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[Scene: Central Archive – Memory Crystal Activation]
The moment Max and Lian Yue stepped past the floating obelisks, the library began to respond.
The memory crystals spun in rhythm. Threads of ancient Qi patterns floated between them like musical notes sung by forgotten gods.
A single crystal shard, glowing fainter than the rest, hovered low near Max's shoulder — as if waiting for his touch.
He hesitated.
"It's… calling me," Max murmured, feeling the prickling sensation of fate weaving tightly around him.
He reached forward and touched it.
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[Scene: The Forgotten Era – A Memory Projection]
The world vanished.
In its place stood an empire made of crystal spires, stretching into the void of space itself. Golden rivers of Qi replaced roads. Immortals walked side by side with beasts of thought and flame.
This was not a memory of a man.
It was the memory of a will—a sentient era itself.
A voice resonated, deep and melancholic.
"We were the Origin Flame—first to rise, last to fall. We forged paths through stars, not for power… but to escape the Void."
The vision shifted.
A man cloaked in radiant white stood before an empty cosmos. He raised a scroll and wrote laws into the fabric of existence.
Max's eyes widened.
"That's… that's the first cultivator?"
Lian Yue nodded, stunned.
"The Primordial Ascendant… this is his memory."
"But we were not the only ones who sought ascension," the voice continued.
"One of our own opened the gate to the Beyond. In doing so, he shattered balance… and brought forth the Endless Night."
The vision ended.
Max staggered back, heart pounding.
The library was not merely a collection of history.
It was a remnant of will—a memory that refused to be forgotten.
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[Scene: Birth of a New Path – Origin Ascension Spark]
As Max caught his breath, a small flickering flame lit up in his soul.
[You have witnessed a Truth from Before the Cycle]
[Seed of Origin Ascension: Spark Ignited]
[Path diverges from standard Dao – Law Fusion, Void Resistance, Conceptual Comprehension unlocked]
Lian Yue stared at him, stunned.
"Your aura… it's no longer mortal."
Max looked at his hands — stars flickered in his veins for just a moment.
"I've stepped into something ancient… something I wasn't meant to see."
"It saw you, Max," Lian Yue replied, eyes gleaming. "And it remembered."
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[Scene: External Forces Stir]
Elsewhere in the Sanctum, deep within unseen chambers, ancient bindings cracked.
The Silver Masked Cult, watching through a corrupted crystal interface, erupted in alarm.
"He saw the Primordial Ascendant's will?! That information is restricted even in Heaven's Vaults!"
A shadowed figure in golden chains hissed.
"Send the Soul Binders. If he completes the ignition… we will never stop him."
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[Scene: Conversation and Revelation]
Later, sitting upon a levitating platform overlooking the endless tomes, Max sat in silence.
Lian Yue poured him a cup of spirit tea from a crystalline gourd they had found earlier.
"You said you never knew your parents," she said softly.
He nodded.
"I don't even know if they're alive. But… lately, I've been remembering things I never lived."
She looked at him, curious.
"Like what?"
"A girl. Younger than me. Always crying when I walked away. I remember holding her hand… but I never had a sister. Or did I?"
Lian Yue looked into his eyes.
"Sometimes fate stores memories in blood. Maybe… she's waiting for you to remember."
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[Scene: Closing – A New Door Opens]
The moment felt peaceful.
Until a crack split the air in the distance.
Another door in the library opened, this one of black starlight and silence.
Words carved into it glowed faintly:
"Enter, and know why the sky forgot your name."
Max stood, his expression unreadable.
"We're going deeper."
Lian Yue nodded, tightening her grip on her spear.
"Together."
Behind them, the memory crystal they had first touched… shattered.
And across the sanctum, dozens more began to glow.
The Library had awoken.
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End of Chapter 15