Chapter 26 – The Blade of Shattered Memory
In the Sanctuary of the Broken Abyss, the wind did not blow.
It shimmered.
Every particle of air vibrated with a forgotten word,
a rune from a language long erased by time.
Shen Mu walked slowly toward one of the five suspended pillars.
His steps made no sound yet the entire domain resonated.
[Spiritual Link Detected]
Location: Pillar No. 3 – Chamber of the Martial Soul
Heritage Type: Sword Technique
Access Granted: Sealed memory is being unlocked…
He stopped.
The pillar lit up.
A silhouette appeared... ethereal, back turned.
A man.
Straight. Still. Solemn.
On his back: a black sword, far too vast for any mortal.
The system's voice grew deeper almost reverent.
[Activation: Memory of the Dark Void Sword]
Origin: Unknown Past Life
Type: Edge of the Void – First Form
Effect: Dissolves light, creates void of intent, erases presence
Shen Mu bowed.
He didn't know why…
But this figure He had seen it before.
Perhaps in dreams.
Perhaps… at the end.
The shadow drew the sword.
In a single motion.
And the domain tilted.
The sky trembled.
Time slowed.
The pillars vibrated beneath an aura too vast to name.
An invisible blade cut through space.
It had no shape.
No light.
No sound.
And yet…
It erased a mountain.
[Technique Acquired: First Form of the Void Sword — "Silent Edge"]
Rank: Transcendent
Requirement: Fusion of spiritual consciousness and inner world
Risk: Soul consumption if mastery is incomplete
Shen Mu stepped forward.
The silhouette finally turned.
It was… himself.
But older.
Colder.
Alone.
They stared at each other.
The older Shen Mu raised the sword one last time And vanished.
The young man stood still, alone.
The sword now sealed within his mind.
A whisper drifted through the air:
__"Cut not the flesh, nor the mind."
__"Cut the very cause of existence."
Far above the continent, in the outer heavens an invisible rift opened.
An eye.
Alien. Motionless. Implacable.
And for the first time,
a being beyond the lower world murmured:
"…A forgotten style has awakened."
"Could the bearer… have returned?"