The night was unnaturally quiet. Not the kind of silence that came with peace, but the kind that carried weight like the world was holding its breath. Li Tian stood alone beneath the massive crescent moon, its pale light cutting across the forest floor like a blade.
His body still ached from the fight with Zao Fan. Bruised, exhausted, and spiritually drained, he leaned against an ancient stone pillar that jutted out of the earth like a forgotten memory. Every breath reminded him of his limits… and his survival. But the fight had opened something inside him not just strength, but awareness.
The System's voice, once distant and mechanical, now echoed with a strange warmth.
[Bloodline Seal Partially Lifted: Origin Pathway Initiated.]
[Caution: Pathway steps ahead are irreversible.]
[Proceed?]
He didn't hesitate. "Proceed."
The moment the word left his lips, his surroundings shifted. The forest dissolved into a sea of stars. His feet no longer touched the ground; instead, he stood in a void wrapped in cosmic threads silver lines of power connecting one realm to another. Time felt warped. Gravity bent in strange ways.
Then, he saw her again.
A woman cloaked in violet mist, her face hidden by a veil of silk. She had appeared before in fragments, in dreams, and now, fully formed.
"You've stepped beyond the veil, child," she said. "But you're not yet ready to understand all that lies beyond."
"Who are you?" Li Tian asked, his voice small against the expanse.
"I am what remains of your origin," she said. "Before the world broke. Before your bloodline scattered into dust. Before your death… and rebirth."
He narrowed his eyes. "You're saying I've lived before?"
She nodded. "You didn't just live. You fell. Betrayed, broken, and cursed. Your death wasn't the end. It was the seal."
Suddenly, memories fragmented and violent flashed across his mind. A throne crumbling beneath his feet. A blade piercing his back. Voices chanting an ancient curse. And then… darkness.
The woman stepped forward. "Zao Fan wasn't just your enemy. He was a fragment of that curse reborn to test you again. You survived not because you were strong, but because this time… you chose clarity."
He remembered the moment during the fight when his emotions nearly consumed him. The old Li Tian the angry, vengeful one would've fallen into chaos again. But this time, he had paused. Focused. Listened to the System. That clarity had allowed him to tap into the dormant strength hidden in his blood.
"But what now?" he asked. "What's the next step?"
She lifted her hand, and a sword formed floating mid-air. Its blade was transparent, like crystalized wind, pulsing with runes older than the mountains.
"This is the Soulbane Edge," she said. "It belongs to no one… except those who awaken their truth. Take it, and your path will change forever. Refuse, and you may live a quieter life."
Li Tian didn't move. His hand hovered near the blade. It hummed, sensing him.
"What's the price?" he asked.
"Your memories," she replied. "Once you hold it, the rest of your past will return not in visions, but in weight. You'll carry every mistake, every betrayal, every failure. And you'll remember… who ended your first life."
He closed his eyes. The silence around him grew heavier. But when he opened them, his hand wrapped around the hilt.
Pain exploded in his chest. His back arched. The air around him shattered like glass. The stars blinked out one by one until all that remained was the sword and the storm surging through his veins.
When he awoke, he was back in the forest.
But something had changed.
His aura pulsed with calm intensity. The fatigue in his muscles faded, not because of healing, but because of a deeper alignment. His mind felt sharper. His senses clearer. He didn't just see the forest anymore he felt its breath, its rhythms, its echoes.
The Soulbane Edge was strapped to his back. Lighter than air, yet heavier than fate.
And then the System whispered again.
[You've crossed the veil. Chapter One of Origin Awakened.]
[New Ability Unlocked: Soul Recall – Access Fragmented Truths from Past Life]
[Warning: Using this ability may destabilize current mental state.]
Li Tian smiled faintly. "Nothing new there."
As he moved through the trees, heading toward the village outskirts, the world itself felt different. Birds didn't chirp the same. Shadows didn't stretch the same. Even the wind whispered differently, almost like it recognized him now.
He stopped briefly near a brook to wash his face. The water rippled unnaturally, and he saw not just his reflection but the faded image of the man he once was. Same eyes. Same jawline. But heavier. Darker. That man had died in chaos. This one would rise in clarity.
A rustle behind him pulled him from his thoughts.
"Li Tian!"
It was Mei Lin, her robes torn and face smeared with dust and blood.
"They've come… from the Northern Ridge," she gasped. "The ones who call themselves The Crimson Order. They're not like Zao Fan. They're coordinated. Strong. And they're looking for… you."
He stood slowly, his expression unreadable.
"Then I guess it's time I stopped running from who I was," he said. "And start rewriting what comes next."
She looked at him, confused. "What happened to you?"
Li Tian turned, his eyes reflecting the moonlight.
"I stepped beyond the veil," he whispered. "And I didn't come back alone."