The Northern Mountains loomed like sleeping titans, their jagged peaks veiled in drifting mist and ancient silence. Zhen Ruhan stood at the edge of a frostbitten ridge, his breath curling into the cold air, his robes torn and dusted with snow. The wind here didn't howl—it whispered. And every whisper carried a name he didn't remember, but somehow felt.
> _System Notification:_
> — _Objective:_ Seek the Oracle of the Northern Mountains
> — _Status:_ Active
> — _Warning:_ Temporal anomalies detected in region
He stepped forward, boots crunching against frozen moss. The golden line that had guided him since the Azure Dragon Sect flickered erratically beneath his feet, pulsing like a heartbeat out of rhythm. Time was unstable here. The forest below twisted unnaturally—trees bent toward the sky, rivers flowed uphill, and shadows moved before their owners.
Ruhan activated _Chrono Vision_.
The world slowed. The wind paused mid-gust. A falling leaf froze in midair, its veins glowing faintly. And there—just beyond the treeline—a ripple in space, subtle but pulsing like a wound.
> _Anomaly Detected: Time Rift (Unstable)_
Before he could react, the rift tore open.
A figure stepped through—cloaked in black, eyes glowing with fractured light. Not a Fractured One. Something older. Something deeper.
> "You walk the path of echoes," the figure said, voice layered like overlapping memories. "But do you know whose voice you carry?"
Ruhan's breath caught. The aura was ancient, heavy, and familiar.
> "Who are you?" he asked.
> "A memory," the figure replied. "One your blood has forgotten."
Then it vanished—leaving behind a single object: a broken pendant, etched with the symbol of the Chrono Monarch.
---
Hours passed. The terrain grew cruel. Paths looped endlessly. The sun blinked between dawn and dusk. Ruhan's body ached, but his resolve held firm. At last, he reached a clearing bathed in moonlight—though the sky showed no moon.
A woman sat atop a stone altar, robes flowing like mist, eyes closed.
The Oracle.
Her voice echoed before her lips moved.
> "Zhen Ruhan… son of Jianlong. The seed has bloomed."
He stepped closer, heart pounding.
> "You knew my parents?"
> "I knew their sacrifice."
She opened her eyes—twin spirals of silver and violet, like galaxies caught in motion.
> "They bent time to save you. And in doing so, they shattered the balance."
Ruhan fell to his knees.
> "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
> "Because time forgets what it cannot bear."
She reached out, placing a hand on his forehead.
Visions flooded his mind—his mother shielding him from a collapsing realm, his father sealing a gate with blood, the Spirit King watching from afar, silent and sorrowful.
> _System Update:_
> — _Memory Fragment Unlocked: The Last Stand of Jianlong_
> — _Skill Acquired: Temporal Shield (Lv. 1)
> — _Passive Trait: Bloodline Resonance (Dormant)
The Oracle withdrew her hand.
> "You are not ready to know everything. But the path is open."
She pointed east, where a storm brewed over a distant city. Lightning danced across the clouds like veins of fate.
> "Go to Moonflow Temple. There, your fate will collide with hers."
Ruhan stood, eyes burning with resolve.
> "I'll find the truth. And I'll protect what they died for."
The Oracle smiled faintly.
> "Then walk carefully, Timewalker. The echoes are watching."
---
As he descended the mountain, the wind shifted. Snowflakes fell upward. The golden line reappeared, steady now, guiding him toward the next chapter of his journey.
Behind him, the Oracle faded into mist.
And far above, in a palace woven from starlight and silence, the Spirit King stirred.
---
_End of Chapter 10_