Chapter 14: Fractured Dawn

The plateau's bitter wind bit through Lin Wei's robes as he staggered forward, the Sovereign's core simmering in his veins like molten lead. Yuelin trailed behind, her obsidian arm glinting dully in the weak sunlight. The ghostfire ember in Lin Wei's grip pulsed warmer now, its light threading faint whispers of Lin Mei's voice into his mind.

"Left… follow the crows."

He obeyed, ignoring Yuelin's glare. Thunder Valley's horns had faded, but their scouts' footprints scarred the mud ahead, leading to a crumbling fortress half-buried in the hillside.

"A trap," Yuelin said flatly.

"Always." Lin Wei's voice echoed unnaturally, layered with the Sovereign's timbre.

[Identity Fragmentation: 6 days remaining.]

The fortress stank of rot and blood. Inside, Thunder Valley disciples lay slaughtered, their bodies arranged in a spiral around a stone altar. At its center hovered a shard of the Sovereign's core, its dark light warping the air.

Yuelin's obsidian arm twitched. "They tried to harness it. Fools."

Lin Wei reached for the shard, but the ghostfire ember seared his palm. "Wait," Lin Mei's voice warned.

Too late.

The shard exploded, releasing a swarm of void-moths—their wings sharp as blades, eyes glowing with the Sovereign's malice. Yuelin's arm reacted first, unleashing a wave of obsidian spikes that pinned several moths to the wall. Lin Wei's unstable qi surged, crushing the rest in a burst of crimson light.

[Void-Moth Swarm Neutralized.]

[Sovereign's Corruption: 52%.]

Yuelin stared at her arm, now cracked and leaking black ichor. "It's… hungry."

Lin Wei tossed her the ghostfire ember. "Feed it."

The moment she touched it, the ember fused with her obsidian flesh, cobalt flames racing up her arm. She screamed—not in pain, but in revelation. "I see her. Lin Mei. She's… trapped in the void."

The fortress trembled. The altar split, revealing a portal of liquid shadow. The Sovereign's voice oozed from its depths: "Come, nephew. Claim your legacy."

Lin Wei stepped toward it, but Yuelin blocked his path, her hybrid arm blazing with ghostfire. "You'll doom us all."

"Move."

"Or what? You'll kill me like the others?" Her voice broke. "You're not Lin Wei. Not anymore."

The ember's light flickered between them. Lin Mei's whisper echoed: "Trust her."

Lin Wei's qi faltered. In that moment, Yuelin struck, driving her obsidian fist into the portal. It shattered, collapsing into a singularity that swallowed the fortress's remains.

[Sovereign's Anchor Destroyed.]

[Corruption Reverted: 40%.]

The ground gave way. They fell into a river of molten starlight, its currents tearing at Lin Wei's unstable cultivation. Yuelin's arm burned brighter, guiding them to a shore littered with petrified corpses—ancient cultivators frozen in their final moments of defiance.

Among the corpses stood a figure in tattered Lin robes, his sword still raised against the sky. The ghostfire ember flared, illuminating the name carved on his blade: Silent Patriarch.

[Clue Discovered: Patriarch's Last Stand.]

[Memory Fragment Unlocked.]

The vision struck like a blade:

The Silent Patriarch stands atop a mountain of corpses, the Eclipse Sovereign's true form looming overhead. "You cannot win," the Sovereign mocks. The Patriarch plunges his sword into his own core, unleashing a wave of qi that seals the Sovereign's power into the Xue bloodline. "Our descendants will suffer," he rasps, "but the world… will live."

Lin Wei woke gasping, Yuelin's obsidian arm gripping his shoulder. "You were screaming," she said, her tone softer.

He touched the Silent Patriarch's sword. It crumbled to dust, revealing a map etched into the stone beneath—a path to the "Heart of Fallen Stars."

[New Task: Reach the Heart Before Corruption Hits 70%.]

[Reward: Lin Mei's Resurrection.]

[Penalty: Sovereign's Rebirth.]

Thunder Valley's horns echoed again, closer now. Yuelin helped him stand, her arm's glow dimming. "Why should I follow you?"

Lin Wei glanced at the ghostfire ember, now dormant in her grip. "Because she's counting on you. Not me."

They vanished into the starlit wastes as the Sovereign's laughter followed, softer now, edged with fury.