The crystalline glow of the sanctum pulsed in an erratic rhythm, like the dying heartbeat of an ancient beast. Dust cascaded from the arched ceilings as Max and Lian Yue moved silently through the corridor of fractured murals, each painting depicting scenes of battle, betrayal, ascension—and death. Their steps echoed softly, but the weight in their hearts thundered like drums.
Max walked slightly ahead, his Origin Eyes half-active, purple irises glowing faintly under the dying sanctum light. Every inch of wall they passed he scanned, not just for traps but for meaning. After the confrontation with the twin-armored sentinels and the false guardian in the sealed library's antechamber, he no longer trusted the sanctum's intentions. Every chamber held a new truth… or a deeper lie.
Lian Yue walked quietly beside him, her spiritual pressure flickering like an unstable flame. The trials had taxed her not only physically but emotionally. Since awakening the sealed spirit fragment that guided them to the ancient scroll chamber, she hadn't spoken much—her thoughts seemed elsewhere, tangled in memories only she could see.
They turned the final curve of the long corridor, entering a half-crumbled dome hall. In the center stood an obsidian monolith, cracked and yet humming with untamed energy. The walls were covered in glowing glyphs and ancient inscriptions, their light illuminating the room like trapped starlight.
Max halted, raising a hand to stop Lian Yue.
"This… feels different," he said, voice low.
Lian Yue narrowed her eyes, raising her palm to call forth a soft flame of spiritual qi. "It's not a trap. But… something was sealed here."
Max approached the monolith cautiously. His Origin Eyes shimmered more violently as he stepped closer. The monolith, black at first glance, now shimmered with threads of galaxies beneath its surface—an illusion, or perhaps a hidden truth.
Then it happened.
The monolith trembled. Lines of glowing script unraveled from its surface and wrapped around Max's body like ethereal vines. He tensed, but they didn't harm him—instead, they whispered.
You've come far, Child of Origin. Yet the path you tread is not yours alone.
"Did you hear that?" he asked, not turning around.
Lian Yue nodded slowly, her eyes wide. "A voice. Like… a memory etched into time itself."
Suddenly, the monolith burst with soft light, casting a massive illusion into the air. A glowing figure, cloaked in flowing celestial robes with a face blurred by light, appeared before them. The figure held a fan—identical to Max's.
Max instinctively tightened his grip on the hand fan at his waist.
"System Message"
You have discovered a Forgotten Memory Fragment:
'The Fan-Bearer Who Defied the Heaven Scripts'
Residual Essence Imprint Detected… Initiating Transfer Protocol…
#######################
The glowing figure's voice rang out, more solid now.
"To ascend is to abandon. To grow is to forget. But some truths should never fade. If you walk the path I once walked… then beware. Even Origin may lie."
Max stood frozen. The fan in his hand trembled slightly, resonating.
The vision ended as suddenly as it came.
Silence returned.
But the silence was short-lived.
The moment the illusion faded, the ceiling above cracked open, sending rumbling tremors across the sanctum. From the depths of the earth below, a black smoke emerged, and a figure slowly rose—cloaked in flames that consumed light itself. Not a beast. Not a guardian. Something far older.
Max turned to Lian Yue.
"We run. Now."
They sprinted down a narrow passage opposite the dome. Behind them, the void creature's scream shook the very space around them. Spatial distortions formed, causing cracks in the structure as corridors warped unnaturally.
They reached a chamber with shattered crystal mirrors and strange rotating columns, the architecture unfamiliar even among the bizarre sanctum designs they'd seen so far.
Max's breathing was ragged, but he wasted no time.
"We can't keep running like this. Let me check our condition," he muttered.
He called up the Status Window again, and this time, with added clarity due to his Origin Eyes' minor upgrade, everything showed with greater transparency.
⸻
[ STATUS WINDOW — MAX ]
Realm: Ascension Realm
— Major Realm: Spirit Ascension
— Minor Realm: Soul Pulse (Level 14)
— Segment: Advanced
Title: Child of Origin | Library Keyholder | Fan-Bearer of Legacy
Age: 21
Lifespan Remaining: 410 years
Constitution: ??? (Mutated Variant)
Law Comprehension: 12% [Time], 3% [Void], 8% [Qi Flow]
Eye Ability: [ Origin Eyes ]
— Status View (Minor Realm +1)
— Law Trace (Passive)
— Emotional Pulse (Developing)
Inventory:
— Celestial Fan (Bound)
— Ancient Glyph Scrolls × 3
— Relic Shard: Sanctum Core Fragment
— Soulfire Nectar (Unrefined)
⸻
He exhaled slowly, his grip on reality steadying slightly. Then, for the second time, he focused his gaze on Lian Yue—using the Origin Eyes to assess her current state.
⸻
[ STATUS WINDOW — LIAN YUE ]
Realm: Ascension Realm
— Major Realm: Spirit Ascension
— Minor Realm: Flame Vein (Level 12)
— Segment: Late Stage
Title: Crimson Whisper | Heir of the South Flame Pavilion
Age: 20
Lifespan Remaining: 380 years
Law Comprehension: 6% [Fire], 2% [Illusion]
⸻
She blinked when she felt the energy sweep over her. "You're peeking again," she said with a faint smirk.
"I just needed to know if you could still fight," Max replied with a wry grin.
Lian Yue nodded. "I can. But that thing back there… if it's drawn to Origin power, we can't afford to stay long."
Max gazed down the corridor of rotating columns.
"No. But we're not leaving empty-handed either. There's still more to learn… especially about that Fan-Bearer and the sanctum's truth."
Lian Yue tilted her head. "Do you think he… could be one of your ancestors?"
"I don't know," Max whispered. "But his path… and mine… feel bound together."
Their moment was short-lived.
From behind them, a deep pulse—not sound, not pressure—something fundamental, resonated like the tolling of a cosmic bell.
The creature was catching up.
Max's Origin Eyes flared to full power.
"It's time," he said.
They both took off deeper into the sanctum once again, knowing full well that the truth, no matter how buried, was clawing its way to the surface.
⸻
[End Of Chapter 25]
⸻
A/N:
The mystery of the Sanctum deepens! What is the connection between Max and the ancient Fan-Bearer? What exactly is awakening—and what role does Lian Yue truly play in all of this? We're only 25 chapters in, and the first domino has just fallen. Let the chaos begin.