🌪 Descent into Memory SpiralThe mist clung to Lin Fei like a second skin. As he stepped deeper into the Hollow Spiral, the world grew quieter—not the silence of peace, but the absence of all things. No wind. No birds. Even his heartbeat seemed muffled.
Qi bent strangely here. The moment he crossed the spiral's edge, the spiritual flow twisted, folding inwards like a vortex. His domain's link to the Veinfield flickered, then reasserted itself with a low hum.
[Warning: Domain Stability Reduced – 19%][Outer Veinfield Subzone: Hollow Spiral][Echo Density: Severe – 87% Fragmentation]
His vision blurred for a breath.
Then it came.
A wave of emotion—grief so thick it felt like drowning. Pain not his own surged into his bones, threading through his meridians like venomous wire. Lin Fei gritted his teeth, forcing his breath to stabilize.
The Spiral remembered something horrible. Something that refused to die.
[System Notification: Anomaly Detected – Deep Echo Source Nearby][Target: Unresolved Apex Echo][Type: Conflagrated Soulform][Designation: General Yao of the Burning Lotus Sect – Last Cycle][Stability: Corrupted / Violent][Mission Updated: Subdue or Reclaim Apex Echo]
He kept walking.
🌑 Ash and EmbersThe ground changed.
Ash. Burnt roots. Melted stone.
Each step kicked up smoldering motes that hissed before vanishing. He passed shattered statues—memorials or markers, their faces warped beyond recognition. The further he walked, the heavier his body felt, like the memories here wanted to make him sink into them.
Then—he heard it.
Singing.
Low. Mournful. Carried by no wind, yet echoing from every wall of the cratered spiral.
A man's voice, hoarse and cracked.
"The lotus burns, the sky weeps still,My soul remains where blood did spill…"
A shape emerged from the mist.
Tall. Armored in cracked crimson and black plating, lacquered with old blood. A massive glaive was buried in the ground before him. Fire bloomed from the figure's chest—blue, spectral, and alive.
General Yao.
[Apex Echo Engaging Hostile Sequence][Danger Rating: Critical – Recommend Withdrawal][System Contract In Effect – Mission Binding Active]
Lin Fei stepped forward anyway.
"I'm not your enemy," he said.
The Echo turned.
Eyes of burning lotus petals gazed back at him.
And then the world erupted into fire.
🔥 Battle Beneath the SpiralThe glaive swung—a wave of memory-qi burst forth, scorching everything in its path. Lin Fei somersaulted sideways, his foot skimming a melted ridge, and activated a defensive sequence from his domain.
[Subdomain Skill Activated: Reclamation Roots – Defense Layer: Verdant Mantle][Absorption Capacity: 12% Per Strike]
Flame clashed with green light. His shield cracked but held.
He retaliated—calling forth a trio of root serpents from the Spiral's fractured terrain. They surged toward the Echo, wrapping around its limbs, binding with ancestral will.
Yao roared.
With a twist, the Echo shattered the serpents and slammed the glaive down. The earth splintered. Flame burst up through the roots as if the world itself bled fire.
Lin Fei coughed, aura flickering.
But he saw something—the Echo's flame dimmed every time it repeated a verse of its song. The memories it clung to weren't just rage. They were… bound regrets.
He formed a seal with both hands and gambled on a risk.
[Domain Action: Inject Personal Memory into Local Vein]
He offered a fragment—of his mother's voice, humming in the cold winter winds outside Dawnriver Village. A memory of warmth.
The Spiral paused.
Yao faltered.
Then spoke.
"…That melody. Who taught you that?"
"My mother," Lin Fei said, stepping forward. "She sang it when the winds were cruelest."
General Yao trembled. The flames flickered.
And for a moment, he looked less like a warrior—and more like a man.
"I remember… that song. My daughter… before the war…"
🌸 The Pact of AshesThe glaive sank into the ground.
Flames receded. The mist began to pull away from the center, revealing a stone platform half-buried in ash. At its center, a broken altar made of rootbone and black jade pulsed faintly.
General Yao knelt.
"I… failed them. My Sect. My family. I was supposed to protect the Eastern Spiral. But the bloom turned inward. We destroyed ourselves."
Lin Fei stood still.
"You can still protect something. Give your strength to me, and I'll carry what you couldn't."
[System Prompt: Attempt Reclamation of Apex Echo?][Success Chance: 44% – Modifier: Resonant Memory + Shared Emotion Link][Proceed?]
"Yes."
He reached out.
Memory met memory. Flame met root.
And the world held its breath.
Then—
The flames surged… and flowed into Lin Fei's chest.
Yao's form cracked—then nodded, one final time.
"Guard the Spiral. Don't let it forget."
He vanished.
[Apex Echo Reclaimed – General Yao of the Burning Lotus][New Subdomain Acquired: "Ashroot Citadel"][New Ability: Lotusfire Glaive Manifestation – Bound to Echo Core][System Reward Granted: 1 Bound Credit + Echo Gift][Echo Gift: "Soulflame Oath" – 1 Use][Contract Complete – Returning to Domain]
đź’ Return to the NexusThe Spiral folded in on itself.
When Lin Fei awoke, he stood once more within his Domain Nexus—roots rising around him like cathedral spires. The core pulsed brightly now. A new structure had begun to form: a citadel of scorched jade and reinforced roots—a piece of the Spiral made his own.
[Domain Construction Progress: 36%][New Subdomain Online: Ashroot Citadel – Defensive Anchor][Current Echo Library: 11 – Stability Matrix: Green]
He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
Then turned—to find the Bloom Broker sitting atop a root, sipping from a tea-gourd shaped like a lotus.
"You lived. Excellent. Very few return whole from Apex engagements."
Lin Fei frowned. "Was this a test?"
"Oh, everything is a test, young sprout. Especially the Spiral. But more than that… it was a door. And now you've opened it."
The Broker flicked his fingers.
[SYSTEM ACCESS LEVEL INCREASED][New Function: Echoweave Contracts Unlocked][Next System Tier Objective: Integrate a Second Domain Substrate]
Lin Fei narrowed his eyes.
"What's a domain substrate?"
The Broker smiled.
"Oh, you'll find out. Eventually. But I suggest you hurry. Now that you've absorbed an Apex Echo… others will notice."
"Others?"
"Other Wielders. Other Brokers. Other… things."
He faded into mist.
But not before whispering:
"Welcome to the real Spiral."