The journey east took seven days and nights.Each dawn rose colder than the last, and each night, the wind whispered the same name — Void.
Li Shen and Mei Lian moved through bamboo forests and forgotten villages swallowed by vines. The land felt haunted, though not by ghosts — by memories. Sometimes, Li Shen glimpsed reflections in puddles or polished stones — his face, his father's, sometimes faces he did not know.
On the seventh day, they reached the Valley of Mirrors.
It was unlike any place Li Shen had ever seen. The ground shimmered with shards of crystal. Mountains rose on every side, their surfaces polished like glass, reflecting the sky in endless layers. Even their footsteps echoed strangely, as if walking through water.
Mei Lian gazed around in awe. "This is sacred ground. The Azure Petal Sect sends disciples here only once — to confront their true selves. Few return."
"Your sect hides the Codex here?" Li Shen asked.
She nodded slowly. "Our masters say it's not hidden in the mirrors, but behind them. Whatever that means."
A faint hum vibrated through the air — low, resonant, almost musical. It came from everywhere at once. The reflections rippled like disturbed water.
Li Shen stepped forward. The moment his foot touched the mirrored ground, his reflection blinked — out of sync.
Then it spoke.
"You've come seeking truth, but truth doesn't seek you."
He froze. His reflection stepped out of the surface like water turning to flesh. Its eyes glowed faintly silver.
Mei Lian drew her sword. "Another illusion."
"No," Li Shen said quietly. "It's the same test I faced before — but this time, it's not just me."
As if hearing him, more figures emerged from the mirrors — each bearing their likeness. A dozen Li Shens, a dozen Mei Lians, each twisted subtly: crueler, colder, prouder.
The air thickened with Qi. The valley pulsed with living energy.
"They're fragments of us," Li Shen murmured. "The parts we hide."
One of the mirror Mei Lians smirked. "You speak of balance, yet you pity yourself. You follow a man cursed by emptiness — how long before you fall with him?"
The real Mei Lian's jaw tightened. "Silence."
The reflection stepped closer, eyes burning with contempt. "You call it discipline, but it's fear. You fight to obey, not to live."
Her sword flashed. The reflection met it perfectly. Blade met blade — identical. Sparks flew like blue fire.
Li Shen faced his own twin. "Why do you keep coming?"
The reflection tilted its head. "Because you still think you can master the Void without losing what you are."
"I won't lose myself again."
The reflection smiled. "You already have."
Then the valley erupted into chaos.
Reflections charged, swords and Qi clashing in a storm of light and shadow. The mirrored ground cracked beneath them, shattering into floating shards that reflected every strike a thousandfold.
Li Shen moved through the storm, each step guided by instinct. He fought his own face again and again, every blow forcing him to confront pieces of his past — his father's death, the screams of the burning village, the faces of those he couldn't save.
Each vision struck harder than any blade.
Mei Lian fought beside him, her movements graceful but desperate. "We can't win this!" she shouted.
Li Shen glanced at her — then at their surroundings. Every reflection repeated the battle infinitely, echoing the chaos back upon itself.
"That's it," he whispered. "They feed on resistance."
He dropped his stance, lowering his weapon.
The reflection hesitated.
Li Shen closed his eyes. The mark on his palm glowed faintly. He inhaled — one breath, deep as the world — and exhaled into stillness.
The reflections faltered, their blades wavering.
"Mei Lian," he said softly, "let go."
She looked at him, bewildered — but something in his calm stilled her. Slowly, she lowered her sword and mirrored his breath.
The air shifted. The mirrored valley began to hum — a note of harmony, not war. One by one, the reflections stopped moving. Their eyes softened, their forms wavered, then dissolved into streams of light returning to the mirrored walls.
Silence returned, heavy but serene.
The valley's central mirror shimmered, revealing not their faces but an image of a floating lotus made of light. At its center lay a single scroll sealed with azure wax — the Breath Chapter.
Mei Lian stepped forward, awe in her voice. "The fragment…"
The scroll drifted toward her, resting gently in her hands. She unsealed it. The parchment was blank — then letters appeared in pale blue ink, forming a single verse:
"Beauty breathes only in stillness. To dance with life, one must bow to death."
As she read, the scroll dissolved into motes of light that flowed into her chest. She gasped, eyes widening — petals of Qi blossomed around her like a living aura.
When it faded, her presence felt… different. Balanced. Complete.
Li Shen smiled. "It chose you."
She looked at him, breathless. "It wasn't a test for you. It was for me."
He nodded. "The Codex doesn't reveal power — it reveals what was missing."
Before either could say more, a deep rumble shook the valley. Cracks spidered across the mirrored cliffs. The light dimmed.
From the largest mirror, a shadow formed — vast, robed, faceless. Its voice rolled like thunder.
"The fragments have awakened. The Void stirs."
Li Shen stepped forward, his Qi steady. "Who are you?"
"The Keeper," it said. "Once guardian of the complete Codex. Now, I guard its prison."
Mei Lian drew her sword, but the shadow merely lifted a hand.
"When the five fragments reunite, the world will face its reflection. Tell Xu Wen — the balance he seeks is not salvation. It is judgment."
The shadow's form shattered into glass and vanished.
Silence fell again. Only the sound of their breathing remained.
Li Shen looked at the cracked horizon. "Five fragments… one truth."
Mei Lian sheathed her blade, her expression firm. "Then we find the next — before judgment finds us."
Above them, the mirrored sky rippled once more, showing a glimpse of distant flames — a fortress built of light and shadow.
Li Shen's eyes hardened. "The Codex is calling again."
And with that, the two walked toward the next horizon — unaware that far to the south, in a burning temple, another page of the Codex had already awakened… in the hands of an enemy neither of them had yet met.