Chapter 2: The Cave of Lost Stars
The sun rose, but no warmth reached Li Wei. His new life began with the sharp crack of an overseer's voice.
"Move, cripple! The Spirit-Herbs won't pick themselves."
He was given a wicker basket and a rusty sickle, then shoved towards the treacherous cliffs known as the Jade Needles. This was his purpose now. To risk his life for plants that would fuel the cultivation of disciples like Zhang Feng.
For three days, he worked in a numb haze. His body, once strengthened by Qi, ached with a new, raw pain. The other herb-gatherers, worn men with empty eyes, ignored him. He was just another broken thing.
On the fourth day, a storm rolled in. Rain fell in sharp, cold sheets. The overseer, eager to get back to his dry quarters, pushed them harder. "One more basket from the western ridge, then we return!"
Li Wei, sent to the most dangerous ledge, lost his footing on the wet stone. He slid down a steep, muddy slope, grabbing at roots to slow his fall. When he finally stopped, he was battered, covered in mud, and utterly lost in a part of the mountain he'd never seen.
The storm had washed away the path. He was alone.
Driven by a simple, primal need for shelter, he stumbled through the undergrowth. A flash of lightning illuminated the cliff face, revealing a dark, narrow crack behind a thick curtain of vines. It was just large enough for a person to squeeze through.
Desperate, he pushed his way inside.
The air was dry and still, a stark contrast to the raging storm outside. The cave was small, but it wasn't natural. The walls were smooth, as if fused by immense heat. And in the center, seated in a cross-legged position, was a skeleton.
Li Wei froze, his heart hammering. But this was no cultivator's remains. The figure was clad in a strange, sleek, silver material that had not decayed. It was not silk or leather. It was like nothing he had ever seen.
Cautiously, he stepped closer. The skeleton was human-like, but taller and more slender. And in its lap rested a single, flat, metallic disc, dark and smooth.
A strange compulsion gripped him. He reached out, his fingers brushing against the cold, alien metal.
The disc flared to life.
A soft, blue light emanated from it, projecting lines of shimmering, golden text and geometric shapes into the air before him. Li Wei stumbled back, his mind reeling. This was not Qi. This was magic of a different kind.
A calm, synthesized voice spoke, not aloud, but directly into his mind.
`[Cognitive Interface activated. Scanning new user...]`
`[User Biology: Human Variant. Status: Severe Dantian Fracture. Qi Pathways: Corrupted.]`
`[Diagnosis: Non-functional for standard cultivation.]`
The words confirmed his greatest despair. But then, new text appeared.
`[Alternative Pathway detected. User compatible with Universal Law Framework.]`
`[Initiating Foundation: Law of Kinetic Transference.]`
A wave of sensation, entirely foreign, flooded through him. It wasn't the warm flow of Qi. It was a cool, humming awareness. He could feel the vibrations in the stone beneath his feet. He could sense the residual heat from his own body. He could feel the faint, kinetic echo of the storm outside.
`[Primary Law: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transferred.]`
`[Your body is now a conduit. You will absorb, store, and redirect kinetic force.]`
It was too much to grasp. It sounded like the philosophical ramblings of a madman. Desperate for proof, for anything, he stood up. He took a hesitant step, and as his foot connected with the cave floor, a new line of text appeared in his vision.
`[Micro-Impact Detected. Kinetic Energy Harvested: 0.0001 Joules.]`
A tiny, almost imperceptible fraction of the energy from his step had been absorbed. He felt a minuscule surge in the humming awareness inside him.
Heart pounding, he picked up a small stone and let it fall to the ground.
`[Impact Detected. Kinetic Energy Harvested: 0.001 Joules.]`
It was real.
He looked at his own hand, then at the cave wall. He made a fist and punched the stone, pulling the blow at the last moment.
*Thud.*
It hurt. But as his knuckles stung, the interface calmly reported:
`[Impact Detected. Kinetic Energy Harvested: 0.01 Joules.]`
`[Inefficient transfer. Damage to user biomass recorded. Not recommended.]`
A hysterical laugh bubbled in his throat. It was real. It was fragile, minuscule, but it was *something*. A path. A path built not on spiritual energy, but on the fundamental laws of the world itself.
He looked back at the silent skeleton, this traveler from the stars. Who was he? Why was he here?
He noticed more data now floating in the air—fragmented logs from the Interface.
`[Log Entry 147: Local energy source 'Qi' is incompatible with our resonance...]`
`[Log Entry 302: The Entropy is coming. This world's inhabitants are blind to the unraveling...]`
`[Final Log: They do not see the silence between the notes. I have failed. May another find a way.]`
The words sent a chill down his spine that had nothing to do with the cave's temperature. They spoke of a danger far greater than sect politics.
But for now, that danger was distant. A more immediate fire had been lit within him.
He had a power. A secret.
He looked at the cave entrance, towards the sect that had discarded him. The cold rage from the first night fused with this new, humming energy, forging a blade of pure purpose.
He would learn this new law. He would gather this new kind of power.
And then, he would return.