A soft knock echoed against the paper screen.
Rael stirred from his seated position, legs crossed beneath him, fingers slick with dried blood. A thin line of smoke rose from the incense burner beside him — half-spiritual, half-medicinal — designed to soothe inner turbulence. Not that it worked on him.
"Enter," he said flatly.
Wei Lin peeked in.
Her eyes were red. "They… assigned me a servant's quarter."
Rael's brows drew together. "You're not a servant."
"I know that. But to them, I'm just an outsider who followed you in." Her voice trembled. "Do I… stay?"
Rael stood and crossed the room in two quiet steps. He pulled the curtain aside and looked down at her.
"You stay," he said simply.
"Even if they disapprove?"
"They already disapprove. Might as well give them reason."
Wei Lin blinked, and then nodded with a faint smile.
Rael turned away again.
But a flicker of awareness pulsed through his body — not danger, not presence — something deeper. A pull beneath the surface of the sect. Something old… stirring.
---
System Notice: Heir Fragment Resonance Detected
Location: [Substructure – Moon Burial Vaults]
Accessibility: Hidden Pathway Sealed
Requirement: [Key of Three Wills] – 0/3
---
He exhaled slowly.
So that's how it is. The mark wasn't complete. Just a fragment. And there are others.
---
The next morning, Rael dressed in the standard disciple robe — black with pale gray trim. It clashed with his usual midnight cloak, but it allowed him to walk freely among the outer disciples.
Most gave him a wide berth.
Some whispered.
"That's him, the outsider…"
"He bypassed all tests. The girl from the main branch brought him in directly."
"Hmph. Pet of the Moon Fox."
But no one dared approach him.
Not after what happened at the bridge.
---
Yue Qingshi stood near a spirit tree at the training grounds, her sleeves drifting like mist.
Rael walked straight toward her.
"You've been watching me."
She raised a brow. "You're worth watching."
He stopped two paces away.
"The elders said I need to train by sect law. Where do I begin?"
Yue Qingshi tapped the staff against the ground.
"We begin with the Moonstep Trial."
---
The trial grounds were carved into the cliffside basin. Platforms of stone floated in midair, spiraling upward like staircases toward the upper court. Beneath each stone hung a sea of cloud.
"You'll need to leap from platform to platform using your own Qi. Each stone tests your control."
Rael stepped forward. "What's the goal?"
Yue smiled.
"Don't fall."
He took a breath and jumped.
---
The first platform was close. He landed without issue.
But the second platform drifted the moment he approached — a subtle shift, almost imperceptible.
His foot slipped.
Rael twisted midair, surged Qi into his feet, and kicked against the wind — landing roughly, but upright.
"Good," Yue Qingshi said from below. "You're not dull."
One by one, he continued.
Each stone was different.
Some twisted.
Some cracked.
One even inverted completely mid-leap, nearly dropping him into the void.
Rael's breathing grew ragged. Sweat beaded down his neck.
By the time he reached the ninth stone, his body was burning.
---
System Alert: Martial Trait Gained – [Wind-Reading Instinct] (Temporary)
Effect: Enhances spatial awareness during movement-based combat or traversal.
Duration: Until mental exhaustion.
Every benefit carries cost. Trait will fade with overuse. Neural fatigue accumulating…
---
Rael didn't hesitate.
He adjusted his stance, measured the platform's oscillation, and hurled himself toward the tenth stone.
He landed.
Then collapsed to one knee.
His breath came ragged.
"Not bad," Yue said, now standing beside him — as if she'd never moved. "That trait you triggered... You didn't gain it from us."
"I don't need it permanently."
She smiled slightly.
"Spoken like someone who's tasted real loss."
He looked at her. "Have you?"
Yue Qingshi's eyes darkened, but she said nothing.
Instead, she gestured toward a small tower nearby.
"Rest there. The next test is tomorrow. And Rael…" she paused, "if you ever betray the Moonlight Court's trust, mark or not—"
"I'll die," Rael finished.
She nodded.
"Exactly."
---
That night, Rael returned to his quarters and collapsed onto the bamboo mat.
Wei Lin waited beside a small flame, trying to cook spirit rice. It burned slightly, and she winced.
"You smell like lightning and frustration," she muttered.
Rael managed a chuckle. "It's the scent of progress."
He sat beside her and looked up at the moonlight filtering through the carved window.
His mark pulsed again.
And deep beneath the sect, something answered.
A tremor.
Faint.
But not friendly.
---
System Notification: Resonance Increased
A sealed beast stirs.
Heir Fragment: At risk of destabilization.
Estimated Time Until Influence Breach: [5 Days]
---
Rael's eyes opened fully.
"Five days…"
"Until what?" Wei Lin asked.
"Until I either earn the moon's favor…"
He stood, turning toward the mountains.
"…or die trying."