Chapter 28 – Echoes of the Past

Yin Yue sat cross-legged on the floor of her dimly lit room, the mysterious parchment spread out before her. The symbols on its surface glimmered faintly, as though alive, their shifting patterns defying any logic she could grasp. She had blocked the door with her chair and kept the lantern low, afraid that any flicker of light or sound might draw unwanted attention.

Her hands hovered hesitantly above the parchment. For hours she had scoured her memory, trying to recall ancient scripts and lessons taught at the academy. Yet nothing she knew resembled what was now etched into the parchment. These symbols seemed to breathe, fading in and out of focus like distant stars seen through a foggy lens.

Her frustration mounted as the symbols refused to stabilize. Each time she thought she had understood their order, they shifted again, morphing into something entirely new.

She exhaled deeply, forcing her gaze to steady and her breathing to calm. Her fingers brushed the edge of the parchment, its texture cool and rough. A faint rush of energy coursed through her fingertips, and for a moment, the symbols froze—just long enough for her to make out one distinct, ancient sigil before it dissolved again.

The sigil sparked a memory, faint and incomplete. It reminded her of something buried deep in the academy's teachings, something only mentioned in passing during foundational lessons. Forgotten tales of a primordial power said to have shaped the academy's origins—a power that had been sealed away for reasons long unexplained.

Yin Yue frowned, her thoughts racing. Could this parchment be connected to those old myths? And why would Li Tian, of all people, possess something so strange and potent?

Her fingers traced the sigil again, the faint energy sparking once more. The sensation was oddly familiar yet wholly foreign, like grasping a thread from a dream she couldn't remember. It was risky, but perhaps the only way forward.

Far away, within the stillness of his quarters, Li Tian stirred.

System Notification:

Activity detected – Yin Yue interacting with enchanted artifact. Probability of self-triggered activation increased by 35%.

Risk Assessment: Medium. Recommended action – Intervention advised to prevent unintended harm.*

Li Tian leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly against the armrest. For all her obedience in training, Yin Yue's curiosity had proven far more dangerous than he'd anticipated. Her persistence had led her closer than anyone else to truths he had worked so carefully to keep hidden.

The system hummed faintly in his mind, offering a steady stream of options. With a simple command, he could intercept her investigation, remove the parchment, and erase her knowledge of its existence entirely. It was within his power—few things weren't with the system at his disposal.

And yet, hesitation settled on his shoulders. Yin Yue's determination wasn't born of rebellion or defiance. It came from her loyalty to the Earth Division and, he suspected, to him. She sought answers because she trusted him to provide them, even when he didn't.

To stifle her now would risk breaking that trust irreparably. But to allow her search to continue… That carried its own dangers.

Li Tian inhaled deeply, his expression unreadable as the system provided one final suggestion.

System Update:

Alternative approach feasible – Subtle guidance to direct Yin Yue's efforts while eliminating immediate risks.

After a long moment, he gave a faint nod. "Proceed," he murmured aloud, his voice barely audible over the crackle of the unseen power in his thoughts.

Back in her room, Yin Yue was losing herself in the parchment's shifting energy. Her focus narrowed until the world beyond faded away. Slowly, the symbols began to unravel again—but this time, they reformed into something new. Words—no, concepts—emerged, swirling just at the edge of her understanding.

Suddenly, the parchment pulsed beneath her hands. A sharp light filled the room, and Yin Yue flinched, her vision blurring as a wave of energy rippled outward, folding over her like a breaking tide.

When her sight returned, she was no longer in her room.

She stood in an endless expanse of darkness, illuminated only by streams of golden light snaking through the air like rivers. The edges of the streams shimmered, forming shapes that almost resembled the intricate symbols from the parchment.

At the heart of the expanse, floating above a vast, shimmering pool of still water, stood a towering statue. It was of a figure draped in flowing robes, their hands outstretched as if commanding the streams of light into existence. The face was obscured, but the sheer presence of the statue was overwhelming.

A voice echoed softly around her, low and almost melodic, yet filled with a quiet power that pressed heavily against her chest.

"The earth endures, but it is the currents beneath that shape its surface."

Yin Yue staggered back, her breath quickening as the words seemed to vibrate within her very core. She tried to focus, to make sense of where she was, but her thoughts were tangled.

The streams of light shifted again, forming a pattern that hovered before her like a living diagram. They spiraled inward, pointing to a single glowing symbol at their center. It was the same sigil she had seen on the parchment—a mark tied to the academy's history, its power, and somehow, to the Earth Division itself.

The voice spoke again, quieter now, almost like a whisper in her own mind.

"The foundation cracks, but within its depths lies the truth. Beware the hand that builds and the one that buries."

Before she could grasp its meaning, the vision dissolved, the golden streams fading as if drawn back into the parchment itself.

Yin Yue jolted awake on her floor, her breathing uneven and her heart hammering against her ribs. Sweat dampened her brow as she clutched the parchment, now cold and still in her hands.

She stared at it, her mind flooded with questions. The vision, the voice, the statue—what did it mean? And what was it warning her about?

Her grip on the parchment tightened as resolve hardened within her. She would find the truth, no matter the cost.

But as she sat in the silence, she failed to notice the faint golden thread extending from the parchment, winding its way upward into the night air before vanishing into nothingness.

Far away, Li Tian opened his eyes once more, the system whispering faintly in the back of his mind. His expression remained calm, but the worry in his gaze deepened.

The storm was closer now. And Yin Yue had placed herself squarely in its path.