The Silvermist River was older than any Hall, any god, any name.
It had watched dynasties rise and dissolve like breath on glass. Its surface, smooth as a mirror at dawn, carried reflections of everything that dared to look too long — and sometimes, it looked back.
Liu Feng often came there in the hour before sunrise, when the mist hung thick and the world's colors were half-asleep.
He would sit cross-legged on the wet stones, the Genesis Dual Blade resting across his knees, and listen.
He was not listening for birds or wind or water — but for the faint hum beneath existence, the tone the system had taught him to hear.
That morning, the hum was not alone.
> [External consciousness node detected.]
[Identity: Unknown. Class: Spirit-tier / fluctuating signature.]
[Approach vector — North by East, 400 meters.]
Liu Feng did not move. The mist parted on its own.
A figure stepped through — tall, slender, dressed in layered white and black robes that shimmered like mirror fragments.
His hair was silver-gray though his face was young; his eyes were clear and sharp as if cut from moonlight.
"I've been looking for you," the stranger said. His voice carried a tempered calm that made even the river still.
Liu Feng's grip tightened around the Dual Blade. "Who are you?"
"Chian Renshu," the man replied. "And you are the one they call the Phoenix-child."
Liu Feng's brow furrowed. "That's just a name."
"Names are blueprints of fate," Renshu said, stepping closer. "And yours was written long before you were born."
> [Warning: Unknown energy frequency. Potential synchronization: 64%.]
[Query: Initiate handshake?]
Liu Feng ignored the system for the moment. "You talk like someone who's read the prophecy."
"I've read more than that," Renshu answered. "I've seen it."
His right hand lifted — and the mist around him rippled, revealing fragments of memory: the Crystal Hall of the gods, the five thrones, the Phoenix of blue fire descending through the ages.
Liu Feng's eyes widened. He saw the very prophecy that had marked his birth.
Renshu's gaze softened. "I am what remains of a guardian. Once, I was meant to watch over the bridge between divine and mortal. But the gods turned inward. The bridge decayed. And now—"
He paused, eyes glinting with sorrow. "Now, it seems you are that bridge reborn."
The words sank into the air like stones into water.
"What do you want from me?" Liu Feng asked.
"To prepare you," Renshu said. "Because others have also awakened. The gods' threads are tightening. You are not the only child of prophecy, Liu Feng. There is another — and she is being forged to oppose you."
The mist trembled.
In the far dista
nce, thunder rolled though no storm showed its face.