The mountains were silent.
Too silent.
Kael stared at the figures standing across the valley.
Dozens of black-robed cultivators surrounded the path.
Their presence pressed against him like an invisible wall.
Kael's fingers tightened.
“Master...”
Jian stepped in front of him.
“Don't panic.”
“That's easy for you to say.”
Jian glanced back.
“You've just awakened your cultivation. Your instincts are going to be sharper than before.”
Kael looked at the enemy.
“How many can you defeat?”
Jian was silent.
That silence was enough.
Kael swallowed.
“Not all of them.”
“No.”
Jian lowered his sword.
“Which means we don't fight all of them.”
The masked figure on the cliff raised his hand.
“Capture the boy.”
The black-robed cultivators moved.
Jian's eyes became cold.
“Kael.”
“Yes?”
“When I tell you to run—”
“I know.”
“Don't look back.”
Kael nodded.
The first enemy rushed forward.
Jian stepped forward.
BOOM!
A wave of sword energy exploded through the valley.
Several cultivators were thrown backward.
“NOW!”
Kael ran.
He sprinted through the narrow passage between the rocks.
His lungs burned.
Behind him, the sound of weapons crashing echoed through the mountains.
Clang!
BOOM!
Kael didn't turn around.
Jian had told him not to.
He kept running.
But something bothered him.
The golden warmth inside his body was becoming stronger.
Every step seemed to draw more energy into his muscles.
His breathing became smoother.
His legs became lighter.
Is this because of the battle?
Kael suddenly realized something.
The more danger he faced—
the more active the golden energy became.
He didn't know whether that was good or bad.
He didn't have time to find out.
An arrow flew past his ear.
Whoosh!
Kael ducked.
Another arrow struck the rock ahead.
He looked back.
Three cultivators were chasing him.
Their speed was frightening.
Kael pushed his Qi into his legs.
His body accelerated.
But the distance between them continued shrinking.
Too fast.
Kael saw a split in the path ahead.
Left.
Right.
He didn't know which way to go.
Then—
A strange feeling entered his mind.
Left.
Kael immediately turned left.
A sword struck the ground where he had been standing.
BOOM!
The impact sent stones flying.
Kael didn't stop.
He ran deeper into the valley.
A few seconds later, he realized something.
He had never been here before.
Yet the path felt familiar.
The trees.
The rocks.
Even the bend in the mountain.
He knew where they were.
Kael slowed.
How?
Another memory flashed.
A forest.
Different sky.
Different clothes.
But the same mountain.
He saw himself running through it.
Someone was chasing him.
A woman was shouting.
Then—
a blade entered his back.
Kael stumbled.
The vision disappeared.
He grabbed a tree to steady himself.
“Again...”
His breathing became heavy.
“These memories aren't random.”
They were connected.
Somehow.
His previous lives had walked these mountains.
And his current life was following the same path.
A voice suddenly whispered inside his mind.
Not this way.
Kael froze.
The voice was his own.
But older.
Calmer.
Almost tired.
Not this way.
Kael looked ahead.
A cliff blocked the path.
There was nowhere to go.
Behind him, footsteps approached.
Kael clenched his fists.
“You could have told me that earlier.”
Silence.
Then the voice answered.
You never listened before.
Kael's expression changed.
“What does that mean?”
No answer.
The footsteps became louder.
Kael looked around desperately.
Then he noticed something.
A narrow crack between two rocks.
It was barely large enough for a person.
Kael squeezed through.
The moment he entered—
the golden mark appeared on his palm.
A faint golden glow illuminated the darkness.
Kael stared.
The wall in front of him began to move.
Stone shifted.
A hidden passage appeared.
Kael's eyes widened.
“What is this?”
He stepped inside.
The passage descended deep into the mountain.
Behind him, the three cultivators reached the rocks.
One stopped.
“Where did he go?”
Another looked around.
“He couldn't have disappeared.”
The third noticed the narrow crack.
“He went inside.”
They entered.
But after several steps—
the golden light disappeared.
The passage became completely dark.
Kael continued downward.
The air became colder.
His footsteps echoed.
After several minutes, he reached a large underground chamber.
At its center stood a stone platform.
Something was carved into it.
Kael approached.
A single sentence was written across the surface.
He brushed away the dust.
His expression slowly changed.
He could read it.
The words were ancient.
Yet somehow, he understood them immediately.
For the one who returns after death.
Kael stopped breathing.
His heartbeat thundered.
“Returns... after death?”
The golden mark appeared again.
The stone platform began to glow.
Then a second line appeared.
If you are reading this, you have already died seven times.
Kael stepped backward.
“No.”
His head began to hurt.
“No, no, no...”
The memories came rushing back.
A battlefield.
A burning city.
A frozen lake.
A sword.
A mountain.
A woman crying.
Seven different deaths.
Seven different faces.
Seven different lives.
But the same soul.
Him.
Kael dropped to his knees.
He pressed both hands against his head.
“Who am I?”
The chamber remained silent.
Then the stone platform cracked.
A small object rose from beneath it.
A black ring.
Kael stared at it.
He reached toward it.
The moment his fingers touched the ring—
a man's voice echoed through the chamber.
Not the voice inside his mind.
A real voice.
A voice from the ring.
“If you've reached this place...”
Kael froze.
The voice sounded exactly like his own.
“Then the seventh death failed.”
Kael's blood ran cold.
The ring floated into the air.
Golden light spread across the chamber.
A figure slowly appeared above the platform.
It looked like Kael.
But older.
Scarred.
Wearing black armor.
His eyes were exhausted.
Kael stared at him.
“Who are you?”
The figure looked directly at him.
“I'm you.”
Kael's heart stopped.
The older Kael smiled sadly.
“And I'm the reason you keep dying.”
Before Kael could respond—
BOOM!
The chamber shook.
The cultivators had found the entrance.
The older Kael's expression changed.
“We don't have much time.”
Kael stood.
“What do I need to know?”
The older Kael looked toward the entrance.
“Three things.”
His voice became serious.
“First...”
The chamber shook again.
“You must never let the Black Lotus take your blood.”
“Second...”
Cracks spread across the walls.
“Do not trust Jian completely.”
Kael's eyes widened.
“Master?”
The older Kael didn't answer.
“And third...”
The golden mark on Kael's palm burned violently.
The older Kael looked directly into his eyes.
“Whatever happens—”
His image began to disappear.
“Do not awaken the eighth memory.”
The chamber exploded with golden light.
Kael shielded his eyes.
Then everything went dark.
The entrance behind him shattered.
Black-robed cultivators poured into the chamber.
One pointed his sword toward Kael.
“There!”
Kael slowly raised his head.
His eyes were no longer filled with confusion.
They were filled with determination.
He looked at the black ring in his hand.
Then toward the approaching enemies.
Seven lives.
Seven deaths.
One unanswered question.
Why had he been reborn?
Kael clenched the ring.
This time—
he wasn't going to wait for someone else to give him the answer.
He would find it himself.