Chapter 34 – Converging Paths

Li Tian moved swiftly through the academy's dimly lit corridors, his cloak billowing behind him as shadows stretched and danced along the walls. Each step felt heavier than the last, his boots echoing faintly in the stillness. His mind churned, the weight of his decision bearing down on him as he replayed Yin Yue's parting words over and over.

"You keep trying to shield me… maybe I don't want to be protected."

He clenched his fists, forcing the memory aside. This wasn't the time for doubt, though it gnawed at him relentlessly. The anomaly was growing stronger, pulsing faintly on the system's map overlay like a heartbeat. He couldn't afford hesitation, not now. If the council detected it—and they would if the energy continued to spike—it would put everything he had worked for at risk.

Most of all, it would put her at risk.

The system whispered updates in soft monotones as he navigated through a concealed passageway, one rarely used and known to few.

System Notification:

Anomaly suppression measures active. Surveillance feeds diverted. No external interference detected.

"Not yet," Li Tian muttered under his breath, his steps quickening. He could feel the tension mounting, like the air itself was bracing for a storm.

Around him, the academy seemed unnaturally quiet. The usual hum of distant voices and the soft rhythm of footsteps were absent, replaced only by the faint rustle of wind sneaking through cracks in the ancient stone.

But beneath that quiet, something stirred.

Li Tian felt it, subtle at first—a ripple beneath his feet, as if the very foundation of the Earth Division was responding to the anomaly. The closer he came to the border, the more the energy seemed to thrum, pressing against the edges of his awareness.

The system's overlay lit up with fluctuating readings.

System Notice:

Localized energy output increasing. Current status exceeds prior projections.

His jaw tightened. He couldn't put this off any longer.

Clusters of students passed unnoticed through the academy's courtyards, completely unaware of the mounting tensions beneath their feet. Yin Yue wished she was one of them, that the world could have remained still and simple. But it hadn't.

Her hand strayed reflexively toward the shard hidden beneath her robes as she stepped out onto an empty balcony overlooking the Earth Division grounds. She had tried to ignore the faint hum she felt deep within her chest, an insistent pull that she couldn't fully explain.

She hated it—hated how the shard seemed to call to her, demanding her attention even as she wrestled with the weight of Li Tian's betrayal. Or maybe it wasn't betrayal. Maybe it was something worse—something that cut deeper precisely because she wanted to trust him.

And yet, here she was, clutching a shard he had failed to warn her about, feeling its energy pulling her toward… She frowned, her eyes narrowing at the landscape beneath her.

Toward what?

The shard had been quiet after the last vision, its strange glow faded though its presence remained heavy. But as the sun dipped lower and shadows stretched long across the academy grounds, she felt it stir again.

This time, there was no mistaking it. It wasn't just the shard—she was reacting, her senses attuned to something she couldn't see but could feel all the same.

Her heartbeat quickened as she took a step forward, thoughts of Li Tian briefly fading from her mind. Something was happening near the border of the Earth Division. Something the shard clearly wanted her to find.

It was foolish, she thought. Reckless. But no amount of reason could stop her feet from moving.

Li Tian emerged from the winding passageway into the open night, the borders of Earth and Water Divisions spread before him. The location of the anomaly pulsed in his vision, a faint glow marking its exact position a short distance ahead.

The air crackled here. Not enough for the average student to notice, but for someone as attuned to the subtler rhythms of the academy as Li Tian, it was stifling. The energy pressed against his skin, heavy like a gathering thunderstorm.

He adjusted his cloak, blending into the shadows as he moved closer. Each step brought with it a growing sense of urgency. He needed to contain the anomaly—whatever it was—before word spread. If someone saw him here or worse, reported his movements to the council…

No, he wouldn't think about that. He couldn't afford to.

System Notification:

Potential non-system entities drawn to anomaly site. Anticipate complications.

His heart skipped. For all the system's precision and foresight, its cold detachment had never made him feel as vulnerable as it did now. Non-system entities could mean anything—a curious student, an opportunistic rival, or worse, someone from the council. He needed to act quickly.

He picked up his pace, darting between the heavy columns and jagged terrain that marked the Earth Division's edge. Just at the outskirts, the overlay showed the anomaly pulsing stronger than before, almost blinding against the dimness of his surroundings. He braced himself for what he would find.

But nothing could have prepared him for the sight that greeted him as he rounded the final corner.

There, standing in the center of the clearing, was Yin Yue.

The shards' glow was unmistakable, spilling from her hands in faint ribbons of light. It illuminated her face, highlighting the mix of wonder and defiance etched into her features.

Her eyes snapped up the second she sensed him, widening briefly in surprise before narrowing again into suspicion.

"You," she said, her voice a low, dangerous whisper. "What are you doing here?"

Li Tian froze, a hundred thoughts colliding in his mind at once. He barely noticed the ground trembling beneath them, or the way the air around the shard twisted and churned with faint ripples of energy.

"Yin Yue," he managed, stepping forward cautiously. "You don't understand—put the shard down."

Her grip tightened instinctively. "No."

The single word was sharp, final. Her defiance cut through the chaos swirling around them, steady and unshakable.

"I told you I'm done being shielded," she said, her voice rising. "If you won't tell me the truth, then I'll find it myself."

Before he could respond, the anomaly pulsed—a deep, resonant hum that sent a shiver through the earth. The shard responded immediately, flaring brighter in her hand. Yin Yue gasped, stumbling slightly as the energy began to coalesce, the air growing thick with its presence.

Li Tian's instincts screamed at him to act, to pull her away, to stop this before it spiraled further out of control. But he could only stare, torn between the need to protect her and the fear that any interference would make things worse.

The anomaly was taking shape now, the faint glow solidifying into something more tangible—a rift, a fracture in reality itself.

And Yin Yue stood at its center, the shard pulsing in time with her heartbeat.

"Yin Yue, you need to—"

A surge of energy cut him off, forcing both of them to stagger back as the crackling light surged again, brighter this time.

Whatever the shard had awakened, it was far from finished. And for the first time in years, Li Tian felt truly powerless.