THE REAL PROTEGE

The puzzles escalated — not just riddles, but memory triggers, elemental forgeries, even an illusion of their mother crying in battle that Kim Kim had to identify as false.

At one point, Chin Chin had to climb into a narrow crack filled with frozen feathers and retrieve a scroll without disturbing the frost wolves watching from the shadows — not real wolves, but spiritual constructs made to test instinct and silence.

She succeeded.

Kim Kim nearly slipped on her final sigil — a slingshot-shaped emblem that launched an icy gust when incorrectly touched. She winced, her fingers red.

Ling Li stepped forward, eyes calm. "Do not fear damage. Shape it."

Kim Kim steadied her breath, invoked a wind glyph, and used it to redirect the cold, heating the stone from inside.

The puzzle opened.

The snow around the altar melted slightly.

Above, carved in ancient elemental dialect, the trial seal shimmered with approval:

"Those who see truth in illusion and resolve in chill are worthy to walk the frost path."

Shi Min bowed toward the twins.

"You pass. Not for knowledge. For clarity."

That same night, the soft glow of lanterns cast shadows across the polished wooden floors of Ling Li's study, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere. Ling Li, with a look of determination in her eyes, looked up as her son, Shi Min, stepped through the door.

"Mom, you called for me?" Shi Min asked, a hint of curiosity lacing his voice as he settled into the chair opposite her. He brushed a few strands of hair away from his forehead, eager to hear what was on her mind.

"Yes, with everything happening around us, the danger of Enchanted Dale targeting your sisters, and the ongoing search for Solaris, we need to act swiftly," Ling Li began, her tone firm but filled with maternal concern. "I need you to ascend to immortality as soon as possible."

Shi Min "...."

Shi Min's brows furrowed slightly, caught off guard by the gravity of her request.

'Mom makes it sound so easy, like eating peanuts,' he thought, a mixture of admiration and nerves bubbling within him.

"I understand, Mom. I've been stuck at this bottleneck for several years now," he replied, taking a deep breath. "I'll go into seclusion after the opening of the 'Eye.' I want to be there for my sisters to guide them. I don't want them to get carried away by the adrenaline and run riot and end up stupidly trapped in there for two years."

"Hey, hey, who are you calling stupid and wild?" Ling Li said in protest.

"Whoever reacted is," Shi Min replied with a smirk.

Ling Li "...."

Ling Li fell silent, thinking, 'I shouldn't have reacted.' She let out a loud snort to regain her composure.

"That wasn't my fault for getting trapped there! Hmph!" she exclaimed, trying to change the subject to avoid any further embarrassment. She knew she couldn't win against Shi Min when it came to reasoning. 'This kid is too smart!'

"Alright, just remember not to stress too much this time on your ascension," Ling Li reassured him, a gentle smile softening her features. "With the azure bone I have, I'm confident you will succeed. And this time, I truly believe you'll be able to help protect our family."

"Mom, I realized that Paps is now reaching the middle of the fifth level," Shi Min said, his eyes wide with astonishment. "Once he hits the sixth level, he'll be only one step away from immortality! He's ascending faster than Mushu!"

Ling Li chuckled, the sound like music in the cozy room. "Yes, Shinsei always pushes him to practice harder when we're in Naga. I remember how tired your Paps would be at night, often asking for a herbal bath to soothe his muscles."

"Anyway," she continued, leaning forward and focusing on her son, "let's put our attention back to training the twins. Shinsei will arrive the day after tomorrow; he needs to go back to check on the temple's situation."

"Absolutely, I'd be happy to help while Shinsei is still away," Shi Min replied, a sense of resolve igniting within him.

"Alright then," Ling Li said, affectionately waving her hand toward him as a signal to rest. "Go to bed and get some well-deserved rest."

"Mom, what about you?" Shi Min asked, concern lacing his voice as he stood up from the chair. "You should take a break too."

"I've fallen behind on my work these past few days," Ling Li replied, still focused on the papers spread out before her. "I need to sign important documents and catch up on emails. You go to bed first, sweetheart."

Knowing he couldn't change her mind, Shi Min shook his head, a smile playing on his lips as he turned to leave. The warmth of their conversation lingered in the air, and as he exited, he felt a new resolve building within him.

==========

Meanwhile: Enchanted Dale's Ritual of Bloodline Dissection

In the depths of his newly constructed sanctum, fortified with carved soulstone and veined with cursed glass, Enchanted Dale stood shirtless before a sprawl of ancestral glyphs painted in blood. A stone slab dominated the chamber, its surface covered in a single thread of glowing silver — pulled from a ruined seal left behind during Pharsa's spiritual purge.

Enchanted Dale had begun a darker sequence. Severed from aura and discarded by ancestral spirits, he now sought essence in reverse — not through lineage, but through bloodline dissection.

He was dissecting her lineage.

Three skeletal birds circled overhead, each blinking with a different historical echo. As he chanted, the glyphs responded, forming an unholy tapestry of names, origins, and spiritual capabilities. Pharsa's soul had been traced through temple, monk, foster blood — and beneath it all, something still hidden.

But something else sparked beneath his fingers.

A second pulse.

The twins.

Enchanted Dale captured a spiritual imprint fragment left in the ritual space — a thread connected to the twin seal they activated in Russia.

He placed it beneath a dissecting lens stitched from echo shards and soulsteel.

Runes unfolded.

Two names pulsed — not spoken, but felt.

"First Storm… Second Flame…"

He smiled despite the wound on his side.

"We'll see how strong the fire holds when ash clouds form."

He reached for the final ritual blade.