The dawn after the rain came quiet and slow. Mists clung to the slopes like silk shawls, and dew glimmered on the black wood of the altar. Every beam, every etched rune still held a faint shimmer from the night's blessing.

It was as though heaven itself had laid a hand across the work in reluctant approval, yet Li Wei felt none of the relief that rippled through the clan that morning. Standing upon the altar's lower terrace, he could hear it.

The faint hum beneath the surface, a vibration that did not belong to wood or stone. It was the sound of something listening closely. The mountain no longer slept soundly.

By the time the sun rose, the settlement had gathered for the opening ceremony. Jia Lin's warriors stood at full attention along the perimeter, their silver armor catching the light like fragments of stars.

Mei Yu and her scribes lined the base with talismans bearing the clan's sigil. Ning Xue presided at the center, her white robes edged in scarlet thread. It was a mark of both her purity and sacrifice to the cause, "The Heart of the Mountain," she announced to the gathered people.

"Our efforts have not been in vain as the monument accepted our reverence. Today we consecrate this altar not to mark out dominion, but in remembrance to those who came before, and to the spirit that abides still beneath this peak."

Her voice could be heard from across the valley. The people knelt in unison, murmuring the clan prayers. Incense smoke spiraled upward, mingling with the rising warmth of the day.

Li Wei watched silently from the steps, his hands clasped behind his back. Every humble gesture, every voice, filled him with both calm and unease. The altar is a door, he had said last night. And now, he could feel the door's latch begin to turn.

When the first prayer concluded, Mei Yu stepped forward carrying a small basin filled with clear mountain water. She poured it into the carved bowl at the altar's summit, it was the very same basin that had once been a medium for the spirits of the mountain.

As the liquid touched the hollow, it shimmered and deepened, turning from clear to a faint silver hue. The surface rippled, and an image began to form.

These were not of faces this time, but of fragile light. Shapes coalesced like smoke folding upon itself, forming the outline of a single, massive figure kneeling beneath a canopy of stars.

"Heavens…" Gasps broke from the crowd.

The image's eyes opened they were pale, endless, and sorrowful. A voice, neither male nor female, rose from the basin. It was the same voice that had spoken to Li Wei in the fissure. "You remember." The words rippled through the air like waves upon a still lake.

Ning Xue dropped to one knee. "Great spirit of the mountain, we remember and honor you. Our lives and labor are yours to guide. May this altar bind us in peace."

The figure tilted its head slightly, its expression unreadable. "Peace is a covenant of equals. Yet I can feel the fear and pride among you. Tell me, what is it that mortals seek when they raise stone to the sky?"

Li Wei stepped forward. "We seek residence… a shelter," he said. His tone was calm, but the power behind his words vibrated through the altar's veins. "A place where memory endures longer than woe. We offer what remains of us to you in fealty."

The spirit's gaze fixed upon him. "Fealty… so be it. The mountain will give you leeway. But will you do the same?" The wind shifted suddenly, turning sharp and cold. The incense fires guttered, and the surface of the basin darkened to obsidian. A low rumble stirred beneath their feet.

Jia Lin barked a command, and her warriors steadied their stance. "Hold your ground! No one must falter here!"

Li Wei raised a hand to still them. "Be still. This is not the true wrath of the spirit, it is merely awakening from a deep slumber."

He stepped closer to the basin. "What is that you ask of us, old one?" The young master was still the way point that the Liu clan used to weather these times of strife, thus he positioned himself before the pylon bearing the dish.

The voice returned, layered with echoes like countless throats speaking as one. "If you would dwell upon my bones, you must first honor the debt of the land. For what is taken must one day be returned. Show me the weight of your offering." The altar pulsed once, then again.

The silver light from the basin spread along the runes carved into the ebony wood, tracing the entire structure with a web of living energy. Li Wei's eyes narrowed. "You wish to test our bottom line?"

The ground beneath them trembled.

"That is the case ," the spirit whispered. "Are you able to back your words with action, or are the things that have been promised merely smoke and mirrors."

Suddenly, the light erupted outward, engulfing them all. Every incubate within the valley could hardly process the events occurring around them, Li Wei blinked into focused and found himself standing in another subspace.

The air was littered with mist and fragmented memories. Endless plains of black marble stretched before him, veined with glowing rivers of molten qi. Young Master Wei could barely gain his bearings as the temperature around him began to soar, as the sky above was filled with drifting constellations.

He was startled to see the reflections mirrored perfectly beneath his feet, as though he stood between two twilight floors. Around him, some of the others had appeared as well. Ning Xue, Mei Yu, Jia Lin, and about a dozen others. But they were scattered across the expanse, each isolated by shimmering veils of energy.

"An illusion realm," Mei Yu's voice echoed faintly through the mist. "The altar has drawn us into the core formation that governs this world"

"It is not merely an illusion," Li Wei corrected softly. "A disjointed memory. The remnant recollections of the events that had transpired."

The voice of the spirit boomed across the expanse. "Witness, children of dust. Before there was stone, there was fire. Before there was peace, there was hunger. You wish to rebuild and prosper, but providence demands sacrilege."

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