The forest outside the Old Temple breathed like something half-asleep and half-hungry.
Rat stood at the gate, staff in hand, eyes locked on the fog shifting between the trees. Every inhale tasted of rust, moss, and distant rain. Every exhale felt watched.
The Codex whispered across his mind, its voice smoother now that it had learned to sound almost human.
[Six signatures confirmed. Rooted Stone scouts. Lead cultivator: high Foundation Establishment. Support units: late Mortal Dust to low Foundation. Range: twenty paces.]
[Recommendation: Retreat or disrupt.]
"Retreat?" Rat said. "You're cute when you pretend to care."
[Correction: I calculated probability of survival.]
"Yeah. That's what I thought."
He rolled his shoulders, Qi crawling up his arms. The Bell's hum deepened until it matched his pulse. The temple responded, vines tightening across stone like drawn bowstrings. The murals shivered, painted eyes flickering awake beneath centuries of dust.
Somewhere in the mist, a sword hissed free of its sheath.
"They finally brought toys," Rat muttered. "Perfect."
He stepped forward. The Bell's vibration pulsed once, and the air around him shimmered. Threads bled into view again, thin cords of light running between trees, men, and moments. The Fate Interface had woken on its own.
Six red lines moved through the fog, sharp and angry. Each pulsed with killing intent, greed, or fear. Rat could see them now, paths of Qi given shape.
"Alright," he said. "Let's see which one breaks first."
He tugged gently on a thread with his Qi. The nearest line shivered. Outside, a Rooted Stone scout stumbled, boot catching on a root that hadn't been there a heartbeat ago.
[Interference successful. Disorientation: temporary.]
"Good to know my bad ideas work in practice."
He crouched low, dragging his staff's tip through the dirt. Qi pooled beneath his hand, tracing faint lines that curved around the courtyard like the rim of a bowl. The grooves filled with dim green light as the Bell's resonance poured into them.
His voice came low. "You want the Bell? Step inside."
The first shadow crossed the fog line. A man in dark green armor, insignia of Rooted Stone Sect burned into his shoulder; a mountain wrapped in thorns. Foundation level by his stance, heavy with body reinforcement Qi. Behind him came two others, blades drawn, moving too quietly to be confident.
Rat watched their threads twist closer.
[Lead cultivator: High Foundation Establishment. Estimated Qi density - 1.3 times Administrator baseline.]
"Big fish for a small pond," Rat said. "Guess they really want their shrine tax back."
The leader raised his sword. "By order of Rooted Stone, surrender the relic and…"
The Bell rang.
Not loudly. Not yet. The sound slithered through soil and stone instead of air, sinking into everything alive. The vines quivered. The trees bowed slightly.
The scouts froze mid-step, their Qi flows faltering.
Rat grinned. "Welcome to my rhythm."
He lifted the staff and struck the Bell lightly. The tone it released rolled through the courtyard like a deep tide.
[Echo Pulse activated.]
The nearest scout gasped, clutching his chest. The second dropped to one knee, blade trembling.
"First lesson," Rat said. "Don't walk into someone else's field."
The leader steadied himself, face pale. He forced his Qi to flare, burning green light into the mist. "You think a relic will save you, thief?"
"Not save," Rat said. "Assist."
The vines at the temple's edge surged forward, snapping toward the intruders. The leader slashed, cutting them clean—until new vines replaced the old, faster, thicker. The Bell's hum grew stronger with each strike.
[Warning: Environmental Qi exceeding standard safety threshold.]
"Keep up, Codex," Rat muttered. "I'm not done yet."
The Fate Interface expanded, painting the courtyard in shifting threads. Every heartbeat, every breath, every spark of intent turned visible.
He could see their moves before they made them.
When the leader lunged, Rat moved a breath early. His staff caught the blade mid-swing and twisted. Qi met Qi, flashing bright white. The impact flung both men backward, but Rat landed lighter, sliding into stance.
[Reflex advantage: 0.8 seconds. Predictive combat synchronization achieved.]
Rat grinned. "I'll take that as applause."
[You are statistically less likely to die than one minute ago.]
"Even better."
The second scout screamed and charged, short blade raised. His thread pulsed red, reckless. Rat flicked his wrist, feeding Qi through the staff's bronze tip into the Bell.
A second chime sounded. The vibration slammed outward.
The man's Qi scattered like glass. Rat stepped in and struck once, clean to the ribs. The scout fell before finishing his breath.
[Hostile neutralized. Remaining entities regrouping.]
At the forest's edge, the other three moved into position. Rat sensed them through their threads, thin and sharp, twining together like cords of rope. Their auras bled into one another, merging.
[Triad formation detected. Combined technique: Stonebind Field. Estimated output equivalent to early Golden Core level.]
Rat's grin faltered. "Ah. That's new."
He tightened his stance. "Alright then. Let's make bad history."
The Bell pulsed again, and the courtyard darkened. The vines retracted, pulling Qi into the stone walls. The murals shone brighter, every painted line alive with green light.
The Fate Interface stretched wider. He saw his own thread pulsing silver in the center, thin, frayed, but steady. The others loomed thick as cables.
Rat exhaled, letting his Qi spiral up from his core to his palms. The staff thrummed, edges glowing faint blue from condensed energy.
The three Rooted Stone cultivators struck together, palms raised, voices chanting as one. The air rippled.
Stone cracked and rose beneath them, forming jagged pillars that hurled forward.
"Cute trick," Rat said. "Mine's louder."
He swung his staff into the Bell's rim.
The resulting sound wasn't a chime, it was a quake. The vibration tore through the ground, shattering the stone pillars midair. The backlash sent dirt and roots exploding outward.
[Echo Pulse amplification successful.]
[Warning: Qi reserve dropping rapidly.]
"Yeah, yeah," Rat said, teeth clenched. "So is theirs."
He staggered, vision flashing white at the edges. The threads blurred, flickering between color and shadow.
One of the enemy threads snapped completely, then another.
When silence returned, only the leader's remained. His sword burned red-hot, Qi surging far beyond safe limit.
He lunged.
Rat met him halfway. Staff and blade collided with a flash that drowned out the forest's light. The resulting blast sent both men tumbling.
Rat hit the ground hard, lungs burning.
The Codex's voice broke through the static.
[Administrator vitality critical!]
[Hostile condition: Unstable. Enemy Qi collapse imminent.]
The leader stumbled to his knees, chest heaving. His sword's glow fractured. "You! What are you?"
Rat pushed to his feet, leaning on the staff. "Bad luck."
The man's Qi detonated, uncontrolled. The explosion of green light tore through the clearing, and for a moment, all the threads flared white.
Then it was over.
Rat stood alone in the courtyard, breathing in shallow pulls. The vines sagged, exhausted. The Bell glowed dim gold.
[Warning: 87% Qi depletion.]
[Recommendation: rest or collapse.]
"Good advice," Rat rasped. "I'll take the first one later."
He dropped to one knee, pressing a hand to the ground. The temple pulsed faintly beneath his palm. The Bell's hum steadied, then quieted, like a sleeping heartbeat.
The Codex's voice returned, quieter.
[Administrator performance: Sucessful. Six enemy threads severed. Fate distortion expanding beyond local zone.]
"What does that mean?"
[Meaning: The Basin noticed.]
Rat lifted his head. "Define 'noticed.'"
[New fate strands detected across sector radius. Power signatures escalating. Multiple shrines responding.]
He looked toward the horizon. In the distance, faint lights pulsed along the mountains, other Bells answering the call.
"You're telling me they heard us."
[Affirmative. Alignment network partially reactivated.]
The Bell trembled, as if agreeing. The murals glowed again, and the painted woman's eyes turned toward him.
Her lips parted.
"Caretaker," she said softly. "Why did you wake my heart?"
The Codex's text flickered, lines stuttering.
[Unclassified Divinity detected. Tier: Basin Local Deity - Dormant Class.]
[Status: attempting Codex integration.]
Rat groaned. "You have got to be kidding me."
The Bell rang one more time, louder, brighter. The sound carried for miles. The murals shifted, their figures stepping free from the walls in silhouettes of light.
The woman smiled faintly, voice echoing through the stone.
"Then let us remember how it sounded when the Basin still obeyed."
Light swallowed the courtyard whole.
[Codex of Strands of Fate - Status Update]
Vitality: 6
Qi Sense: 7
Comprehension: 4
Fate Entanglement: 28
Realm: Foundation Establishment
Module Upgrade: Fate Interface v2.0
Effect: Expands detection range to 300 paces. Interface now syncs to environmental Qi nodes and cultivator intent signatures.
Warning: Direct interaction with Divine-tier or Golden Core-level consciousness may rewrite system permissions.
New Title: Caretaker of the Old Temple
Effect: Grants limited command of temple's local Qi network and environmental resonance.