placed his hand against the Mirror.
For two seconds—nothing.
Then the obsidian darkened.
Lights rippled within, faint and silver—forming a spiral.
His spiral.
Not real Qi. Not truth.
But close enough to fool the eye.
The mirror pulsed once.
Then again.
[ Signature Accepted – Output: Metal Affinity (Low) ]
The jade triangle glowed softly. Instructors leaned closer.
"Metal alignment. Weak thread. No dantian surge, but signature is stable."
One of them scratched a note on a talisman.
Another frowned.
"Strange that a rootless child would recover this much. Could be latent awakening. Could be luck."
Rayen said nothing.
Let them doubt. Let them argue. As long as they don't look deeper.
But the mirror didn't dim.
Instead, the spiral reversed.
[ Q.E.D. WARNING – BACKFEED DETECTED ]
▓ Mirror attempting recursive sync
▓ Pattern match to Spiral Breath signature: 82%
▓ Depth: 4.1 harmonics (exceeds safe boundary)
▓ Forced Loop Initiation: Incoming
"Break connection!"
He moved to retract his hand—
But the Mirror held it.
Not physically. Energetically. The palm stayed fixed against the glass as though embedded.
Pain surged down his arm.
Qi—no, simulated Qi—coiled up the spiral path Q.E.D. had mapped.
He hadn't meant to simulate Thread Three yet.
The Mirror did it for him.
[ SPIRAL THREAD 3 – FORCED FORMATION IN PROGRESS ]
▓ Risk: Severe
▓ Anchor Node Overload: 91%
▓ Thread Density: Artificial Compression Mode Breached
▓ Emergency Correction: Failing
A third spiral began to burn through his chest.
Not cultivation.
Data pressure.
His mind rang with recursive pulses.
And beneath it all—something… responded.
Not the Mirror.
Not the Q.E.D.
Something older.
[ Q.E.D. SUBSPACE ALERT – DEEP ECHO MATCH DETECTED ]
▓ Source: Beneath platform
▓ Depth: ~48 meters
▓ Signal Class: Dormant Spiral Fragment
▓ Match to Q.E.D. Protocol Layer: 0.017%
There's something under the platform… and it recognizes me.
Rayen jerked his hand free.
The Mirror went dark.
Silence returned.
Sweat clung to his jaw. His fingers trembled. But he didn't collapse.
Not yet.
One elder stepped forward.
"The Mirror detected a latent metal alignment. Very faint. Unusual stability given previous records."
Another raised a brow.
"And yet, no awakening reaction from the dantian region."
Rayen bowed. His voice, even.
"Not every breakthrough is gentle. Some of us evolve by shattering."
A third elder nodded thoughtfully.
"Continue outer sect training. We'll observe your progress. Return in one month."
He bowed again.
And walked away.
He didn't stop until he returned to the forest behind the east ridge.
Only then did he drop to one knee, chest heaving.
The third spiral still burned faintly in his abdomen—anchored, but unstable.
"Q.E.D.—thread status?"
[ THREAD 3 STATUS – STABILIZED AT 57% ]
▓ Anchor Core: Semi-Fused
▓ Spiral Looping Risk: Acceptable
▓ Recursion Level: Elevated
▓ Net Gain: +43% simulated intake potential
"I didn't authorize that."
"You said to emulate," he muttered, breathless. "Not link."
[ External force induced recursive mirror feedback. Simulation trigger was not voluntary. Spiral thread established through harmonic entanglement. ]
"It forced a breakthrough."
He stared down at his palm.
I lied to the Mirror. And something... else answered.
Then—
[ Q.E.D. ALERT – OBSERVATION PATTERN DETECTED ]
▓ Entity 2.4 kilometers away
▓ Gaze locked on host
▓ Spiritual signature: Suppressed
▓ Status: Advancing
Rayen's pupils narrowed.
The Spiral inside him shivered.
Then—
A voice echoed through the woods. Calm. Cold.
"You're not the first to simulate the Dao."
He spun.
But there was no one there.
Only the trees.
And the wind.