The fire crackled softly.
Zeravon stirred beneath a layer of furs, breath shallow, eyes half-lidded. The warmth of the cave was unlike the cold cliff edge from where he'd fallen. Yet the pain in his body reminded him it hadn't been a dream.
> *I'm still alive...*
Each breath was heavy. His spiritual veins, though healed at the surface, were still damaged deep within. But something pulsed quietly in his core now—not Qi, not essence, but something more **refined**, something **ancient**.
He turned his head slightly.
There she was.
Yueyin.
Sitting near the fire, her hands gently grinding herbs in a mortar. Her expression was calm, unfazed by the silence that blanketed the cave like mist.
"You're awake," she said without looking up.
Zeravon coughed once, his voice hoarse. "Who... are you really?"
She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she dipped her fingers in a small porcelain bowl and walked over to him, placing her hand over his forehead.
A soft cooling sensation spread across his skin.
"Names hold power," she said finally. "But you can call me Yueyin."
Zeravon blinked slowly. The name echoed faintly inside him—not from memory, but like a whisper carried on a breeze he couldn't chase.
> *Why does it feel like I've heard that name before?*
Yueyin leaned back, her violet eyes studying him. "You fell from a cliff. Your body was shattered. Your spirit core cracked. But you're still alive. Why do you think that is?"
He tried to sit up but grimaced.
"I... don't know."
She tilted her head slightly, amused. "Most people would be dead. Even some nascent cultivators couldn't have survived that fall. But you... held on."
Zeravon looked at his hands, faintly trembling. "I didn't want to die."
Yueyin smiled faintly. "That's a good reason."
---
**Outside the Cave – Hours Later**
Mist flowed down from the cliff tops, veiling the landscape in silver. A spirit beast padded silently through the undergrowth but paused at the cave entrance. It sniffed once and quickly backed away.
Yueyin had placed five spiritual markers around the area. Simple for her—complex for most cultivators in the Lower Realm. The cave was hidden, the entry guarded. No one would find them unless she allowed it.
Inside, Zeravon had fallen back into a light sleep. His body still weak, his breathing shallow. But his mind... his mind was stirring.
---
**In the Dreamscape**
There was no throne.
No stars.
No origin.
Just **her**.
A silhouette standing at the edge of a pale lake, veil fluttering, her voice distant.
> "You are not ready yet. But you are walking the path."
Zeravon tried to speak, but the dream wouldn't let him.
> "She will guide you. But she cannot follow."
> "The second name... is near."
Then silence.
---
**When He Woke**
Zeravon opened his eyes to find Yueyin preparing something at the back of the cave. A small array circle was glowing faintly beneath her, marked with unfamiliar sigils.
"You dream even in healing," she said softly.
Zeravon sat up, slower this time, wincing but managing to remain upright. "I saw\... someone. She said the second name is near."
Yueyin didn't turn. "Do you know what that means?"
He shook his head.
"Then forget it. Dreams are fragile bridges. Don't carry them too far or they collapse."
Zeravon frowned, but said nothing more.
---
**Later That Day – In the Quiet of the Cave**
Yueyin approached him with a box carved from moonlight jade. She opened it to reveal a crystal vial filled with pale blue liquid that shimmered faintly.
"This is called Celestial Pulse Elixir," she said. "From the Upper Realm. Not something you can buy or earn in the Lower Realms. Drink it."
Zeravon took the vial, uncertain. "Why are you helping me?"
Yueyin paused.
"Because I owe someone a favor. And because... you're not meant to die yet."
He stared into her eyes.
They were clear. Not warm. Not cold. Just... **knowing**.
He drank the elixir.
It felt like swallowing starlight.
Qi surged through his meridians, gentle at first, then fierce. His body arched slightly from the heat. Spiritual veins trembled, then cleared. Blocked paths reopened. The **core of his being pulsed**.
Yueyin placed her hand on his shoulder. "Focus. Let it guide you. Don't resist."
Zeravon closed his eyes.
He breathed slowly.
And for the first time since arriving in the Lower Realm...
He began to **cultivate**.
---
**At That Same Moment – Far Away in the Sect Grounds**
Disciples whispered.
"He fell. He must be dead."
"No way someone survives the Whispering Deep."
But Instructor Wei stood quietly at the edge of the cliff, eyes narrowed.
> *No corpse. No blood trail. No spiritual residue of death.*
> *He's still alive.*
Wei clenched his fist.
> "But what will he become... when he returns?"
---