The morning mist still clung to the mountains when the first tremor came.
It wasn't strong enough to shake the earth, but it was enough to make birds burst from the trees and the surface of the lake ripple like something alive was moving beneath it.
Jian Wu stood at the edge of the lake, staring at his reflection again. His body still ached from the night before. It wasn't the kind of pain that came from wounds, it was deeper, like the world itself was trying to settle inside his veins.
The light within him, the strange dance of white and black, pulsed softly, almost in rhythm with the tremor that ran through the earth.
Behind him, Mei Xue approached, holding a small wooden charm she had carved from the remains of a fallen branch.
"You didn't sleep at all, did you?" she asked gently.
Jian Wu didn't answer right away. His gaze was lost in the faint fog above the water. "Something's moving," he said finally. "Far away, but… I can feel it. Like a drumbeat under the soil."
Mei Xue frowned. "You mean in the mountain?"
He nodded slowly. "No… beyond that."
A faint wind passed between them, carrying the scent of damp earth and the distant sound of something breaking, not like thunder, but the groan of stone that hadn't moved in centuries.
Mei Xue shivered and clutched her charm. "Whatever it is, I hope it's not calling you."
Jian Wu gave a quiet smile. "If it is, then it's already too late to ignore it."
By midday, the entire sect was restless. Disciples whispered about the tremor, claiming they saw the light flicker from the mountain's peak at dawn.
Ling Xian gathered them all in the main courtyard, his tone calm but sharp.
"The elders of three nearby sects have already sent messages," he said. "They felt the same quake. Something beneath the Jade Mountain has awakened."
The words sent a ripple of unease through the crowd. Jian Wu stood near the back, silent, but he could feel the eyes on him. Since the incident at the lake, his presence had become something both revered and feared.
Li Feng stepped forward, voice steady despite the tension. "If the tremor connects to the seal beneath the mountain, we can't wait. We have to see it for ourselves before the other sects claim whatever lies within."
Ling Xian nodded grimly. "We leave at dawn. Prepare your talismans and weapons. The mountain will not be kind."
Mei Xue looked toward Jian Wu but said nothing. He gave her a small nod, the kind that said I'll be fine even if they both knew it was a lie.
That night, Jian Wu didn't rest.
The moment he closed his eyes, he was somewhere else.
A vast plain stretched before him, endless and white. The sky was dark but full of floating lights that pulsed like stars underwater.
And at the far edge of the plain, a figure waited, cloaked in shadows, neither man nor beast.
"You heard it," the figure said, its voice echoing from nowhere and everywhere. "The call of what sleeps beneath. You carry the same resonance now."
Jian Wu stepped closer. "What are you?"
The shadow tilted its head. "A memory of what you might become. The balance you chase has a cost."
"What cost?" Jian Wu demanded.
But the figure only smiled. The ground beneath them cracked, and the white plain shattered into fragments of glass. Jian Wu fell through darkness, and when he opened his eyes, he was back in his room, drenched in sweat.
The tremor came again, stronger this time.
The entire sect stirred awake.
By dawn, the Earthwind Sect began its march toward Jade Mountain. The path was steep, lined with frozen mist and the sound of unseen creatures moving in the fog.
Li Feng led the vanguard with steady steps, his sword glowing faintly with blue spiritual light. Mei Xue walked beside Jian Wu, her fingers occasionally brushing the small charm at her waist.
"Do you ever wish you hadn't found it?" she asked suddenly.
Jian Wu glanced at her. "Found what?"
"That power inside you. The light… and the shadow. It feels like it's both protecting and consuming you."
He was silent for a long time before answering. "Sometimes I wonder if I found it, or if it found me."
She looked at him, but he didn't meet her gaze.
The mist thickened as they climbed higher. The sound of rushing wind turned into something else, whispers, faint and echoing. It was as if the mountain itself was speaking, but only Jian Wu could hear the words.
Each step made the pull stronger. It wasn't fear anymore. It was recognition.
When they finally reached the ridge, the sight before them stopped everyone cold.
The mountain's side had split open.
Where once there had been solid rock now lay a deep, spiraling chasm that glowed faintly from within. Black and white energy twined like threads of smoke, twisting upward into the sky. The ground around it hummed, alive.
Li Feng cursed under his breath. "That's… no natural crack."
Ling Xian stepped closer, his eyes wide. "It's the seal. It's breaking."
Jian Wu felt his heart pounding. The pulse within his chest beat in sync with the light from the chasm. The deeper it glowed, the faster his pulse became.
Mei Xue grabbed his wrist. "Jian Wu, stop. You're reacting to it.."
But he couldn't. The power was calling him, pulling him forward like a tide.
He stumbled toward the edge, wind whipping his robe, the air thick with energy that burned like cold fire.
Li Feng shouted something, but Jian Wu didn't hear. He could only see the light spiraling upward, the same pattern he saw in his reflection, the same pulse he felt since the lake.
And then a voice.
"Heir of the Primal Law… return."
The voice was everywhere, deep as thunder, clear as crystal. It shook the very air.
The ground cracked beneath Jian Wu's feet. He fell to one knee, clutching his chest as light burst from his body, black and white threads weaving outward like living things.
Mei Xue screamed his name.
Ling Xian's spell seals flared, trying to hold the energy back, but it was useless. The force that erupted from Jian Wu met the light of the chasm, and the world went silent.
For one long moment, everything froze.
Then came the roar.
A column of light shot into the clouds, splitting the sky in two. Every sect within a hundred miles saw it. Every elder who had ever heard of the Primal Law felt their hearts tremble.
And from far away, deep in the ruins of the ancient temple, the shadowed figure from before opened his eyes.
"So the heir answers," he whispered. "Then the war of balance begins."
When Jian Wu opened his eyes again, the world was quiet. He lay at the edge of the chasm, the others scattered around him, unconscious but breathing. The air still hummed faintly with residual power.
The seal had been broken, or maybe, just awakened.
He looked toward the horizon. The sun was rising, but its light felt strange now softer, but heavier somehow. Like the world was holding its breath again.
Mei Xue stirred beside him, whispering faintly, "You're still here…"
Jian Wu smiled weakly. "For now."
He looked down into the chasm. The light was gone, but deep inside, something moved, slow, deliberate, waiting.
He didn't know what it was.
But he knew this: whatever had awakened, it was no longer asleep. And neither was he.