Ren felt the disturbance long before he saw its source.
Not danger.
Opportunity.
It brushed against him like a subtle wind — a pull, faint but deliberate.
He slowed.
The trail he walked curved toward a ruined watchtower perched above a shallow valley. From below, voices drifted upward — sharp, controlled, authoritative.
Cultivators.
Organized.
Ren stopped at the edge of the trees.
The echo stirred.
Not warning.
Tempted.
He closed his eyes and listened more closely.
A group of six stood below — robes marked by the same neutral sigil used at the stone pillars. Not one sect. A coalition.
In the center stood the intermediary from the road incident.
"…we don't need to corner him," the man was saying."We need to invite him. Publicly."
Another cultivator scoffed.
"And legitimize him?"
"No," the intermediary replied calmly."Contain him."
Ren's jaw tightened.
The echo pulsed — interested.
"He doesn't consolidate," one of the others said."He disperses."
"Exactly," the intermediary answered."So we offer him a platform."
Ren understood immediately.
A formal assembly.A public dialogue.Recognition without surrender.
It was clever.
Too clever.
The echo pulsed again.
Stronger this time.
It wasn't resisting.
It was… considering.
Ren felt it — the possibility.
A stage.A voice amplified.A chance to redefine the conversation openly.
The echo leaned toward it.
Ren's breath slowed.
"This would change everything," he murmured.
The echo responded — not with affirmation.
With hunger.
Ren felt it clearly.
For the first time, the echo wanted something.
Recognition.
Reach.
Influence at scale.
Ren's fingers curled slowly into his palm.
"No," he whispered.
The echo pulsed sharply.
Disagreement.
Ren exhaled slowly.
"If I accept that stage," he said softly,"I become what they expect."
The echo trembled.
Not angry.
Frustrated.
Ren had always aligned with it.
Listened to it.
Balanced with it.
This was different.
"This isn't about structure," Ren said quietly."It's about visibility."
The echo surged again — almost urging him forward.
Ren took a step back.
"I won't grow through their platform," he said firmly."Not yet."
Silence.
The echo pulled inward.
Cold.
Still.
For the first time since it had awakened within him…
It did not respond in agreement.
It did not align.
It went quiet.
Ren's chest felt suddenly empty.
Not broken.
Not damaged.
Just… separated.
Below, the intermediary concluded the discussion.
"Send the invitation," he said."Make it formal."
Ren turned away from the watchtower.
He walked into the trees without waiting to hear more.
The echo remained silent.
Not angry.
Not distant.
Waiting.
Ren pressed a hand to his chest.
"We don't rush," he said quietly."Not for them."
No answer came.
For the first time…
The echo had wanted something Ren refused.
And the space between them felt wider than any road he had walked.