Chapter 35: The Feather and the First Song

The glowing feather in Yun Xi's hand pulsed softly, not with warmth but with memory. Not his memory—but one deeper, older, buried in the fractures of time.

Yue Lan stared at it, hesitant. "No one's ever pulled a First Song Fragment before."

Yun Xi frowned. "First Song?"

She nodded. "It's a myth among the Keepers. The legend says that before time splintered, before the first Echo fell, the world was written in a single, perfect song. A harmony that kept all timelines balanced. Then came the Silence—the event that tore reality—and the Song shattered. Pieces scattered like broken verses… and the Echoes began."

"And this… is a piece of that song?"

"Maybe," she whispered. "Or maybe it's something worse. Because if the Song remembers you… then something from the Silence will come looking."

Yun Xi looked up at the sky, no longer glitching but unsettlingly still, like reality was holding its breath.

> [System Notice: You have acquired a "Pre-Echo Artifact." This item cannot be analyzed.]

Memory Sync 1% — Fragment Locked.

Current Emotional Echo: "Curiosity & Dread."

The feather suddenly disintegrated into strands of gold, flowing into Yun Xi's chest. A sharp breath escaped him as visions flashed before his eyes.

Not just one life.

Not just one world.

But hundreds.

Thousands.

In every timeline, he saw a version of himself: dying, failing, fighting, running. A child holding a broken watch. A soldier clutching a letter soaked in blood. A scientist screaming in an empty lab. A king betrayed. A wanderer forgotten.

Every Yun Xi was reaching for the same thing:

A second chance.

Yun Xi fell to his knees, chest heaving.

He understood now.

This wasn't just about Echoes.

It was about repetition. Lives replaying endlessly in fragmented loops—always ending the same. Until he broke it.

Yue Lan touched his shoulder gently. "What did you see?"

"Too much," he whispered. "But it all felt… wrong. Like every life was missing something. Like none of them were supposed to end the way they did."

"Then maybe that's why the Song chose you," she said softly. "You're the anomaly."

Footsteps echoed from behind them.

Both spun around—ready.

It wasn't another glitch.

It was Jian Mo, the black-robed Keeper from the northern gate. He held an obsidian staff, and his left eye glowed faintly blue.

He didn't bow.

Didn't smile.

"Yun Xi," he said flatly. "The Council knows."

"Knows what?"

Jian Mo's eye flicked toward the spot where the glitch beast had fallen. "You engaged with a Pre-Echo Entity. You retrieved an impossible fragment. The Song spoke to you."

Yue Lan stepped between them. "So what? He survived. He fought. He's not your enemy."

"I never said he was," Jian Mo replied. "But enemies are often born from too much power… or too much memory. And right now, the Council is debating whether Yun Xi is a reset condition."

Yun Xi's jaw tightened. "Reset condition?"

"If you go too far… the system resets. The world resets. Everyone forgets. Except you."

The wind picked up suddenly, carrying whispers—soft, melodic. It was the feather's echo, still lingering in the air.

Yun Xi stepped forward, ignoring the warnings. "What if I don't want to be a condition? What if I want to be the ending?"

Jian Mo studied him carefully. Then, for the first time, the elder Keeper smiled.

"Then change the song."

He turned and walked away, his form vanishing into a shimmer of digital dust.

Yue Lan looked at Yun Xi. "You impressed him."

Yun Xi didn't feel proud.

He felt haunted.

The feather's song still hummed in his bones, and for a brief second, he could hear it—the harmony beneath the silence.

It was soft.

Lonely.

Incomplete.

And somewhere out there, the Silence stirred in response.

> [New Mission Unlocked: Reconstruct the First Song – 1/7 Fragments Acquired.]

> [Side Quest: Survive Council Evaluation – Time Limit: 72 Hours.]

> [Warning: Emotional Echo Stability at Risk.]

Yun Xi stood tall, gripping the hilt of the Echo Blade.

"Then let's make the next verse count."