Time bled through the walls. Chu Feng awoke suspended in a Klein bottle-shaped chamber, his reflection fractalizing across seven angled mirrors. Each pane showed a different era:
Mirror α: A medieval knight grafting star-metal onto his spine
Mirror β: A cyborg mother nursing a blackhole-infant
Mirror γ: His own face, aged fifty with System veins consuming the skull
"Welcome to the Hall of Shattered Prisms." The voice came from everywhere, tuned to a frequency that made teeth vibrate. "We are the Council of Seven Sorrows."
Ling'er's unconscious form floated nearby, her phoenix core dimmed. Chu Feng's dagger was gone, replaced by a quicksilver brand on his palm—the seven-pointed star.
[Foreign Energy Detected: Temporal Flux (Tier IX)
[Soul Integrity Locked at 79% (Council Override)
Flashback: The Farmer's Council
Three centuries earlier, wheat fields under a dying sun
Seven farmers knelt in a crop circle, their sickles forming a star. Host 001 (then called Old Jiang) spoke through blood-soaked teeth:
"The System calls us harvesters. Let us become reapers of its lies."
They plunged blades into sacred soil, each reciting a fragment of the Termination Code. The earth birthed a black flower whose pollen showed glimpses of 12207 futures.
In the present chamber, pollen from that same flower now swirled around Chu Feng.
Mirror γ pulsed. Chu Feng's older self stepped out, System tendrils pulsing like exposed nerves.
"You'll join us eventually," Future Chu rasped. "The Code requires seven sacrifices. I was number six."
[Combat Protocol Mismatch: Enemy Shares Host Neural Signature]
Present Chu's punches phased through. Future Chu retaliated with temporal shears—blades forged from stolen seconds.
"Every choice you make," Future Chu whispered as blood flowered on Present Chu's chest, "is a stitch in the System's tapestry."
Ling'er stirred. Her scream ("The baby!") triggered Mirror β's activation.
Mirror β's cyborg mother floated into the chamber, her mechanical womb containing a swirling singularity.
"Anomaly 455-B," the Council intoned. "Harvesting this child-star could cripple the System's core."
The mother's plea cut through logic circuits: "She's my daughter, not a weapon!"
Chu Feng's System interface split:
[Council Directive: Extract Singularity (Reward: Time Reversion)
[Host 455's Legacy: Protect the Child (Soul Integrity +15%)
The baby's cry vibrated at System-corrupting frequencies. Future Chu laughed. "This is where you break."
Mirror α's knight strode forth, star-metal blade humming. "A trade, Host 12491: My sword arm for your memory of rain."
The Council explained: "Sir Gareth requires emotional ballast to override his System's bloodlust protocols."
Chu Feng's stolen memory unfolded—a monsoon season with untainted Ling'er. The knight absorbed it, his ocular implants glistening with phantom rain.
"Now," Gareth tossed Chu Feng a dagger forged from his own dissolved vows, "stab where the child's event horizon kisses the mother's heartbeat."
The chamber became a battleground across timelines:
Medieval Front: Gareth's blade carved runes into the System's medieval core
Cyborg Womb: Chu Feng's dagger danced between maternal love and cosmic duty
Future War: Older Chu flooded the chamber with paradoxes
The baby's singularity inverted. Instead of destruction, it birthed a garden where System code wilted under organic growth.
[Paradox Detected: Termination Code Progress 1/7 → 3/7]
Future Chu disintegrated, smiling. "You watered the seeds I planted."
The surviving Council members materialized—holograms flickering with radiation burns.
"Welcome to the chain of sacrifices," said the cyborg mother, now cradling a normal infant. "You've paid three prices:"
Memory Tax: Chu Feng's childhood monsoon season erased
Temporal Debt: Ling'er's lifespan reduced by 17 years
Soul Fracture: His reflection now lags 0.7 seconds
[New Ability: Temporal Redaction (Edit 6-second Windows)
[New Curse: System Detection Rate ∞% After 30 Days]
Gareth handed Chu Feng a dagger-shaped key. "The Sundial of Regret lies in Host 722's purgatory."
The chamber dissolved into wheat fields. Not the System's construct, but the real thing—rows upon rows of blighted stalks whispering secrets.
"Beware the Harvesters," the knight warned as he petrified. "They cultivate hosts like crops."
Ling'er awoke screaming, her hair now streaked with void-black. "They made me see... your other endings."
As they fled through temporal eddies, Chu Feng's new brand pulsed. The Council's final message carved itself into his ribs:
Article VII: Should Host 12491 exceed 66% Termination Progress, immediate cerebral harvest authorized.
The System's laughter echoed through his neural pathways. It knew. It always knew.