1. The Seed

A bird wreathed in flames soars above in a desolate land, where deep cracks mar the earth and sun-bleached bones lie scattered beneath the relentless heat. Its fiery wings cast flickering shadows on the barren ground below.

From its beak, a single seed falls, slipping into one of the cracks. The bird continues its flight, but suddenly, its flames begin to wane. Its wings falter, and with a final, exhausted descent, it crashes to the ground. The fire surrounding its body faded, revealing feathers that withered and decayed in mere moments.

Within moments, all that remains of the bird are brittle bones, merging seamlessly with the lifeless expanse, indistinguishable from those that had perished before.

Elsewhere, a group of young men and women hovered in the air, their swords carrying them as they gazed at the shimmering barrier before them. Just beyond it stands a weathered monument, its surface marred with words written in dried blood:

"Life-Stealing Land."

The group murmurs anxiously.

"The Fire Eagle with the spirit seed just entered the Life-Stealing Land. What are we going to do? Elder Li will be furious."

"What can we do? Other than endure his wrath, I'm not stepping foot in there."

"Can we just buy another spirit seed and give it to Elder Li?"

"Do you have any idea how much a spirit seed costs?"

"How expensive could it be? Maybe I can't afford it alone, but if we pool our resources, we might be able to buy one. That way, no one gets punished."

"It costs 1,000 Five Elemental Spirit Drops."

"A thousand?! Even if we sold ourselves, we wouldn't be able to come up with that much!"

A heavy silence fell over the group until one of them suddenly spoke up.

"I have an idea."

"Say it."

"Quickly!"

"Don't keep us waiting! Elder Li will be here in an hour."

The young man took a deep breath. "We can't afford 1,000 Spirit Drops now, but that doesn't mean we can't pay in the future."

"We all know that! Just tell us the plan already!"

"Before Elder Li discovers the missing spirit seed, we will report this to him ourselves. We write an IOU, promising to repay the cost in the future. That way, we won't be seen as trying to hide it from him."

"Will Elder Li even agree to that?"

"Do you have a better plan?"

A tense pause—then someone exhaled sharply.

"Fine. We'll go with Zhou's plan."

One by one, the group turned, their swords slicing through the air as they sped away into the distance.

None of them noticed the sudden burst of blue light in the sky behind them. It descended swiftly, piercing through the shimmering barrier like a blade through silk. In the heart of the desolate land, the light hovered for a moment before slowly fading. Where the light had once shone, a crystal mirror now floated, its violet surface rippling like water disturbed by an unseen force.

The mirror drifted across the barren land, gliding over cracked earth and past scattered bones. It moved toward the shimmering barrier, hesitating at its edge. Half of its body attempted to pass through—but the sky darkened, and a menacing cloud swirled into existence. A deep, oppressive force loomed overhead.

Sensing danger, the mirror recoiled, swiftly retreating into the desolate land. A voice, filled with sorrow and longing, echoed from within.

"Will I never avenge my master?"

Aimlessly, the mirror wandered, its movements growing slower, more erratic. Gradually, it descended lower and lower until, at last, it fell into a deep crack in the scorched earth—the same crack where the spirit seed lay, teetering on the brink of death.

With newfound resolve, the mirror trembled. "One last try."

A faint glow spread across its surface, and from that glow, a spectral portal began to take shape. But before it could fully form, a thick, black gas erupted from the ground beneath it. The darkness struck in an instant, consuming the mirror in a single, devastating blow.

With a brittle, shattering sound, the mirror crumbled into fine dust, leaving behind only a flickering blue light.

For a moment, silence reigned. Then, the lifeless seed stirred. The blue light was drawn into it, vanishing within.

A heartbeat passed.

Then, roots sprouted from the seed, pushing deep into the barren land. At the last moment before the portal fully vanished, another white light emerged—only to be drawn into the seed as well.

No life could survive in the Life-Stealing Land. Yet, this seed was no ordinary seed—it belonged to the legendary Void Spiritual Tree. Unlike other forms of life, it did not rely on the energy of the world but instead drew sustenance from the void itself. However, its greatest challenge was sprouting, a process that demanded an immense amount of energy.

Here, in this cursed land devoid of all vitality, even the miraculous seed had been on the verge of death. But then, fate intervened. A foreign object—an anomaly in this world—had appeared, only to be destroyed by the land's relentless power. In its destruction, it released its energy, and the dying seed, desperate for survival, absorbed it. That single moment of chance granted it life, allowing its roots to take hold in the desolate earth.

As the shattered mirror's portal faded, a soul emerged—a final remnant of something long lost. The seed, as if guided by instinct, pulled the soul into itself, drinking in the last traces of its power. The infusion of energy was unlike anything before, providing the ultimate catalyst. The seed's roots pierced beyond the barren land, breaching the void itself, where it could finally draw upon its true source of strength.

In that instant, the soul's True Spirit merged with the essence of the seed, becoming one.

Silence fell. Then, from deep beneath the earth, black gas once again slithered upward, coiling around the newly awakened seed. For a moment, it lingered, inspecting, probing.

A sigh—soft yet ancient—whispered through the wasteland.

Then, without a trace, the black gas vanished.

Time passed. The sun set, the moon rose, and the cycle repeated—day after day, night after night.

Above the buried seed, a small sprout emerged. Slowly, it grew, its fragile form defying the deathly stillness of the Life-Stealing Land. As the cycles continued, the sprout stretched skyward, its violet stems thickening, its branches spreading wide. Crystal-like, mirror-like leaves unfurled, shimmering under the cold moonlight—the only sign of life in a land where none should exist.

Then, from deep within the young tree, a whisper stirred—a sound that had not been heard in an eternity.

A voice, light and full of wonder, spoke. "Hey… I'm not dead!"

A pause.

"No… I am dead. This isn't my body."

Another pause, a realization dawning.

"So… reincarnation is real."

Suddenly, the voice twisted into a sharp cry of pain. Memories clashed, and identities fractured.

"Who am I? I am Merin. No… I am a Mirror Spirit."

Silence, heavy with conflict. Then, with unwavering determination, the voice spoke again.

"No—I am Merin."