The breath of the trial realm shifted.
The air around Markandeya grew denser, as if laced with silent warnings. The false forest within the Outer Layer of the Beast Realm dimmed, its silver-tinted foliage trembling with unseen motion. His instincts prickled, and even the Pulse of his Spiral Qi slowed as if listening.
> [System Notification: Trial Phase Two Initiated] Mode: Predator Sequence Objectives: Survive and Analyze Optional: Tame or Evade Named Beast
A ripple passed through the underbrush. Not a sound, but a vibration that hummed across Markandeya's proto-inner realm like a warning bell. He lowered into a crouch, eyes narrowing.
"A Named Beast... in the Outer Layer? That shouldn't be possible unless something changed the sequence."
He tapped into his Fire Spiral Qi, circulating it in calm waves around his chakra nodes. The core trembled, but held.
His breath slowed.
That's when he felt it.
A gaze—cold, primal, old. Watching him.
The shadows of the trees lengthened unnaturally. Vines curled in reverse. Dew evaporated into upward streams. He stepped back instinctively.
Then came the sound.
Not a roar.
Not a growl.
A chant.
Low, guttural, ancient—the tongue of beasts before language. A vocal rune that spoke directly to the beast soul.
> [Warning: You are being marked by a Named Beast: Varnak, Hollow-born Tyrant] Type: Beast-Willed Entity Trait Cluster: Void Resonance, Memory Eater, Anti-Spiral Field
Markandeya stood frozen.
His system pulsed in panic. His chakra nearly ruptured.
"An Anti-Spiral Field? That disrupts my cultivation core."
The trees split open. From the center of the grove emerged a massive creature draped in tattered vines, its face hidden beneath a boneplate mask with seven unblinking eyes. Its limbs cracked like dry branches, but it moved with terrifying grace.
It did not roar.
It spoke.
"Child of Spiral Flame. Branded by karmic fracture. Do you remember the pact you broke?"
Markandeya's heart stopped.
He remembered nothing of such a pact.
> [Fragmented Memory Resurfaced: The Fracture of Veilglass] You once denied a covenant to a dying realm.
"Was that in a past life? Or... was that memory mine?"
The beast lunged.
Markandeya dodged just in time, rolling beneath its massive claws and flaring a burst of Spiral Qi backward. The attack passed through the beast's cloak—its form wavered, not truly physical.
A projection? No. Something else. Something between memory and beast.
> [System Alert: You have entered a Memory-Drenched Zone] Combat operates under Conceptual Rule: Emotional Echo
He would have to fight it with more than just strength.
He reached into his inner realm, not for power—but for memory.
The spiral of fire dimmed.
Instead, the glimmer of the Silver Wind Lotus emerged.
A forgotten memory.
A girl's laughter beneath a shattered moon.
A promise he made.
A truth he buried.
The beast faltered.
> [Emotional Echo Triggered: Memory of Oathlight Bloom (Rank: Minor)] Beast Response: Weakness Exposed - Upper Chest (False Core)
Markandeya didn't wait.
He ignited his spiral, overclocking it in two short bursts. His feet skimmed the roots. In one swift motion, he charged forward, struck with the heel of his palm—aimed precisely at the exposed weak point.
The beast shrieked—but it sounded more like a weeping echo than pain.
Its form unraveled.
Dissolving not into blood, but into memories. Flickers of dead forests, voices speaking in lost tongues, laughter of extinct tribes.
> [Named Beast Memory Fragment Secured: Varnak's Hollow Mask (Corrupted)] Trait Gained: Hollow Insight – Ability to perceive lies in spiritual intent. New Ability Unlocked: Memory Shard Meditation
Markandeya collapsed to his knees.
Sweating. Breathing. Alive.
But different.
His inner realm had changed. The Lotus bloomed larger. The flames steadier. And among them, a mask floated.
The Hollow Mask.
> [Trait Progression Noted: Evolution Path - Spiral Dreamwalker Initiated]
He blinked.
"What the hell is that path?"
The system didn't answer.
Instead, a voice echoed from the chat feed he barely noticed had returned:
[System Group: Initiates of Faith Galaxy - Tier 0 Clearance] User: ZhaolinTheThirteenth: "Who just cleared a Named Beast on the Outer Edge? That wasn't supposed to spawn."
User: SilverMonk72: "That location's glitched. If you triggered Varnak, you just pulled half the realm's attention. RIP, bro."
User: WhisperingRoot: *"...Whoever did that. The old beasts remember you now."
Markandeya exhaled, stood, and pulled the corrupted mask into his flame.
He didn't care if the realm remembered.
He would survive it.
He would rewrite it.
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