The rooftops of the Imperial Capital were a blur of cold slate and silver moonlight. Lin Wei moved with a jagged, supernatural speed that defied his physical fatigue. Every time his boots struck the tiles, a faint violet ripple of Void-Shrouding energy silenced the impact, masking his presence from the guards patrolling the streets below.
But he wasn't just running; he was evolving. The Fragment of the First Key in his chest was no longer a cold weight; it was a rhythmic pulse that synchronized with his heartbeat. For the first time, he didn't feel like he was fighting his own body to balance the fire and ice. The Key was the bridge, the missing component that turned his dual-core friction into a singular, unified force.
"System," he thought, his lungs burning with the sharp, ozone-scented air. "The Prince's essence... the Reverse Siphon I triggered. Did it kill him?"
[Eternal Odyssey System]
Status: First Prince Lin Jue is in 'Spirit Collapse'. He survived, but his foundation is fractured.
Alert: The 'Siphon-Backflow' has caused a city-wide resonance. The Shadow Cult signatures are becoming active.
Points Balance: 50.
Target Detected: A high-density metallic-red signature is closing in from the West District. Distance: 400 meters.
Lin Wei skidded to a halt on the edge of a curved pagoda roof. He didn't need the system to tell him who it was. The air in front of him began to ripple, smelling of wet copper and rotting wood.
Out of the shadows stepped a figure draped in rags that seemed to soak up the moonlight. His skin was a translucent gray, mapped with pulsing red veins that glowed like embers. It was Lin Han. But the man who had betrayed the North was gone; in his place was a hollowed-out vessel for the Shadow, his eyes two pits of parasitic crimson.
"You look well, Wei'er," Lin Han rasped, his voice sounding like two stones grinding together. "Foundation Establishment... a 1-star loser playing at godhood. The Master was right. You are the perfect feast."
"You sold your soul for a red crystal, Han," Lin Wei said, his right hand igniting with a white-hot Phoenix flame while his left hand turned the rooftop beneath him into a sheet of Absolute Ice. "I should have finished you in the North."
"The North is a grave," Lin Han hissed. He didn't draw a sword. He simply opened his mouth, and a swarm of metallic-red locusts, formed from pure corrupted Qi, erupted toward Lin Wei.
Lin Wei didn't retreat. He tapped into the First Key.
"Absolute Equilibrium: Void-Flare!"
He didn't mix the elements in his chest; he projected them simultaneously through the Key. The orange fire and blue ice met mid-air, creating a violet shockwave that didn't just burn the locusts—it erased them from existence.
Lin Han shrieked, his red veins glowing brighter as he lunged. He moved with a twitchy, unnatural speed, his fingers elongated into jagged claws. "You think you're the only one who can change? I am the Prisoner! I am the lock that breaks the Jailer!"
The two collided over the sleeping city. Lin Wei's jade bones rang with every strike. He realized with a jolt of alarm that Lin Han's strength was roughly equivalent to a Late-Stage Foundation expert, bolstered by the unnatural vitality of the Shadow Cult's crystal. Every time their auras touched, the metallic rot tried to climb up Lin Wei's arms, seeking the Seal in his chest.
"System! I need an edge. 50 points isn't enough for a shop item!"
[Emergency Protocol: Passive Skill Unlocked — 'Jailer's Insight'.]
Description: You can now see the 'Stress Fractures' in corrupted Qi.
Analysis: Lin Han's heart is the anchor. Destroy the crystal, destroy the man.
Lin Wei saw it then—a jagged, pulsing point of light behind Lin Han's ribs. It was the "Prisoner" crystal, feeding the traitor's body while slowly hollowing out his organs.
"I'm sorry, Han," Lin Wei whispered, his eyes turning a deep, mournful violet. "But you chose the wrong cage."
Lin Wei took a direct hit to the shoulder, his jade bone cracking under Lin Han's claw, but he didn't flinch. He used the momentum to pull the traitor close. He didn't use the Void. He channeled every ounce of his Absolute Ice into his palm and slammed it directly into Lin Han's chest.
"Freeze the source," Lin Wei commanded.
The Absolute Ice didn't just coat Lin Han; it reached inside him, seeking the heat of the red crystal. The thermal shock was instantaneous. The crystal, unable to handle the sudden drop to absolute zero, shattered into a thousand harmless shards.
Lin Han's eyes cleared for a split second. The red veins vanished, leaving him a pale, dying old man. "The... the Master... is already at the Pass..." he wheezed, falling backward off the roof.
Lin Wei reached out to grab him, but a sudden explosion of green light from the Academy Tower caught his attention. The Spirit Severing observers had broken through his initial distraction. The city was waking up, and the hunt was now a full-scale war.
[Quest Update: The Flight from the Capital.]
[Reward for Neutralizing Lin Han: 200 System Points.]
[Current Balance: 250 Points.]
Lin Wei watched Lin Han's body disappear into the dark alleys below. There was no triumph, only a cold, sharpening resolve. His father's warning about the "Autumn" and the "Master" being at the Pass meant the Ironwood Pass was no longer a sanctuary—it was a trap.
"System," Lin Wei said, his silhouette flickering as the Void-Cloak struggled to stay active. "Calculate the fastest route to the North. And keep the Shop open. I have a feeling I'm going to need a lot more than a mask to get home."
He vanished into the night, a violet ghost fleeing a golden city that was slowly turning red with the coming dawn.