Chapter Five: The Shadow Arrives First

They were an army of discarded choices. The gate produced a copper token marked ZERO. When Cheng touched it, Zero's memories entered him: caring for Mother, attending her appointments, apologizing to Xu Man. Every duty he fulfilled made the city accept him more completely. Then the vision broke. Every Daocuan tower cast its shadow toward the Linchuan Archives. Shen Jing's phone lit. “Wait for me.” The sixth rule appeared: BEFORE REACHING THE ARCHIVES, SPEAK NO SHARED MEMORY. ANY MEMORY SPOKEN BELONGS TO THE FIRST PERSON WHO HEARS IT. Zero's voice emerged from the gate. “Mom is filing a death certificate there. Yours.”