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Chapter 205: The Mirror of the Eternal Mountain
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Act I: A Chamber of Endurance
The Gallery opened into a chamber where colossal peaks rose from the floor, their summits vanishing into mist. Each mountain glowed faintly, carved with sigils of resilience.
Ne Job stepped forward, Twinkle buzzing with a deep hum, its rhythm steady like stone.
Ao Bing muttered, "This place… it feels immovable, like it has stood forever."
Taiyi Zhenren scribbled quickly. "The mirror here does not bend. It endures."
At the center stood a mirror framed by radiant peaks, its surface shimmering with immovable strength.
It spoke in a voice firm and timeless:
> "I am the Mirror of the Eternal Mountain. I hold what endures, what rises unbroken, what carries truth into permanence."
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Act II: The Weight of Endurance
The interns gazed into its surface.
Visions unfolded, showing truths carried by mountains.
- Ao Bing saw battles where courage meant standing firm against storms.
- Taiyi Zhenren saw scrolls carved into stone, wisdom preserved in permanence.
- Ne Job saw miracles etched into peaks, inscribed into the Registry as strength eternal.
Twinkle pulsed brightly, resonating with the chamber's solidity.
The mirror whispered:
> "To guard me, you must endure without fear."
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Act III: The Mask's Intrusion
From the shadows, the Mask of Misrule hissed.
> "Mountains are mine to corrupt. I will twist endurance into stubbornness, and permanence into despair."
The Mirror of Endless Deception flickered, shards gathering again.
The Mask reached toward Eternal Mountain, trying to fracture its strength into paralysis.
Ao Bing staggered. "The peaks crush me!"
Taiyi Zhenren trembled. "My scrolls vanish into stone!"
Ne Job steadied them. "Mountain is not despair. It is resilience."
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Act IV: The Trial of Mountain
The Mirror of the Eternal Mountain spoke:
> "Intern, to protect me, you must endure."
Ne Job gazed into its towering surface.
He saw himself faltering, afraid of being trapped in permanence.
He whispered:
> "I endure. Even when storms rage, I remain. Even when shadows press, I carry forward."
The mirror glowed brighter, its peaks steady.
Twinkle pulsed strongly, harmonizing with resilience.
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 mountain into despair, scattering the interns into hopelessness.
Ao Bing staggered. "My courage fades in permanence!"
Taiyi Zhenren trembled. "My wisdom dissolves in stone!"
Ne Job stood firm. "Mountain is not despair. It is truth carried eternal."
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, Eternal Threshold, Eternal Light, Eternal Shadow, Eternal Balance, Eternal Dawnfire, Eternal Storm, Eternal Ocean, Eternal Sky, Eternal Flameheart, Eternal Songfire, Eternal Silenceflame, Eternal Starfall, Eternal Horizon, Eternal Root, Eternal Crown, Eternal Gate, Eternal Tower, Eternal Anchor, Eternal Bridge, Eternal Labyrinth, Eternal Flame of Truth, Eternal Spiral, Eternal Compass, Eternal Lantern, Eternal Seed, Eternal River — joined with Eternal Mountain.
Their glow struck the Mask's illusions.
Stubbornness became clarity.
Deception dissolved.
Twinkle hummed, resonating with the Miracle Registry.
Ao Bing laughed, fierce and kind.
Taiyi Zhenren footnoted every peak restored.
Ne Job stood firm, mountain and truth united.
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Act VI: The Mirror's Gift
The Mirror of the Eternal Mountain calmed, its surface shimmering with radiant permanence.
It whispered:
> "Intern, mountain is not chaos. It is resilience 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 mountains today. But despair always waits."
The Gallery fell silent.
The mirrors glowed.
And Ne Job walked on, ready for what lay ahead.