The Codex stirred. Not in fragments, not in passing whispers, but in a voice that cracked the silence of his mind like thunder rolling through hollow skies.
[Longwei.]
He jolted upright. The room was dark, save for the pale wash of neon light slipping through the blinds. His textbooks lay scattered across the desk, ignored. For nights now, the Codex had pulsed at the edge of his awareness, a presence both unsettling and strangely familiar. But this—this was different. This voice had weight.
“I’m listening,” he whispered, though part of him wished he wasn’t.
The Codex answered with a resonance that made his chest tighten.
[Directive One: Walk the Axis. Guard against fracture. Should the Veil collapse, Earth will burn in silence no more. It will be consumed.]
Longwei’s throat dried. He gripped his knees to steady himself. “Guard against… fracture? What does that even mean? And why me?”
[The Axis is balance. All ways spiral from it. When its ember stirs, resonance must be claimed. You were chosen not for strength, but for silence.]
His lips trembled. “Silence?”
[Silence is foundation. Without silence, flame devours itself. Without silence, paths unravel.]
The words sank deep. He wanted to scoff, to laugh bitterly. Was this really it? Was he chosen not because he was talented or strong, but because he was quiet, unremarkable? But as the thought formed, he felt it—that ember deep within, pulsing steadily as though agreeing with the Codex.
His fists tightened. “Walk the Axis, guard against fracture… but how? I’m just one person.”
[Directive is chain. Chain is path. Path is flame. Walk.]
The final word reverberated in his skull until his breath shook. He lay awake long after, staring at the ceiling, unable to tell if he was shackled or set free.
---
The days that followed blurred. He went through school, sat through lessons, trained at the dojo, but nothing felt the same. The world was tinted with a faint shimmer. He caught it sometimes—the ripple of air at the edge of an alley, the faint distortion around certain people.
When Li Meiyun laughed at something in class, he thought he glimpsed a faint halo of light ripple off her form. When Zhao Ming shoved him after sparring, there was a density to his presence, like iron coiling under the skin. He shook his head each time, muttering that it was exhaustion or imagination. But the Codex was always there, silent but awake, its weight pressing against his mind like a chain across the soul.
By the third evening, Longwei was walking home under the fractured glow of city lights when the air changed. The hum of traffic seemed to hush. The shadows stretched unnaturally long. He slowed, eyes scanning the narrow street.
They emerged from the alley ahead—three figures, faces hidden behind masks painted with crude, shifting sigils. Their movements were too precise, too measured.
The tallest stepped forward. His voice was calm, almost polite. “You have been noticed.”
Longwei’s breath caught. “Noticed? By who?”
“By those who remember Earth’s silence for what it truly is—a prison. You carry resonance. Join us, and we will teach you to break your chains.”
Longwei’s jaw clenched. The word *resonance* struck too close. “And if I refuse?”
The man tilted his head, the mask gleaming faintly in the dark. “Then the silence will not hold you. You will be unmade.”
Behind them, the Veil rippled. For an instant, Longwei saw it again—a black gate towering high, covered in sigils that pulsed faintly with light. His vision blurred, his head throbbed, and when he blinked, it was gone.
The Codex’s voice roared inside him.
[Directive One: Resist corruption. The fracture spreads through them.]
Longwei staggered. He hadn’t chosen yet—hadn’t even decided. But the directive was not a request. It was command. His body moved before thought caught up.
The first masked man lunged, hand outstretched like a claw. Longwei twisted aside, dojo training guiding him, but this time something else stirred. Heat licked through his veins, his muscles igniting with unfamiliar force. His counterstrike lashed out, faster than he’d ever moved. The blow slammed into the man’s chest, sending him stumbling back in shock.
“Impossible…” the figure hissed.
The others surged forward.
Longwei ducked under a strike, pivoted, and lashed out again—but his movements were sloppy, panicked. A fist grazed his temple, another slammed into his ribs. He hit the ground hard, breath knocked from him.
The Codex’s voice cut through the haze.
[Footing unstable. Shift weight. Flow left. Anchor breath.]
His body adjusted almost without thought. His next dodge felt smoother, his stance sharper. Every mistake he made, the Codex reshaped, forging his instincts mid-battle like a blade hammered on an anvil.
Still, fear gnawed at him. These weren’t training partners—they wanted him broken. One kick sent him sprawling against the wall, vision blurring. Blood pooled in his mouth.
He pressed a trembling hand to the ground, teeth gritted. “Codex… why fight them? Why me?”
The answer thundered.
[Because if the fracture consumes Earth, all paths fall.]
The ember in his chest flared. He roared and surged up, his fist blazing with unseen heat. His strike cracked the air itself, slamming one masked figure into the bricks hard enough to leave an imprint.
The remaining two faltered. For the first time, hesitation rippled through their movements.
The leader hissed. “The Tower will rise. You cannot stop it.” His words dripped with certainty, but the tremor in his stance betrayed unease. Then, like smoke caught in the wind, they dissolved into the shadows.
Longwei stood trembling, knuckles raw, chest heaving. His body screamed with pain, but inside—the ember burned hotter, steadier.
The Codex spoke again, its tone calm, implacable.
[Directive One: You have begun walking. Chains will tighten. Flame will grow. Guard the Axis. Guard against fracture.]
Longwei leaned against the wall, breathing hard. His laughter came out broken, part despair, part defiance.
“So this is it,” he whispered. “My path.”
The ember within pulsed once, in silent affirmation.
And though he didn’t know it yet, the reflection he would see next—the reflection chained—was already waiting.
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Axis of Eternity
خيال (فانتازيا)[Discontinued]!! [Dropped] # Axis of Eternity On modern Earth, martial arts is dead. Once revered, it has been reduced to dust in the rush of technology, money, and convenience. But when Jian Longwei-a fallen martial artist, mocked and beaten-awaken...
