Moonlight Over Ruin
The journey east stretched over fractured landscapes. The scars left by the Pale Star's awakening ran deep—rivers had reversed, roots wilted mid-bloom, and once-bustling trade towns lay abandoned, their inhabitants gone or mindless husks.
Li Shen, Jinhai, Yue Han, and Korin moved silently under root-suppression cloaks. With every step, the air thickened—not with Qi, but with absence. The world felt drained, devoured at the edges.
They arrived at the outskirts of the Moonwoven Temple on the fourth day.
It was barely recognisable.
What once was a sanctuary of moonlit serenity and elegant spires was now a sinkhole of jagged stone and twisted vines, all centred around a gaping fissure that pulsed with an eerie, rhythmic hum. Above the fissure hovered a fragment of the Pale Star—smaller than the artefact seen from afar, yet still oppressive.
[You have entered a Pale Zone.]
[Warning: Cultivation Suppression in Effect – Qi flow reduced by 37%.]
[Mental Strain: Moderate – Root stability checks will occur periodically.]
The Descent Begins
The group crept into the fissure at dusk.
Below, they found winding corridors carved by time and corrupted spirit beasts. Korin led, blades drawn, his shadow steps nearly invisible. Jinhai held protective wards at the ready, the glow from his talismans soft and steady.
The group passed mural-lined halls—once depicting the Moonweaver's teachings, now marred by Sovereign script etched crudely across them.
Then came the Guardian.
Its shape was humanoid but elongated, almost liquid—woven from threads of silver and obsidian, with a hollow lantern in place of a head. Within the lantern burnt a sliver of the Pale Star's flame burned.
[Pale Fragment Guardian – "Hollow Warden"]
• Tier: Sovereign Echo
• Weakness: Unstable Root Imprint Core
• Resistances: Light-based Qi, Mental Disruption
[Combat Avoidance Possible via Ritual Path (Insight Roll Required)]
Jinhai whispered, "We can sneak past. But only if one of us reads the broken glyphs ahead correctly."
Li Shen nodded. "I'll try."
[Root Insight: 34 | Threshold: 30 – SUCCESS]
Li Shen kneels, fingers brushing an inscription hidden beneath cracked tiles. "It's a prayer seal… not to the Sovereigns—but against them."
He murmured the words.
The Hollow Warden paused.
It turned… then stepped aside.
The Vault of Forgotten Echoes
Deep in the temple's heart, they reached a sealed door carved from lunar jade. At its centre: a receptacle designed for root blood.
"I'll do it," Yue Han said, stepping forward and pressing her palm against the stone. Her blood shimmered unnaturally.
The door opened with a hiss of ancient air.
Inside: the Memory Core. Suspended within threads of pure moonlight, a sphere of silver and blue pulsed slowly.
Li Shen approached. The Core responded to his presence.
[Memory Core – Threadborne Soul Fragment Detected]
[Do you wish to awaken the sealed memory? Y/N]
"Yes," he whispered.
Visions of a Forgotten War
The world fell away.
Li Shen stood in a different body. Taller. Stronger. Regal. Beside him stood Hua—not the spirit he knew but the goddess she once was. Vast. Terrible. Glorious.
Before them burnt the skies of the First Sovereign War.
Flashes of combat: armies woven from light and shadow clashing in mid-air. Towers of root metal are falling. The Sovereigns—robed in reality-bending power—smiling from above, untouched.
Then: betrayal.
An ally—her face unclear—delivered the finishing blow to Hua's physical form.
Then: silence.
Back in the present, Li Shen gasped as he reeled away from the Core. Blood dripped from his nose.
"I… I was there," he murmured.
Jinhai caught him. "You remember?"
"Not just remember. I was someone… something. And we lost. But not before planting a seed."
The Voice Within the Core
A soft, melodious voice echoed in the chamber. Feminine. Faint.
"You have awakened me. Then I shall offer you the last gift of the Moonweavers…"
[You have acquired Artifact: "Moonwoven Blessing"]
• Grants temporary immunity to Pale Star-induced Cultivation Suppression
• Unlocks Moonstep Technique: teleportation across moonlight within a 10-meter range
• Increases Root Insight by +5 when active at night
The Memory Core dimmed. Then shattered.
Outside, a low growl echoed from the fissure's entrance.
"They know," Korin whispered. "The Warden called reinforcements."
[Escape Timer: 18 minutes until Sovereign Constructs Arrive]
[Auto-Pathing Activated: Optimal Escape Route Calculated]
Li Shen gritted his teeth. "Then let's not waste time."
Escape Through Night
The team bolted through hidden passages, Yue Han covering the rear with piercing strikes, and Korin blinking between shadows to disable traps.
Twice they were nearly caught—once by a Sovereign mimic and again by collapsing corridors.
At the final gate, the Pale Star fragment's presence nearly crippled Jinhai, his Qi boiling under the pressure. Yue Han pulled him through just as Li Shen used the Moonstep for the first time—vanishing in the moonlight and reappearing behind a collapsed pillar to reactivate the exit seal.
They emerged into the cold night air, gasping.
But behind them, the Moonwoven Temple sank further into ruin. The Pale Star fragment hissed like a living wound.
Return and Resolve
At the Rootspire, the return of Li Shen's group was met with cheers and unease.
Some feared what they had awakened. Others saw it as hope.
Li Shen stood before them, holding the Moonwoven sigil, light spilling from it like water.
"I've seen the war that came before," he said. "We lost it. But we survived. And now… we rise again."
[Threadborne Morale: +15]
[New Skill Unlocked: Moonstep (Root Path Variant)]
[Faction Reputation: Whispered Among Hidden Clans – The Root Rebels]
[New Title Gained: Echo-Bearer of the First Flame]
Above, the stars shifted.
And far across the world, a sovereign paused, sensing the stirrings of something long thought buried.