The torrent of five hundred years of memories that had flooded him in an instant slowly began to settle... leaving behind only a profound understanding and a spiritual exhaustion Zen had never before experienced. He looked at Xu Yianzi... the man he had once thought of as merely a "disciple" in a dream world. Now, in Zen's eyes, he was a grandmaster, a legend, and one who had shouldered a fate hundreds, thousands of times heavier than his own.
"How... how did you endure it?" Zen finally asked, his voice hoarse and filled with a thousand different emotions. "The loneliness... being hunted... carrying the hopes of so many people... for five hundred years."
Xu Yianzi looked back at his master, his eyes calm. "I just... did what had to be done," he replied. He rose slowly to his feet, his body, inscribed with glowing runes, looking formidable. "But perhaps seeing is better than hearing... Master... allow me to walk you through the 'home' I have built from your teachings."
Before Zen could answer, Xu Yianzi turned back to him again. "But first... I can sense a confusion within your own being... Master, who are you, truly? Are you a deity from the high heavens, or an ancient spirit roaming the cosmos?"
Zen froze. He had never thought he would have to answer this question. But before this man, who had given him the greatest Echo of all, hiding the truth felt like the most profound dishonor. He decided to open his heart for the first time.
"I... I'm just an ordinary person," Zen answered honestly. Even though it was just a thought in a dream world, he knew Xu Yianzi could hear him. "In my world, I have no power at all... but it seems that when I sleep... my spirit drifts away... traveling everywhere... and watching the stories of people like you."
A moment of silence passed. Xu Yianzi looked at him, his expression unreadable, before he let out a soft laugh. "Hahaha... so that's how it is... I had always thought you were a great celestial immortal... but in truth, you are a lost traveler, just as I once was." He bowed his head slightly. "Even so, the teachings you gave me were real... and they have changed my life forever... Now that we understand each other's nature... please... my friend."
The word "friend" sent a tremor through Zen's heart. He felt the wall between the "watcher" and the "watched" finally crumble.
Zen followed Xu Yianzi (in his observer's form) out of the main hall. This was the first time he had seen the "Celestial Script Sect" in its entirety. It wasn't just a training ground for combat, but a vibrant "metropolis," full of life. Countless disciples without a shred of martial power were using runes in creative ways... craftsmen used the rune ᚲ (Kenaz) to control the heat for forging metal, farmers used the rune ᛒ (Berkano) to accelerate the growth of their crops, healers used the rune ᛊ (Sowilo) to mend wounds... It was an ideal society that relied on wisdom and understanding, not destructive power.
The two of them walked to the highest point of the sect... a white jade balcony that overlooked the entire planet. The cities, etched with runes, glowed like stars upon the earth.
"How do you rule over the tens of millions of people on this planet?" Zen finally asked.
"I do not 'rule' them... Master," Xu Yianzi answered. "I only 'provide a path'... I established a 'Council of Elders' with representatives from each profession... a head of the artisans, a head of agriculture, a head of medicine... Everyone has a part in the decisions. Everyone is a part of this sect... The true duty of a leader is not to control with power, but to grant 'trust' so that people can grow in their own way."
Xu Yianzi's gaze drifted to the world below, his eyes softening as he remembered someone.
"Much like how I... gave all my trust to a single disciple... I raised him since he was a child. I found him on his worst day... I had been informed that a border village was under attack by spirit beasts, but I arrived too late... The sight I saw was the wreckage of homes, corpses torn apart by beasts, pools of drying blood. I searched for survivors until I found 'him'... a small boy, hiding under the floor of a collapsed house, trembling with fear, tears streaming down his face but not daring to make a sound... perhaps it was the last command from his parents... In that child's eyes, I saw a shadow of my former self... weak... powerless... able to do nothing but hide to survive... So I took him as my only disciple. I taught him everything I knew... and I intended for him to be the one to inherit everything from me."
Those words made Zen realize something... it was a lesson he needed for his own world... for the 198 other souls who were waiting for a "path" from him, and the need to choose leaders among them.
"Master..." Xu Yianzi spoke again, his voice now serious. "The Art of Runes that you bestowed upon me is great... but it has also drawn the eyes of those who stand at the peak and do not wish to fall."
"They see my path as an 'opportunity' to transcend their own limits... I have had to fight against the greed and fear of masters from every corner of the world my entire life... not for fame... but for 'survival,' and to protect this art."
He looked directly at Zen, his eyes filled with a warning. "Please, be careful, Master... The power you are creating in your world is the same... Whenever it is revealed to the eyes of the universe... endless greed and fear will always follow."
The dream began to fade... but Xu Yianzi's final words continued to echo in Zen's heart... ...it was the final Echo... the most important lesson he had received from this great grandmaster.