Bureau of Strange Affairs – Level 7 Experimental Soul Lab
Lu Feng stood alone in the center of a massive soul array, illuminated by lines of energy and ancient runes.
A circular formation beneath his feet rotated slowly, constructed of over a hundred interconnected spiritual pathways.
At the heart of the array glowed a new symbol—unlike anything seen before:
Fate · Diagram · Formula One – "Observation."
Unlike conventional formations powered by spiritual force and guided by soul-chains, this construct was different.
It operated on something more profound:
Memory as the axis.Self-awareness as the center.Past and future choices as coordinates.
"You're really doing this?"Chen Xi's voice trembled as she stood outside the boundary. "Your mental state still hasn't stabilized. If you misalign even one node, the array could collapse your consciousness."
"I know."
Zhao Ting's voice was grim. "You realize the new Director is watching everything you do."
"That's why," Lu Feng replied, "I have to finish this before they do."
"They want to use what we built to control the Gray Domain.But I'm going to use their rules—to take control of myself."
He sat cross-legged, hands pressed to the stone.
"Fate Diagram – Phase One: Load personal memory structure."
Brilliant light surged outward.
Suddenly, Lu Feng stood within a sphere of shifting images.
Versions of himself:The student.The scared recruit.The man who never met Kaelin.The man who let her die.
Fragments of Kaelin:A teacher in another life.A stranger on a passing train.A Bureau officer who never crossed his path.
"This is fate?"
"No," he whispered."This is choice."
He cut his palm. Blood fell into the center node.
"Fate Diagram – Phase Two: Timeline Divergence."
The room shook.
A glowing thread of Kaelin's presence appeared—but in the future.
In this projection, Kaelin had been consumed by Gray Domain protocol.Her memories wiped.Her identity rewritten.
She was no longer Kaelin—but a vessel.
Lu Feng's eyes narrowed.
"I won't accept that future."
He pressed both hands to the array.
"Final Phase – Fate Diagram: Recall the Heart."
A surge of light erupted from the core.
Kaelin's spiritual frequency flared to life above the array.
The fragment of her identity—memories, choices, her heartbeat when she first reached for him—all reconstructed.
This wasn't a soul-bond.
This was something deeper.
An evolved model:
Mirrored Spirit Imprint – "Voluntary Synchronization Without Chain."
Chen Xi whispered, stunned:"He… used memory structures to rebuild her fate node?"
Zhao Ting murmured:"He's no longer just a subject.He's becoming a rewrite agent."
Meanwhile – Deep Within the Gray Domain
A data tower flickered to life.
"Fate Path #15 activated.""Variable confirmed.""Counter-measures initiated."
A familiar face appeared in the tower's interface:
Lou Siquan.
And in his pupils—the symbol of the Domain burned:
The Watcher.