Chapter 19: Feathers in the Code

Scene: Midnight in Yun Fei's Home Office

The room was dim, lit only by the soft glow of three monitors. Yun Fei typed slowly, methodically—digging through encrypted servers, long-forgotten university logs, and ghosted research files.

Beside him, Lin Xiya watched silently.

On-screen were archives he hadn't opened in over a decade. Files buried beneath fake folders, academic reviews, and password-locked sublayers. He typed in his old ID.

> Access Granted: Project ECHO-PROTOCOL//C-01

> Admin: Yun Fei, Dept. of Quantum Temporal Systems

> Date: 7 Years Ago

Lin Xiya's eyes widened.

> "You were part of Project Echo?"

Yun Fei's jaw clenched.

"I was one of its founders."

---

Flashback: Yun Fei's University Years

He saw it now—himself, younger, cocky, walking the halls of the national research institute. His thesis wasn't just about time—it was about threaded resonance, a way to anchor human memory within collapsible dimensional loops.

The goal?

> "Preserve a dying mind by scattering it through infinite possible versions of itself. Then… collect the strongest version and restore it."

It was theoretical.

Until the military got involved.

Until one of the test subjects woke up in three timelines at once and burned alive.

Project Echo was shut down.

Or so he thought.

---

Scene: Present – Monitor Logs Reveal More

Lin Xiya leaned closer.

There was a sub-log, timestamped just before Yun Xi's birth.

> "Prototype Swan Ring activated. Carrier selected: YUN XI."

Yun Fei's face went pale.

"I didn't authorize this…"

He clicked deeper.

> Carrier Selection Justification: Genetic Anchor Linkage – Primary: Yun Fei / Secondary: Lin Xiya

Lin Xiya gasped. "They used our DNA as the seed."

"They didn't just use it," Yun Fei said darkly. "They designed him to be the container."

---

Sudden System Alert

> Incoming Trace Signal: Unauthorized Log Access Detected

Source: TRACER NODE / COUNCIL-LEVEL INTELLIGENCE

Suggested Action: Disconnect Immediately

But it was too late.

A ripple of heat passed through the room—both parents froze for a half-second.

Then the screen distorted.

A face emerged on the monitor.

Glitchy. Genderless. Eyes that spiraled like time itself.

> "You should not have remembered," it said.

Yun Fei stood protectively in front of Lin Xiya.

"Who are you?"

> "I am the Recordless. The one who deletes all memories not allowed to exist."

> "Your son is the first echo to defy us. For that, there will be... consequences."

> "Prepare your home. The second Weaver arrives at dawn."

---

Scene: Yun Xi's Room – Simultaneously

Yun Xi sat upright in bed.

His eyes stared into space.

But he wasn't asleep.

He was somewhere else.

In the air around him floated hundreds of fragmented feathers—each glowing faintly, spinning in lazy orbits.

A woman's voice whispered.

> "Yun Xi… remember your beginning."

He turned.

Before him stood a translucent figure—half swan, half human. Her hair was made of flowing feathers. Her eyes were endless sky.

> "You were not born only to escape fate… You were born to rewrite it."

---

Back in the Real World

Yun Xi's body pulsed faintly.

From his chest, a second feather formed.

This one was black—not dark, but so pure it reflected no light.

> Forbidden Feather #002 – "Rewrite Echo" Unlocked

Allows partial override of event sequences within 10 minutes of timeline.

> Warning: Cost – 1.5 years life span per use. Mental strain probability: 72%

He opened his eyes.

And whispered—

> "They're coming again."

---

Scene: 4:30 AM – Yun Fei Prepares the House

Yun Fei rewired the perimeter—setting up layer after layer of anti-interference code.

Lin Xiya placed a concealed charm in every room, one she got from the Swan Oracle's old texts. The Swan Ring on Yun Xi's wrist shimmered faintly, almost warning them of what was to come.

> "We can't run," Yun Fei said. "They already know where we are."

> "Then we stand," Lin Xiya replied.

They weren't the same people from a few weeks ago.

They were becoming guardians of time.

---

Final Scene: Before Sunrise

A single knock echoed at the door.

Yun Fei and Lin Xiya stood together.

Yun Xi, still awake, quietly placed the black feather beneath his pillow.

Then, as the door slowly creaked open—

A small girl stood outside.

She looked no older than seven.

She wore a yellow sundress, held a red balloon, and her smile was warm and innocent.

But her eyes…

> They carried the weight of centuries.