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[Scene: Descent into the Sealed Origin Library]
The starlight elevator hummed faintly as it lowered Max and Lian Yue into the unknown. The walls shifted from crystalline reflections to a smooth, obsidian hue etched with glowing, primordial runes. Every passing second felt heavier—as though time moved slower here.
Lian Yue whispered, "I can feel… something watching us."
Max's Origin Eyes flickered faintly, but couldn't pierce the veil entirely.
"Whatever's sealed in here… it wasn't meant to be opened lightly."
As they reached the bottom, the elevator dissolved beneath their feet. They stood before a vast circular chamber, its walls layered with concentric rings—each ring engraved with untranslated cultivation scripts glowing faint blue.
At the center, suspended in mid-air, was a giant crystalline monolith, cracked down the middle, leaking memories like mist.
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[Scene: The Whispering Crystal]
As Max approached, a voice echoed not in his ears—but in his mind.
"This… is the Archive of Echoes."
The moment his hand touched the crystal, his Origin Eyes pulsed violently—he stumbled forward as the world fractured.
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[Scene: Vision I – The Betrayer]
Max found himself standing in another man's body. Tall, with long white hair, draped in black robes laced with silver runes.
He was mid-battle. Screams rang around him. Blood soaked the air.
Before him stood a familiar sigil—the Silver Thread Cult's emblem, but aged, distorted, like a prototype.
"You were meant to protect it, Jin Zhen!" a voice roared.
Max—no, Jin Zhen—looked to his bloodied hands. In them was a scroll, ancient and burning.
"I chose truth over blind servitude."
He raised his hand—and burned the scroll.
"May Origin forgive me."
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[Scene: Vision II – The Starborn Pact]
The next moment, Max stood beneath three moons, amidst a gathering of shadowed figures. All wore robes of different realms—Ascension, Sovereign, even some unfamiliar ones beyond comprehension.
A pact was being forged—a covenant of suppression.
"We seal the Origin Path. Too many have lost themselves to its truth."
"It will remain hidden until one born of contradiction and clarity walks the cycle anew."
Max whispered, confused, "Is that… me?"
"You are not the first," a voice responded in his mind. "But you may be the last."
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[Scene: Return to Reality]
He gasped—collapsing to his knees as he was pulled back into his own body. Lian Yue steadied him, her face pale.
"You… disappeared," she whispered. "Your eyes—your entire presence shifted. What did you see?"
Max clutched his head. "A betrayal. A sealing. And… a prophecy, maybe. I saw something that hints the Origin Path was once open to all, before it was deliberately locked away."
Lian Yue's voice trembled. "And the cult?"
Max looked toward the crystal. "They were involved… maybe even born from those who tried to erase the path. We're not just fighting a cult, Lian. We're chasing the truth they buried."
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[Scene: The Echo Awakens]
Before they could speak further, the monolith shuddered. The crack widened. The mist coalesced into a shape—a guardian formed of fractured echoes, shifting between forms with every breath.
It spoke in layered voices—male, female, ancient, young:
"You have seen the truth. Now… prove you are worthy of it."
"Begin… the Echoes of Truth Trial."
Max's fan snapped open. "Here we go."
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#### System Notification ####
[Trial Initiated: Echoes of Truth]
[Objective: Survive the Past That Isn't Yours]
[Reward: Partial Unlock - Origin Layer Two | Echo Memory Fragment]
[Warning: Failure will erase the truth from your soul.]
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End of Chapter 19