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Chapter 7: The Temple of Threads
The path wound higher through the cliffs, where the air was thinner and colder. Silver clouds hugged the mountaintops, and distant thunder rumbled like drums of war. Ji Sok Han pressed forward, the new mark on his chest glowing faintly beneath his tunic.
Duri floated beside him, silent for once. Even Yeonhwa, usually calm and composed, walked with a hand always near her sword.
> "The Oracle's vision changes everything," Ji murmured. "If Baek Rin was once like me… what made him fall?"
"Desperation," Duri said. "Loneliness. And anger. He believed the moon betrayed him. He wanted power without sacrifice."
Yeonhwa nodded. "You don't carry his curse, Ji. You carry the chance to break it."
They reached the temple just before nightfall.
Unlike the others, the Temple of Threads wasn't grand. It was carved directly into the cliffside — simple, weathered, and humming with quiet power. At its center was a room of glowing silver silk threads that floated in the air like starlight caught in motion.
> "This is the Loom," Duri whispered. "Each thread is a path your life can take. The wrong one leads to ruin."
Ji stepped inside.
Instantly, the air shimmered, and illusions filled the chamber. One thread showed him seated on a moonlit throne, the people of Daehara kneeling below. Another showed him corrupted, his light darkened, standing beside Baek Rin.
Then, he saw a thread where Yeonhwa lay motionless, and Duri's laughter faded into silence. Ji's hands in the vision were stained with silver blood.
> "No," Ji said. "That's not who I'll become."
A voice echoed through the temple.
> "Then choose your path."
Ji closed his eyes. The threads around him vibrated. His chest pulsed with warmth. Slowly, he reached out and touched a thread glowing softer than the others — one not of victory or power, but of truth, unity, and sacrifice.
The chamber exploded in light.
When he opened his eyes, the illusions were gone. In his palm rested a new sigil — the Sigil of Balance.
Duri hovered, wide-eyed.
> "That thread was hidden. Even I didn't see it."
Yeonhwa smiled faintly.
> "He didn't choose a throne or revenge. He chose us."
But far below, on the edge of the forest, Baek Rin watched.
> "So he found the Sigil…" the masked one murmured. "Then it's time I pay him a visit."
He stepped into the wind, his black cape billowing like smoke, and vanished.
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To Be Continued in Chapter 8: Moonblood