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[Scene: Through the Door — A Hall of Concept Fragments]
The moment Max and Lian Yue stepped through the unmarked door, the world warped.
They weren't just in another chamber—they were outside the flow of natural law. Gravity bent unnaturally. The stone beneath their feet pulsed like a heartbeat. Light existed… but it didn't come from any source.
And at the center of it all floated a fragmented altar.
Not one. Many. Dozens.
Each held a piece of something once divine—no full deities, only pieces of memory, emotion, or Concepts.
Pain.
Time.
Silence.
Obedience.
Reversal.
"This is a prison for ideas," Max whispered, mouth dry. "The kind that were… too dangerous to exist."
Lian Yue took a step back.
"This place is cursed. You feel it too, don't you?"
He nodded.
But deep within his Origin Eyes, a flicker sparked—a resonance with one of the shards.
It was a cracked, blackened gemstone floating above a rusted chain coiled like a serpent.
As Max approached, the gemstone pulsed.
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[Scene: Vision of the Forgotten God]
The world around him twisted. A spectral figure rose—its face obscured, its body formed from threads of collapsed timelines and distorted stars. It had no voice, yet its thoughts echoed directly into his soul.
"You… are fractured like me. One who questions the lattice. One who steps outside the pattern."
Max staggered back.
"What… are you?"
"I was once worshipped… before worship required permission. Before laws were law. I was the god of Inverse Order—the one who saw the end before the beginning."
Suddenly, Max saw glimpses:
– A world unraveling itself backward
– Cultivators aging into infants
– Weapons striking before they were drawn
– A being who could cultivate by undoing mistakes instead of refining paths
And then chains. So many chains.
Forged not by mortals, but by Heaven itself.
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[Scene: A Dangerous Offer]
"You have the Origin Eyes. You are already diverging. You do not belong to this era or law. I can give you what they sealed away—if you are willing to carry a piece of me."
Max hesitated.
Suddenly, visions struck him again—a silver-masked figure, watching him from afar, chanting silently with a voice that didn't echo, as if weaving threads of fate already around him.
Max clenched his fists.
"You want me to become like you. But I'm not here to be another fallen god. I'm here to reach the Origin."
The being remained still for a long moment.
Then, it laughed. Not aloud, but through reality itself trembling slightly.
"You cannot reach the Origin… without first learning to defy it."
A tendril of light extended from the shard toward Max.
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[Scene: System Notification]
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#### Origin System: Forbidden Synchronization Alert ####
Name of Concept: "Inverse Order (Sealed Fragment)"
Grade: ??? (Unquantifiable by Heaven's Laws)
Bound Condition: Mental Fortitude above Threshold / Path Divergence above 5%
Warning: Acceptance of this concept may lead to permanent detachment from Heavenly Dao Recognition Systems.
Caution: You are threading a path that cannot be walked back.
Proceed? [Yes] / [No]
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Max took a breath.
"Yes."
⸻
[Scene: Bond Forged — At a Cost]
The shard slammed into his chest.
Agony. Not just physical, but metaphysical.
For a moment, he existed outside time.
He saw himself born, himself dying, himself falling, himself ascending—all in one fractured moment.
When the world settled, he fell to his knees.
Lian Yue caught him, her eyes wide.
"Max! What did you do?"
He looked up at her—his pupils had split slightly, forming a faint infinity symbol.
His Origin Eyes had changed again.
"I didn't just gain power," he whispered. "I gained a contradiction."
⸻
[Scene: Power Update — Origin Eyes Evolution]
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#### Status Update — Origin Eyes [Tier 2 ➝ Tier 2.5: Paradox Layer] ####
New Trait Unlocked
– Passive Analysis of Opponent's Intent BEFORE Action
– Partial Reversal of Minor Injuries during combat once per day
– Ability to View Future-Projected Status of enemies within half-minor-realm above
Passive Risk: Increased attention from Law Anchors
Synchronization with Forbidden Concept detected
New Path Divergence: 8.3%
⸻
Max stood slowly.
"Let's finish exploring this sanctum," he said quietly. "We're running out of time."
⸻
[Scene: Final Warning from the Archive]
As they turned to leave the concept chamber, the voice of the Inverse God whispered one last thought.
"Beware the Silver Threads, Ascender. He who weaves them sees not with eyes, but with intention. And his loom is built upon betrayals yet to come."
Max stopped cold.
The image of the silver-masked cultist returned.
But he said nothing. He only tightened his grip on the fan.
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End of Chapter 17