Six AM. My eyes popped open.
Same rough blanket. Same stale air.
Loop twenty-one.
The ghost pain of the spider bite clung to my neck, a haunting reminder of yesterday’s death. No time to feel scared. No time to freak out. Just move.
I was out of the bunk before the first light touched the dusty windowsills. The barracks were silent, most guards still asleep. I moved quietly, my steps soft on the old wooden floor.
First stop, the training yard. The cold, hard ground bit into my feet as I got into position. Two full hours. Nine Cycles Qi Method. Push, cycle, refine. The Qi moved better now, less like thick mud, more like a strong stream cutting its way through. Not Stage 2 yet, but the heat in my core was real, a quiet fire ready to blaze. I felt so close.
My muscles ached, but it was a good pain, a sign I was getting stronger. Every loop, I pushed more, held on longer. This time, the goal felt so near.
At eight, I stopped. No wasting time. I slipped through the waking city streets, knowing the alleys like the back of my hand. Twenty loops taught me the secret paths, the shortcuts, the spots the Guard patrols skipped.
I hit the 'Ragged Coin' district, a mess of shaky stalls pressed against the outer city wall. It stank of old spices and hopelessness. I found the stall from a past loop, run by a creepy guy with dirty fingers.
“Ant(TBC)Antidote,” I said, voice low. “Spider Bite. Common grade.”
He looked at me, then shrugged, pulling a small, badly sealed vial from under the counter. “Three silvers.”
I dropped the coins on the rough wood. Money I’d saved from past loops, picking up loose change, selling a tossed-aside belt buckle I knew would be there. Three silvers was a small price for avoiding yesterday’s torture. I tucked the vial safe inside my tunic.
Back to the South Gate. Nine AM. Shift change. The routine was like second nature now. Stand tall, watch the gate, ignore the boredom. But even standing still, I was training. I worked on tiny Qi control, moving energy through my body, feeling its path, trying to stretch my senses just a bit more.
Jin Kai showed up, full of his usual smugness. He strutted to his post, but his eyes stayed on me longer than normal. He walked over, acting like he was checking the gate mechanism.
“Still here, Wen?” he said, not looking right at me. “Thought you might have tripped into a ditch.” He stopped, then his eyes narrowed, scanning me. A small frown appeared. “Your stance… it’s not as bad as usual. Trying something new?”
I kept my face blank, eyes straight ahead. “Just following rules, Young Master Jin.”
His frown grew a bit before he snorted and turned away. Suspicion. Fine. Let him wonder. It wouldn’t matter soon.
Eleven-thirty. The sun was high. The quiet before the noon rush. My window.
I slipped off, unseen, unheard. Up the crates, onto the drainpipe, pulling myself to the familiar dusty rooftop. My safe spot. My training space.
This was it. I felt the pressure growing inside, the result of twenty loops of hard work. I didn’t just cycle my Qi this time. I moved. Flowing Water Sword forms, not with a blade, but in my mind, picturing every strike, block, and cut while pushing my Qi through the Nine Cycles.
My body shook. Sweat stung my eyes. The Qi spun, faster and faster, hitting a wall inside me. It felt like smashing into rock. But I didn’t stop. I pushed harder, throwing every bit of focus, every drop of will into it. The memory of death, the anger, the need, I poured it all into this moment.
Crack.
A silent break echoed in me. The wall shattered. Energy rushed through, warm and strong, washing away the strain, filling my body with a pure, powerful flow. My senses got sharper. The world looked brighter, clearer. The dust floating in the air, the far-off yells from the street, the faint buzz of the gate array below, it all hit me stronger.
Stage Two Qi Condensation. At last!
A rush of pure joy hit me. A light, dizzy feeling filled my chest. I did it. Against the heavy weight of the loop, I climbed higher.
It was 11:55 AM.
In that high of victory, floating on my breakthrough, voices drifted up from the street below. Two guards, rushing by.
“…told Elder Mei the shipment has to be secured,” one said, sounding worried. “That cursed Void Salt shipment must get here before noon shift change, or we’re done for.”
Void Salt? The name caught in my newly sharp mind. Important. Dangerous.
Before I could think it through, pain blasted through my neck. Sharp. Burning. Unbearable.
My hand shot up, fingers brushing cold, thin metal. A needle. Sticking out of my skin. Poison.
My vision blurred. The world spun hard. The new strength of Stage 2 Qi felt like it was being torn away, melting into pain. My legs gave out. I fell onto the rooftop, gasping, my throat tightening.
Through fuzzy eyes, I looked across the rooftops, searching for who did this. My gaze caught a figure, outlined against the sky on a far building. An old man, holding a small notebook, his face calm, cold.
Master Jian.
He was watching me. Watching me die. Again.
The darkness swept in, swallowing the pain, the victory, the questions. Swallowing it all.
Reset.
