KThe wind shifted.
Lioran jolted upright from his sleep, a cold sensation creeping up his spine. The Codex of Eternal Insight pulsed faintly on his lap, as if disturbed. The pages were fluttering, not by wind—but by will.
A new entry appeared.
---
🎴 [Codex Entry 004: "Unknown Observer"]
> Range: 300 meters
Spiritual presence: cloaked
Flaws: Light-bending robe (stitch unraveling at 3rd seam), minor qi disturbance
Danger Rating: Moderate
Intent: Observation
Suggestion: Remain unseen. Evasive route through southeast ridge optimal.
---
Lioran's breath caught.
Someone was watching him.
Without thinking, he rolled off the old stone bench and doused the lantern beside him. The forge was silent now, Master Grell long since gone to his quarters. Moonlight peeked through the warped shutters, casting streaks across the floor.
He pressed his back against the wall, sliding toward the rear exit. With the Codex tucked beneath his arm, he peeked through a crack in the door.
Nothing.
But the Codex never lied.
---
He slipped into the darkness of the trees beyond the forge, keeping low, mind racing. Who was the observer? A bandit? A rogue cultivator?
He didn't yet realize—this was the first echo of something much greater.
---
🌲 Half a League Away – On the Ridge
A figure in deep robes stood atop a slanted pine, unmoving. His eyes shimmered with faint golden lines, crisscrossed like veins of glass.
He held a scroll, gently humming with old magic.
> "So," he whispered, "the Codex has chosen again. After all these centuries."
He unfurled the scroll. A map—seven points glowing faintly. The one in the east had just flared bright.
> "Truth awakens. Which means…"
He turned toward the west.
> "The others will answer."
---
🌌 Meanwhile – In the Depths of Lioran's Mind
Lioran paused at the edge of the old eastern path, panting. The Codex flipped open in his hand—without his input—and words began to ink themselves across the page.
---
🎴 [Codex Entry 005: "Echo Reaction Detected"]
> ⚠️ The awakening of the Codex of Eternal Insight has triggered resonances across the Six Lost Tomes.
Initial Response Level: 2
Predicted Interference: High
Threat Entities: Known Codex Wielders – [1 confirmed], [2 stirring], [3 location unknown]
Suggested Protocol: Begin Codex Harmonization Trial – Stage One Available
> Proceed?
---
Lioran stared at the words. Codex harmonization trial?
"What happens if I say yes?" he whispered.
> "You will face yourself," the Codex answered.
"Unfiltered. Unprotected. Unforgiven."
> "And if I survive?"
> "You will learn what your eyes were never meant to see."
---
He hesitated, then nodded.
> "Proceed."
---
The forest around him… vanished.
In the blink of an eye, Lioran stood in a space of infinite reflections. There was no ground, no sky—only glass, stretching in every direction. And in each reflection—a different version of him.
One wore a king's crown, cold and calculating.
One was a child, crying and alone.
One stood surrounded by corpses, laughing with hollow eyes.
Another held the Codex open, but the pages were blank and black.
> "These are the selves that could be," the Codex intoned.
"To walk the Flawless Path, you must tear away what is false."
> "And what is false?" Lioran whispered.
> "That depends on which one of you speaks first."
---
One of the reflections stepped forward—it was the hollow-eyed Lioran. His smile was brittle and wrong.
> "You think fixing the world makes it better?" he hissed.
"Perfection breeds stagnation. You will become a tyrant of flawlessness."
Another voice spoke—the child.
> "I don't want to see what's broken. I just want to live."
Then the king stepped forth.
> "If I had the Codex, I would unify the world. You waste its power on swords and sabers."
---
Lioran gritted his teeth.
They weren't wrong. He had thought of what else the Codex could do—reshape nations, forge unbreakable armies, correct the flaws in society itself.
But… that wasn't what he wanted.
> "I'm not here to rule," he whispered.
"Or erase emotions. Or become a god."
> "I want to understand."
The Codex glowed.
The reflections froze—then shattered.
---
Suddenly, he stood alone again—in a different place.
A white stone platform stretched before him, floating in a void. In the center sat a new page, suspended in light.
---
🎴 [New Codex Page Acquired: "Script of Mirrorstep"]
> Technique Rank: Transcendent
Origin: Created via internal trial
Type: Evasion/Movement
Effect: Instantly shift position by stepping through flaw reflections in light
Side Effect: If user's intent falters, projection will misalign
> Codex Harmonization: 7%
---
Lioran blinked.
He had just… created a technique? Not copied, not mimicked—created, using nothing but truth and resolve.
He opened his hand. The Codex closed itself and settled against his chest like a second heartbeat.
Then came a faint hum, distant but clear. It wasn't the Codex.
It was a call.
---
🌪️ Somewhere Far North – In a Frost-Covered Ruin
A pale girl knelt before a broken obelisk, her breath frosting the air. In her hands, a flame danced—not red, not orange—but blue, like spiritfire.
As Lioran's Codex awakened, so did hers.
The Codex of Celestial Flame.
She looked up, her eyes shimmering like melting ice.
> "So… the Insight Codex bearer lives again."
> "Let's see what you burn for, truth-seeker."
---
To be continued...