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Chapter 179: The Mirror of the Eternal Threshold
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Act I: A Chamber Between Worlds
The Gallery opened into a chamber where two doors faced each other—one carved in shadow, the other in light.
Ne Job stepped forward, Twinkle buzzing faintly, its hum caught between rising and fading tones.
Ao Bing muttered, "This place feels like a crossing."
Taiyi Zhenren scribbled quickly. "The mirror here… it is neither beginning nor end. It is passage."
At the center stood a mirror split down the middle, half glowing, half dark, its surface shimmering with transition.
It spoke in a voice steady and solemn:
> "I am the Mirror of the Eternal Threshold. I hold what is crossed, what is endured, what is carried between."
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Act II: The Weight of Passage
The interns gazed into its surface.
Visions unfolded, showing moments of crossing that defined their journeys.
- Ao Bing saw battles where stepping forward meant leaving fear behind.
- Taiyi Zhenren saw scrolls where wisdom was passed from one age to the next.
- Ne Job saw miracles fading in one world, reborn in another within the Registry.
Twinkle pulsed brightly, resonating with the passage.
The mirror whispered:
> "To guard me, you must walk without fear."
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Act III: The Mask's Intrusion
From the shadows, the Mask of Misrule hissed.
> "Thresholds are mine to corrupt. I will twist crossings into exile, and exile into chaos."
The Mirror of Endless Deception flickered, shards gathering again.
The Mask reached toward Eternal Threshold, trying to fracture its balance into despair.
Ao Bing staggered. "I feel trapped between worlds!"
Taiyi Zhenren trembled. "My scrolls blur at the edge!"
Ne Job steadied them. "Thresholds are not exile. They are bridges."
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Act IV: The Trial of Passage
The Mirror of the Eternal Threshold spoke:
> "Intern, to protect me, you must cross."
Ne Job gazed into its divided surface.
He saw himself faltering, afraid to leave one world behind, afraid to enter another.
He whispered:
> "I cross. Even when endings hurt, I step forward. Even when beginnings frighten, I endure."
The mirror glowed brighter, its halves uniting into radiant clarity.
Twinkle pulsed strongly, harmonizing with the passage.
Ao Bing's fists steadied.
Taiyi Zhenren's scrolls aligned.
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 thresholds into exile, scattering the interns into despair.
Ao Bing staggered. "I cannot move forward!"
Taiyi Zhenren trembled. "My wisdom dissolves at the edge!"
Ne Job stood firm. "Thresholds are not exile. They are truth carried forward."
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, Hidden Dawn, Endless Oath, Eternal Memory — joined with Eternal Threshold.
Their glow struck the Mask's illusions.
Exile became clarity.
Deception dissolved.
Twinkle hummed, resonating with the Miracle Registry.
Ao Bing laughed, fierce and kind.
Taiyi Zhenren footnoted every crossing restored.
Ne Job stood firm, passage and truth united.
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Act VI: The Mirror's Gift
The Mirror of the Eternal Threshold calmed, its surface shimmering with radiant balance.
It whispered:
> "Intern, threshold is not chaos. It is passage eternal. 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 thresholds today. But exile always waits."
The Gallery fell silent.
The mirrors glowed.
And Ne Job walked on, ready for what lay ahead.