By the time the sun climbed above the shattered canopy, the forest no longer felt like a place of survival, it felt like a trap, tightening with every breath. Seris limped beside me, one arm pressed tight against her ribs. Her face was pale, eyes hollow, but alive.
We moved in silence for a while, only the wind and distant calls of spirit beasts echoing around us. My core still hummed, stronger than before, sharper. But peace wouldn't last. Not after what I'd just done. The system confirmed it again:
[Global Bounty Active]
[Jin Ranziel - Heavenmarked Rebel]
[Tier 5 Reward: Core (Alive or Dead)]
[Claimable by: Sects, Guilds, Rogue Hunters, Divine Executors]
Seris broke the silence. "You don't understand what you've triggered."
"I've got a pretty good idea," I muttered. "Every bounty-hungry dog in the realm now wants to carve out my heart."
She shook her head. "Not just dogs. You've awakened the Apex Protocol. The Heavenly Chains."
"The what?"
She leaned against a mossy boulder, catching her breath. "It's an ancient rule. Anyone who breaks core ascension laws, anyone who mutates their path beyond natural limiters, is flagged. The sky itself starts watching. And sometimes… other worlds do too."
That stopped me cold.
"You're telling me… I've gone inter-realm viral?"
Seris cracked a broken laugh, then winced. "Congratulations."
The system buzzed again.
[New Passive Skill Activated: Predator's Insight]
Detects hostility and tracks active threats within 300 meters
[+10% reaction speed when engaged by bounty pursuers]
Useful. Because the system had also picked up a signal.
[Hostiles Detected: 4]
[Class: Rogue Hunters - Tier 2]
[Distance: 280 meters - Closing fast]
I turned toward the east, already forming the Pulse Blade in my hand.
"They're coming."
Seris nodded. "Then let's bleed them."
Minutes later, they emerged from the mist - four men and one cloaked figure trailing behind like a shadow. Each wore fragmented sect uniforms, torn and stained from years of exile. The leader stepped forward, spitting into the grass.
"Well, well. The Broken One himself. You look less divine and more... desperate."
I didn't bother responding.
[Threat Level: Moderate]
[Loot Matrix Recommendation: Kill All / Claim Skill Node]
Done! They rushed us. The leader summoned a whip of Qi, snapping toward my chest with a hiss. I Voidstepped instantly, reappearing behind him, blade already in motion.
[Skill Used: Spirit Pulse Blade]
[Damage: Critical]
[Target Killed - Core Fragment Absorbed]
He didn't even scream. He just… folded in half. Seris ducked low, driving a dagger into one man's thigh before flipping him into a tree. Two down, the third tried to run. I fired a Flame Roar, catching him mid-sprint. His body turned to charcoal before he hit the ground. Only one remained, the cloaked one. He hadn't moved. He raised his hand slowly, revealing an odd symbol on his palm.
[Mark Detected: Heaven's Listening Eye]
[WARNING: You are being recorded and broadcast across realms]
I struck without hesitation, blade flashing. The cloak dropped, empty, a decoy. The real observer was long gone.
[System Update: Bounty Tier Increased]
[New Reward: Sect Advancement Tokens + Spirit Forge Materials]
[Current Claimants: 216+]
Two hundred bounty hunters, and counting. Seris dropped beside me, blood on her lips. "This… this is only going to get worse."
I helped her up. "Then we get stronger. Faster."
"Where to next?"
I checked the new map unlocked after the tower's collapse.
[Next Forbidden Site: Mirror Caverns - Hidden System Fragment Detected]
[Distance: 63 kilometers - Travel Risk: High]
[Status: Unclaimed Territory]
Perfect. A new trial. A new power. If anyone tried to follow? They'd bleed for it. As we vanished into the trees, the wind carried whispers behind us:
"He's the one. The Rebel of Jade. The boy who defied the sky…"
The forest gave way to broken ridgelines and sloping rocks etched by time and storms. For two days we traveled under low clouds, avoiding open paths and sect scouts.
The system kept us moving:
[Travel Objective: Mirror Caverns]
[Estimated Arrival: 1.2 hours]
[Active Threats: None detected]
[Passive Risk: Mind Disruption (78%) - Mirror Caverns are unstable dimensional zones]
"Unstable dimensional zones." Just hearing the phrase made my spine itch.
Seris limped beside me, her wounds slowly healing thanks to the spirit salve we'd looted off the rogue hunters. She hadn't said much since the fight. Something about that "Heaven's Listening Eye" shook her more than she admitted.
"You sure this is the place?" I asked, stepping onto an outcropping that overlooked a crater of shattered silver stone.
She nodded. "If the Forbidden Tree marked it, it holds power. But Mirror Caverns don't play fair."
As we descended, the world grew quiet with soft crunch of gravel beneath our boots. We reached a stone archway nearly buried in mist. Cracked writing shimmered faintly along the stone in a language I didn't recognize. The jade pulsed in my hand.
[System Fragment Detected: Shard of the Unseen Code]
[Warning: Perception Distortion Begins Upon Entry]
[Suggested Title Loadout: "Heavenmarked Rebel" + "Broken No More"]
[Resistance to Mental Breakdown: 23%]
Great odds. I looked at Seris. "Stay behind me. I go first."
"No. We go together."
I sighed, then stepped inside. The moment I crossed the threshold, reality tilted. The cavern didn't have walls. It had reflections. Infinite versions of me stretched out in all directions, walking slightly out of sync, with slight variations, some bloody, some smiling, some dead. The system flared.
[Welcome to Mirror Caverns]
[New Quest: Identity Collapse - Survive 3 Echo Waves]
[Time Limit: Unknown]
I blinked, trying to steady my thoughts. But then a reflection stepped forward, and smiled. It looked like me. But older. Crueler. Stronger. He held a black-bladed spear and a look of pity.
"You really think this is your story?" he said. "You're the version that failed."
Before I could respond, he lunged. I blocked, just in time. My own blade met his, the Spirit Pulse clashing with his black mirror spear. Sparks danced across the floor. Seris shouted something, but it came out warped, like she was speaking underwater. The reflection was fast. Every move I made, he predicted. Because it was me. Or some twisted version of what I could become.
[Identity Clash Initiated: Phase 1]
[Objective: Overcome Mirror Self (Cycle 1)]
[Rewards: Fragment Access + Loot Matrix Node Unlock]
[Warning: Extended exposure causes memory erosion]
My arms trembled with effort. This version of me didn't just fight harder, he fought without holding back. Every time I blocked, I was thrown backward. I had one shot. I closed my eyes, letting him strike again. I let the blow land, shallow, across my ribs, but used the recoil to Voidstep behind him, and stabbed. The mirror version froze, cracked, Then shattered into silver dust.
The system chimed:
[Phase 1: Complete]
[Memory Erosion: 3%]
[Reward: Skill Shard - "Phantom Parry" (Passive)]
[Auto-Acquired: Reduces incoming melee damage by 10% if struck within 2 seconds of dodging]
My head throbbed, but I smiled. Worth it.
Seris caught up to me, panting. "I saw you fighting yourself."
"I was."
"That's… not encouraging."
But the caverns were already shifting. Next trial incoming.
[Warning: Phase 2 Approaching - Doppelgänger Spawn (x3)]
[Time until encounter: 3 minutes]
[New Loot Node Available - Sync with Seris? Y/N]
I blinked at that.
"Seris. You've got a system?"
She hesitated. "...Not like yours. But the tower gave me something."
"Then we sync. Now."
[Loot Node Sync Initiated]
The jade pulsed between us. Three red silhouettes formed in the mist ahead. And this time, they didn't look like me. They looked like her.
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