[Scene: Entry to the Inner Sanctum]
The sealed archway shimmered like liquid starlight.
Max stepped forward. With the guardian bowed behind them, and the air still crackling from his Origin Eyes' violent flare, he and Lian Yue crossed the threshold into the second sanctum.
Stone became glass. The walls now reflected not their physical forms, but moments from their past. As they walked deeper, the corridor pulsed with ancient qi and long-buried intent.
"I… feel like I'm being watched," Lian Yue whispered, glancing at her mirrored past—a scene of a young girl holding a broken flute.
"You are," Max murmured. "But not by eyes. By Will."
⸻
[Scene: The Trial Chamber – Root of Resonance]
They entered a circular chamber. At its center floated a lotus made of crystal, rotating slowly, suspended above a pool of luminous black liquid.
Twelve stone platforms surrounded the chamber—each etched with a sigil representing a concept: Trust, Will, Despair, Sacrifice, Unity, Chaos, and more.
Suddenly, the chamber hummed.
And then—
A voice echoed through their minds.
"Welcome, Bearers of Dual Fate. You walk not alone, thus you must be judged not alone."
The light in the chamber flickered, and before them appeared a phantom figure—neither fully human nor fully spirit. Robed in tattered celestial garb, its face obscured by starlight, it gazed at Max and Lian Yue with ageless sorrow.
"You are… the sanctum's creator?" Max asked.
"An echo of him. A fragment of Law, preserved in will."
The phantom raised a spectral hand and pointed at the lotus.
"To proceed, your souls must resonate. Step forth together. Speak no lies. Move no faster than the other. Strike no blow unless in unison."
⸻
[Scene: Trial of Trust and Unity]
The room transformed.
The stone beneath their feet turned to floating platforms suspended over an abyss. The only way across was a path of shifting light bridges—some stable, others illusions.
Max and Lian Yue stood on opposite ends.
"We have to move… together," Lian Yue murmured.
"And if one rushes ahead…" Max glanced down at the black void.
The phantom's voice echoed again.
"Only harmony may lead to the Gate. Discord will cast you into silence."
The first steps were simple.
But soon the bridges began to flicker. At times, Max saw paths Lian Yue didn't. And sometimes, she hesitated when he felt the way forward was clear.
"Lian Yue, trust me—left."
"I… no, the bridge feels wrong. I feel something pulling."
They paused.
Then, Max breathed slowly.
"Then we wait. Together."
And the path shifted—real bridges aligning beneath them once they found a shared rhythm.
When they finally met in the center, the platforms reformed into one beneath their feet.
The voice returned.
"First resonance: achieved."
⸻
[Scene: Combat Mirage – Dual Reflection]
Suddenly, two figures emerged from the shadows—perfect copies of Max and Lian Yue.
Not illusions.
Manifestations of their inner conflict.
"What the—!?" Lian Yue's clone immediately lunged, elegant and vicious, a mist of shadowy qi cloaking her fists.
Max's clone raised a fan—its aura cold, dispassionate, and ruthless.
"We fight ourselves?"
"You fight the version of each other you fear most," the voice intoned.
This was not a battle of strength.
It was trust.
Lian Yue hesitated to strike at the false Max—his cold, unreadable demeanor reminded her too much of the real Max when he closed off.
Max, in turn, saw a Lian Yue driven by fear, secrets, and unspoken trauma.
He froze when her clone whispered—
"She'll leave you. Like the rest."
But then—
"Lian Yue," he called softly, avoiding her clone's blade. "I don't care about your secrets."
Her breath caught.
"Then stop hiding yours too," she whispered back, finally tearing through her copy with a burst of determination.
Together, they turned on Max's clone—and with synchronized strikes, the illusions shattered into cosmic dust.
⸻
[Scene: The Gate of Echoes]
The crystal lotus at the center cracked open.
Inside was a small crystalline shard—glowing with soft violet-blue energy.
As Max reached out, his Origin Eyes surged again.
His dantian pulsed.
The spiritual pressure in the chamber rose—and his body began to tremble once more.
Not in pain this time.
In release.
His bottleneck shattered like glass.
"He's… ascending," Lian Yue said softly, watching in awe.
The shard melted into Max's palm. A rush of foreign memories, concepts, and ancient comprehension washed over him.
He had stepped into a new Minor Realm.
⸻
[End of Chapter 9]