The water didn't scream.
I did.
The moment the mirror-self lunged from the surface —
bone-white hands reaching for my throat —
I remembered why I had drowned.
---
> "You let them die," it whispered.
"You let us all die for love."
---
We hit the stone ground hard.
His mouth tore open in a stitched-red smile.
He had my face, but none of my fear.
---
> "You begged him," the mirror-Yinan hissed.
"And still he left. How pathetic."
He drove a fist into my gut.
---
CRACK
---
A memory bled out.
---
[MEMORY FRAGMENT UNLOCKED]
> "You'll slow us down," Wen Shixian said.
He didn't look back.
Just gripped his sword, walking toward safety while the sect burned behind him.
"Hide in the cellar, Yinan. It's better this way."
I was crying. He didn't hear it.
Or pretended not to.
---
Back in the pond, the mirror-Yinan raised a spectral blade.
It shimmered like frost on broken glass.
Emotion weaponized.
---
Qiuyue's voice echoed through the air.
> "It's you or him, sweetheart. Choose."
---
I didn't want to.
But I remembered the pain.
I let it in.
And it bloomed.
---
> [EMOTION LOCK: GRIEF — ACCEPTED]
[LOTUS QI +40]
[NEW TECHNIQUE: "PETAL SHIELD — REGRET FORM" Unlocked]
---
A glowing flower unfurled in front of me — each petal carved from translucent sorrow.
The blade hit it.
It held.
Barely.
---
I surged forward, slammed my fist into his chest.
It cracked like glass.
> "I didn't let them die," I breathed.
"I just wasn't enough."
---
The mirror-self shattered.
Petals swirled around me like ash in rain.
The pond went still.
---
> [MIRROR TRIAL COMPLETE]
[EXTERNAL CULTIVATION UNLOCKED]
[FORM STABILIZED — VISIBLE TO OTHERS]
[Warning: Heart Sutra Path is dangerously unstable. Further progression will affect your mind.]
[System Advice: Keep breaking.]
---
Qiuyue hovered over me, clapping slowly.
> "Congratulations. You beat the worst version of yourself. For now."
She smiled.
"Next time, he'll punch harder."
---
💀[SYSTEM STATUS — Updated]
> Name: Luo Yinan
Stage: Reanimated Core (Unstable Lotus — Level 1)
Cultivation Path: Lotus Heart Sutra
Qi Type: Emotion-Infused
Current Dominant Emotion: Grief
Lotus Qi: 200 / 250
Unlocked Techniques:
▸ Petal Shield — Regret Form
Memory Fragments: 1 / ??
Next Unlock: Fury (300 Qi)
---
Yinan stood up slowly, dripping with pondwater and rage.
He looked at the reflection in the water.
It looked back this time.
He looked human again.
Almost.
---
> In a cave far away, Shen Liansheng sat alone — silent, eyes closed, sword across his knees.
He opened his hand.
A single petal lay in his palm.
It hadn't wilted yet.