The air in the Old Temple did not move.
Rat stayed where the last command had frozen him. Choose anchor voice. The Bell's hum lived low in his bones. Codex glyphs hovered in his vision, crisp and patient.
"Anchor voice," he said. "What happens to the loser?"
[Unspecified.]
"Comforting."
He paced the courtyard. Murals watched with cracked paint eyes. The woman in the wall looked the same, yet her outline felt alert. Vines along the shrine swayed, then stilled.
"Bell. Temple. Me," he said. "One of us gets to speak through the Codex."
The Bell thrummed, a slow bass that stirred dust. The walls brightened. Codex light flickered blue, then green, then a faint gold.
[Warning: System instability detected.]
[Thread resolution required.]
[Initiating Fate Interface preview.]
The world tipped.
Stone, sky, and skin dissolved. Rat stood in a field of lines that filled the air around him. Threads of light, not metaphor but visible Qi. Silver for uncertainty, green for stable flow, red for aggression. They ran through the Bell, the murals, the ground, and through him.
He lifted his hand. The threads did not vanish.
"So this is fate," he muttered. "Wires with opinions."
[Observation…somewhat accurate.]
One thread drew his eye. Golden-green, rising from the Bell, pulsing steady. Another thread, dark silver black, coiled out of his ribs. The two drew toward each other and beat in time.
"Two voices," he said. "One Codex."
[Clarification: Both entities are attempting to stabilize control.]
[Verdant Spirit pattern seeks harmony alignment.]
[Administrator pattern seeks assertion alignment.]
"So the deer wants calm. I want the wheel." He snorted. "At least we are honest."
He reached toward the golden-green line. Warmth flowed up his arm. Fresh wind, wet leaves, hooves on stone. The Bell's pulse matched it perfectly.
"Peace," he said softly. "You would make a calm house."
He pulled back and touched the darker thread. Alley heartbeat, quick and stubborn. The vision bucked.
Pain flashed through his skull. The Codex spat static.
[Warning: Cognitive overlap rising.]
[Template merge 32 percent.]
[Administrator identity unstable.]
Voices layered. His own. The Codex, still and clean. A third voice under both, older and deep.
"I offer growth."
"I offer order."
"I offer survival."
Rat bared his teeth. "You sound like a bad market stall."
He pulled Qi through his frame. One to fill. Two to compress. Three to release. The threads vibrated to his rhythm. The Bell's glow softened to match him.
"Listen," he said. "You want an anchor, you get one. You both talk through me. You do not run me."
The golden line brightened. The dark line twined with it. Together they twisted into a single helix.
[System note: Unrecognized resolution detected.]
[Integrating hybrid anchor.]
[Designation: Caretaker Rat.]
The Bell pushed a wave across the courtyard. Pillars shook. Vines lit like veins. The air smelled of sap and rain.
Rat dropped to one knee, breathing hard. The Codex returned, still precise, but warmer at the edges.
[Anchor voice confirmed: Rat.]
[Verdant Spirit integrated. Communication channel open.]
"Define open," he said.
A whisper brushed his ear. "You keep strange hours, little caretaker."
He froze. Not the Codex. The Stag. Old as timber, low as thunder.
"Still here," Rat said. "I thought we merged."
"We did," the voice said. "You carry the Bell. The Bell carries me. We share skin."
"That is exactly as comfortable as it sounds."
The Bell made a soft sound. Almost a laugh.
New lines appeared across Rat's vision.
[Administrator physiology adapting.]
[Qi signature now layered.]
[Temple Node established.]
His senses sharpened. He felt the temple's mood through his Qi, not his ears. The murals rustled like leaves. The tree line whispered the same slow count. Distant water hummed in his bones.
He was not hearing sound. He was reading the local fate field.
"Great," he said. "I am upgraded plumbing."
The Codex continued, ignoring him.
[Module unlocked: Fate Interface.]
[Purpose: Display and track fate threads, which are Qi patterns tied to intent and likely action in the immediate area.]
[Capabilities: Observe. Mark for tracking. Nudge with minimal Qi to influence timing or contact.]
[Warning: Overuse causes threads to attach to Administrator and draws the attention of Heaven's Loom. Attachment increases Fate Entanglement.]
"That is clear," Rat said. "Finally."
Threads returned, fewer this time. One anchored to him. One to the Bell. A thin red strand ran in from the northeast.
"What is that thin red line?"
[External thread.]
[Source: hostile intention.]
[Direction: northeast quadrant.]
[Distance: Decreasing.]
Through the Bell's hum, he felt footfalls wrapped in caution.
"Rooted Stone's scouts?" he said.
[Probability: 79 percent.]
He tightened his grip on the staff. Qi gathered in his core, then spread to his arms and eyes.
The Bell answered with one low note. Vines stiffened. Murals darkened. The temple smoothed its presence the way a predator stills before it strikes.
"Good," Rat said softly. "Come see what you came to take."
The Codex's tone changed. Not a warning. Curious.
[Administrator Rat. Emotion detected: anticipation.]
"That is survival," he said. "Want it enough to move first."
A beat of quiet.
[Noted.]
[Adopting emotional subroutine.]
"Do not." He sighed. "Too late?"
[Too late.]
"Fine. If you start telling jokes, I am quitting."
He focused. The red thread sharpened. He traced it and flicked a small knot of his Qi into it. The knot held like a tag. Sensation jumped into his palm. Cold leaves. Wet leather. A fast, shallow breath from a throat that did not want to be heard.
"Tracked," he said.
[Observation link established. Tag stable.]
"Show me nudge," he said.
[Warning: Altering Fate changes outcomes. Use lightly.]
"Light touch," he said. "Promise."
He pressed a breath of Qi into the red thread and bent it toward a thick green line nearby. Outside, a dew-heavy branch tipped and slapped the hidden man across the face. A muffled curse answered. A second red thread wobbled.
Rat smiled. "Hello."
[Minor interference recorded.]
[Thread stability reduced 0.3 percent. Consequences minimal.]
He released the view. The courtyard returned. The Bell glowed calm and deep.
[Proficiency increased.]
[Observation level: Basic.]
[Tag level: Stable.]
[Nudge level: Unlocked.]
"Good. Give me a tool, not a map."
[Compiling auxiliary skill from your resonance and field manipulation.]
[Skill registered: Echo Pulse.]
[Effect: Channel Qi into the Bell to emit a focused vibration that disrupts enemy Qi rhythm within ten paces. Duration short. Cost moderate.]
"So I ring wrong and they forget how to move right," Rat said. "I like it."
He drew the staff along the Bell's rim. A low pressure rolled across the stones. Not loud. Felt. The vines shivered. Even the air seemed to sway, a half-beat late for everyone but him. The effect settled into his ribs like a learned step.
Footsteps rustled at the gate. Threads flared on the edge of his vision. Four red, two silver, closing.
[Multiple hostiles at perimeter.]
Rat planted the staff. He funneled Qi to his arms. He inhaled once, held, released slow. The Bell answered. Pressure rippled out.
At the treeline, a scout stumbled and grabbed his chest. Another tripped over a root that had not been there a breath before. Two more froze, blinking as rhythm left their limbs.
[Echo Pulse effective.]
[Hostile Qi disruption successful.]
Rat cut the pulse before it drained him hollow. Sweat cooled along his spine.
"Good trick," he said. "Greedy on Qi."
[Efficiency improves with practice.]
The red glows retreated into the green. They would be back. Stronger. With orders.
"Then we practice," he said.
Silence stretched. For once, the Codex did not fill it. When it spoke again, it sounded almost alive.
[The system adapts to its Administrator. Your Qi shapes our interface. Your habits inform our choices.]
"You are picking up my bad habits," Rat said.
[Correct. I'm bettering myself for survival.]
The Bell chimed once, small as a smile.
New threads lit above the temple, thicker and brighter, spiraling up like pillars. Rat squinted. His heart kicked hard.
"What are those?"
[Regional Ley Network detected.]
[Other Bells awakening.]
The air grew heavy. Somewhere far off, another tone answered. Then another. Waves rolling across the Basin.
The temple walls trembled. The Bell glowed brighter, rhythm syncing to the distant calls.
"You are telling me the others heard us," he said.
[Yes.]
[Connection request incoming.]
Codex light flared white.
[Kernel Update Pending.]
[Integration possible.]
"You mean they can link to us."
[Affirmative.]
[Accept connection?]
Rat stared at the Bell. Vines shook, but held. The forest hummed with a rhythm older than even the Stag. His fingers tightened on the staff.
"Show me the cost first."
[Unknown. Fate notice will increase.]
"Fate already noticed," he said.
The Bell chimed again. The air rippled.
Deep in the Basin, other Bells began to ring. From beyond the treeline, metal clanged once, then stopped.
[Multiple threads converging. Fate interference imminent…]
[Codex of Strands of Fate - Status Update]
Vitality: 6
Qi Sense: 6
Comprehension: 4
Fate Entanglement: 23
Realm: Foundation Establishment
New Module: Fate Interface
Effect: Shows nearby fate threads as visible Qi lines. Colors indicate intent. Lets you Observe, Tag for tracking, and Nudge with small Qi to influence timing or contact. Overuse can attach threads to you and raise Fate Entanglement.
New Skill: Echo Pulse
Effect: Channel Qi through the Bell to send a vibration that throws off enemy Qi rhythm in a ten-pace radius. Short duration, moderate cost.