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Chapter 176: The Mirror of the Hidden Dawn
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Act I: A Chamber of Veiled Light
The Gallery opened into a chamber where faint rays of light filtered through veils of mist, never fully breaking into day.
Ne Job stepped forward, Twinkle buzzing softly, its hum caught between shadow and glow.
Ao Bing muttered, "It feels like dawn, but concealed."
Taiyi Zhenren scribbled quickly. "This mirror… it hides beginnings within endings."
At the center stood a mirror cloaked in shifting haze, its surface glowing faintly like a sunrise behind clouds.
It spoke in a voice hushed yet steady:
> "I am the Mirror of the Hidden Dawn. I hold what begins unseen, what rises quietly, what endures in secret."
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Act II: The Weight of Concealed Beginnings
The interns gazed into its surface.
Visions unfolded, showing truths that began quietly, unnoticed.
Ao Bing saw battles won not by glory, but by silent preparation.
Taiyi Zhenren saw scrolls written in margins, wisdom preserved in whispers.
Ne Job saw miracles born in silence, carried forward without recognition.
Twinkle pulsed faintly, resonating with the veiled glow.
The mirror whispered:
> "To guard me, you must honor beginnings unseen."
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Act III: The Mask's Intrusion
From the shadows, the Mask of Misrule hissed.
> "Hidden dawns are mine to corrupt. I will twist beginnings into obscurity, and obscurity into chaos."
The Mirror of Endless Deception flickered, shards gathering again.
The Mask reached toward Hidden Dawn, trying to smother its glow into nothingness.
Ao Bing staggered. "I see no light!"
Taiyi Zhenren trembled. "My scrolls vanish into mist!"
Ne Job steadied them. "Hidden does not mean lost. It is strength waiting to rise."
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Act IV: The Trial of Dawn
The Mirror of the Hidden Dawn spoke:
> "Intern, to protect me, you must believe in what is unseen."
Ne Job gazed into its veiled surface.
He saw himself faltering, afraid of beginnings that no one noticed.
He whispered:
> "I believe. Even unseen, beginnings matter. Even hidden, they endure."
The mirror glowed brighter, its haze thinning into radiant light.
Twinkle pulsed strongly, harmonizing with the dawn.
Ao Bing's fists steadied.
Taiyi Zhenren's scrolls cleared.
The Mask recoiled, his corruption faltering.
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Act V: The Clash
The Mask screamed, hurling shards of deception.
Illusions tried to twist hidden beginnings into futility, scattering the interns into despair.
Ao Bing staggered. "My strength feels forgotten!"
Taiyi Zhenren trembled. "My wisdom fades into silence!"
Ne Job stood firm. "Hidden is not forgotten. It is truth waiting to rise."
The awakened mirrors — Patience, Friendship, Courage, Sorrow, Endless Paths, Forgotten Names, Silent Echoes, Shattered Promises, Hidden Truths, Eternal Doubt, Living Light, Boundless Hope, Unbroken Unity, Eternal Harmony, Final Resolve, Infinite Resolve, Last Question, First Dawn, Endless Return, Forgotten Future, Silent Dawnfall, Eternal Song, Endless Silence, Forgotten Flame, Eternal Return, Eternal Choice — joined with Hidden Dawn.
Their glow struck the Mask's illusions.
Obscurity became clarity.
Deception dissolved.
Twinkle hummed, resonating with the Miracle Registry.
Ao Bing laughed, fierce and kind.
Taiyi Zhenren footnoted every hidden truth restored.
Ne Job stood firm, dawn and truth united.
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Act VI: The Mirror's Gift
The Mirror of the Hidden Dawn calmed, its surface shimmering with radiant veils.
It whispered:
> "Intern, hidden dawn is not chaos. It is renewal unseen. Guard it well."
Ne Job bowed.
Twinkle pulsed softly.
The Gallery shimmered, stable once more.
The Mask of Misrule retreated into the shadows, his voice echoing faintly:
> "You may resist hidden dawn today. But obscurity always waits."
The Gallery fell silent.
The mirrors glowed.
And Ne Job walked on, ready for what lay ahead.