Days blurred. First weeks, then months. The auspicious day crept closer. So did the next Phase.
"You've reached level 10," Xuanmiao said, peering at Kyorin with a thoughtful frown. The boy had become a level 10 Resonator in just eight months since awakening. That was no small feat.
"Hehe, you better start training seriously now, or he might just surpass you, Changli," Xuanmiao teased.
Changli scoffed. Crossed her arms. "I'm level 18. I'll hit 20 soon. Then I'll raise my Union Level, unlock the next Phase, hit 30, then 40—and one day, I'll stand at level 90."
"Union Level? Phase?" Kyorin blinked, confused.
"Ah, right. I haven't explained those yet," Xuanmiao said, scratching his head. "You weren't level 10 before, so it didn't matter. But now? Well, let's just say Union Levels and Phase Levels are… the limits. The chains around a Resonator's growth."
"You need to raise your Union Level along with your Phase if you want to break into higher levels," Xuanmiao said, folding his arms. "And to upgrade your Phase, you'll need ascension materials."
He went on—methodical, almost like a lecture, but not quite. His voice still carried the easy rhythm of someone who'd lived it, not just studied it.
Union Level wasn't like regular leveling. It didn't go up with time or effort alone. No, it required harmony—Resonators growing stronger with their Resonance, not just beside it.
Phase, on the other hand, was more straightforward. Collect the right ascension materials, and you could push it forward.
From level 1 to 10, anyone could progress without worrying about these. But beyond that? You'd hit a wall. To reach level 11 through 20, your Union Level had to hit 10. To break into 21 through 30, Union Level needed to be 20. And so on. It stacked.
"As for Phase," Xuanmiao added, "once you've used the right ascension material, it'll rise naturally."
"But here's the catch—" He raised his finger, signaling how important this information was, "your level won't budge past every tenth threshold unless both your Union and Phase meet the requirements. Only then can you advance. That's the rule."
He let that sink in. No shortcuts. No easy way out.
"So, my Union Level and Phase Level have to be high enough to break past my current limits?" Kyorin asked.
Xuanmiao gave a simple nod. "Exactly."
Kyorin paused. Then, "How do I know which materials I need?"
Xuanmiao smirked. "Who knows? Maybe… ask your Resonance."
A cryptic answer. But it made sense in its own strange way.
Kyorin nodded. "Understood."
"Everyone!"
Xia's voice cut through their training session like a blade. Sharp. Urgent.
She stood at the entrance, eyes steady. "Get ready. We're heading to the mainland. Huanglong awaits."
****
The journey to the mainland? Smooth. Uneventful, even.
But the contrast—jarring.
Hongzhen may have been the ancestral city, rich in spirit and tradition, but the mainland? Huanglong felt like a different world. A utopia of scientific wonder.
Steel veins running through earth and sky. Sleek towers rising above similar ancestral rooftops. Technology wrapped in the skin of simplicity.
"The festival will be held tomorrow at Taoyuan Vale, so I suggest we rest first," said Elder Gui, the sponsor of the trip. He turned to the four—Xuanmiao, Xia, Changli, and Kyorin—and added, "But before that… how about we visit the magistrate?"
"So we're not going to Jinzhou?" Xuanmiao asked.
Gui nodded. "Yes, Grand Resonator Xuanmiao."
Xuanmiao waved it off. "Please, just Xuanmiao is fine."
"Haha, How could I?" Elder Gui laughed, light-hearted but knowing. Mayor Fu had made one thing very clear—Xuanmiao was to be treated with the highest respect.
"Um—" Kyorin raised his hand. Gui turned to him. "Do you know where I can find Dewvetch?"
Gui blinked. "Are you feeling unwell from the journey?"
Kyorin shook his head. "No. It's for my ascension. Resonance told me I need it."
Now it was Xuanmiao's turn to look surprised. "How do you know that?"
Kyorin looked puzzled. "Didn't you tell me to use Resonance?"
"I did," Xuanmiao said, frowning. "But… you're only supposed to sense the correct material when it's placed in front of you."
"Oh, that." Kyorin pulled out a book from his Terminal. "I used Resonance. It pointed me to this plant."
He flipped to a page. Dewvetch.
Silence.
"That's… impossible," Xuanmiao muttered. "Are you sure you're not lying?"
Kyorin tilted his head. "Am I sure I'm not lying? Why would I doubt myself?"
Xuanmiao pursed his lips.
It didn't make sense. But that didn't mean it wasn't real.
"Alright, we'll look for it," Xuanmiao finally said.
"And this too," Kyorin added. He pointed to a faded image in the book—an old, broken mask.
Xuanmiao's eyes narrowed.
Without a warning, he grabbed Kyorin by the shoulders. "Are you serious?"
Everyone tensed at his sudden outburst. But Kyorin only nodded.
Xuanmiao let out a long, tired sigh. He had pointed at the "Mask of Constraint"… the kind worn by Fractidus.
He paused, his fingers curling as they pressed down on Kyorin's skin.
"The Dewvetch is easy. But that mask?" Xuanmiao shook his head. "I don't know if you're lucky or cursed—requiring an easy to find flower and a battle earned mask."
Then he asked, quieter now, "What's the last one?"
"I can draw it," Kyorin said.
Xuanmiao blinked. "It's not in the book?"
Kyorin shook his head.
Xuanmiao's eyes narrowed further. The book Kyorin was holding—he recognized it. It was the latest edition from the Universal Geographic Society, a prestigious body known for its devotion to science, education, and exploration.
Their mission: to understand the world, to map it, to document humanity's march toward a better future.
And truthfully? They were the pioneers. Titans of knowledge and information. Their databanks were vast—though still dwarfed by one other entity.
DEVA.
But no one knew that. No one except DEVA herself and a handful of her close affiliates.
Then, without a word, Kyorin knelt down and began to draw. He etched into the mud with his finger—a small, crude image. It looked like a teardrop, except… there was a face on it. A sorrowful one. Grief carved into the lines.
Xuanmiao stepped back slightly, caught off guard. "I… don't know what that is," he admitted.
He glanced at Elder Gui, but the old man only shook his head. "I don't either."
Then Xuanmiao asked, slower this time, "How did you know about it?"
Kyorin didn't answer. Not with words. Instead, he released a thread of Resonance into the air.
It shimmered.
The strands twisted, danced, took shape—until the image hovered before them. The same tear-faced droplet, now glowing faintly above their heads. Quiet. Mournful.
It was a beautiful display. But Xuanmiao was focused on something else entirely.
The Resonance Energy itself.
It wasn't just energy. It was... refined. Like an instrument. Like a song.
Each strand Kyorin summoned had depth—layers. Xuanmiao counted them instinctively: twenty-one filaments inside a single thread, a single strand was like a Guzheng—A zither, consisting of 21 strings.
They moved in harmony. Flawless synchronicity. And they flowed not just through channels—but through all 108 energy conduits in Kyorin's body.
'I think I've severely underestimated this lad's constitution,' Xuanmiao realized.
Even if Kyorin didn't possess some rare or divine bloodline, his body was as close to perfect as it got. No quirks. No flaws. No unnatural mutations.
Just ideal.
An ideal average Resonator. The kind of body textbooks would use as a baseline—balanced, stable, reliable.
Still, Xuanmiao couldn't shake the skepticism. Kyorin's claims… felt too convenient. But for now, he let it slide. The truth would surface soon enough, especially once they found Dewvetch.
It wasn't rare—just a common medicinal herb. If Kyorin was bluffing, the lie would fall apart fast.
And yet, Kyorin had lied. Just… not about the materials.
It was DEVA who had told him what he needed. She'd whispered the answer without offering proof. No logic. No reasoning. Just trust me. And Kyorin, in his quiet way, had trusted her.
Even so, he wasn't entirely at ease about the last item—The Mournful Tear.
DEVA had told him he'd find it soon. But she'd offered no clue where. Nothing. Just silence, veiled in that same cryptic confidence she always carried. Still, if she kept it secret, he believed she had her reasons.
Meanwhile, far from the bustle of the mainland, DEVA hung in the air—weightless, silent—her spirit sealed in her gourd form. And as she drifted, her thoughts pulled back to that moment.
The day she left Kyorin.
She had traveled through the jagged ridges of Mount Firmament, past snow and sky and silence, until she reached a hidden chamber carved into the mountain's heart. There, she stood before a long, coiled figure—ancient, regal, and still as stone.
A serpentine Long emerged from the mist.
"Greetings, Honorary Mother," it said.
"It's been centuries, Jue," DEVA replied, her voice tinged with memory.
Jue tilted its head, eyes flickering with quiet awareness. It sensed something. A faint bond in the Resonance surrounding her.
"You've found a Resonator," Jue guessed.
DEVA nodded. "I have. But…"
"But what?"
"I'm not sure he's cut out for the job," she confessed.
Jue blinked. "Is he not worthy enough?"
"It's not that," DEVA said softly. "He's worthy. Very. But his requirements for ascension... aren't."
Jue leaned in. "Then what does this Resonator of yours need?"
DEVA let out a mechanical exhaled, despite herself.
"He needs the seed born from a Retroract Rain," she said. "He needs the Mournful Tear."
****
A/N: Hey everyone, I just wanted to be real with you for a second. Lately, I've been feeling like the quality of the chapters is going through a hit-or-miss phase, and honestly… I think it's because I've been writing too much "filler" instead of putting real thought into the flow of the story. It's been hard—sometimes it feels like I'm just stringing together a summary of events instead of crafting something meaningful.
I don't want the story to lose that spark it once had, and I really need your help. If anything in the recent chapters felt off. Whether it's scenes that seemed redundant, pacing that felt weird, or just a general drop in that "crisp" feeling from earlier—please let me know. I genuinely want to make this better, but I can't do it alone. Your feedback means everything right now.
Also,what do you all think about the new cover picture? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it too.