The black jade gate loomed behind Mei-Ling, its starlit depths humming with the pulse of the Celestial Loom. The Lantern of Eternal Regret hovered at her side, its indigo flame casting jagged shadows across the plateau. Lin-Xi stood before her, the Obsidian Clan warrior's black-scaled armor glinting like a night river, her jian sword drawn and steady. The air crackled with the tension of the Night of Shattered Veils, the boundary between worlds so thin Mei-Ling could feel the spirits' gaze prickling her skin.
"Last chance, Wu girl," Lin-Xi said, her voice sharp as her blade. "The pendant, or your life."
Mei-Ling's fingers tightened around the bamboo flute, her mother's jade pendant pulsing against her chest. Yue-Xin, the Keeper of the Loom's Gate, stood silently by the gate, her silver-threaded robes shimmering, her expression unreadable. Mei-Ling didn't know if Yue-Xin would intervene, but she couldn't rely on anyone else—not now, with the temple's secrets so close.
"I'm not giving you anything," Mei-Ling said, raising the flute to her lips. She played a single, piercing note, and the air shimmered, peach blossoms from the valley below spiraling upward as if summoned. They swirled around her, a delicate shield against Lin-Xi's advance.
Lin-Xi sneered, her sword slicing through the blossoms with a flash of steel. "Your tricks won't save you." She lunged, her movements fluid as a crane's dance, the jian aiming for Mei-Ling's heart.
Mei-Ling dodged, her body moving instinctively, as if the pendant guided her steps. She played a rapid series of notes, each one sharper than the last, and the blossoms tightened into a vortex, forcing Lin-Xi back. The lantern flared, its light weaving into the melody, and the ground trembled, cracks spiderwebbing across the plateau. Mei-Ling felt the flute's power surge through her, a song of defiance her mother had woven into her blood.
Lin-Xi recovered, her sword spinning in a deadly arc. "You're no match for the Court of the Azure Star!" she shouted, slashing through the vortex. A gust of wind followed her strike, unnatural and cold, carrying whispers of celestial chants. Mei-Ling stumbled, the pendant burning hot against her skin. For a moment, she saw a vision: her mother, facing a warrior in silver robes, her flute raised as threads of light unraveled around her.
The memory snapped Mei-Ling back to the present. She ducked under Lin-Xi's blade, rolling toward the gate. "Yue-Xin!" she called. "If you guard the Loom, help me!"
Yue-Xin's obsidian eyes flickered, but she remained still, her staff's orb spinning slowly. "The Weaver's Trial is yours alone. The Loom chooses its weaver, not I."
Lin-Xi laughed, a harsh sound. "The Court will have the pendant, and the Loom will bend to us." She lunged again, but Mei-Ling played a new melody, one she hadn't known until now—wild and fierce, like a dragon's roar. The lantern's flame exploded into a cascade of light, and the cracks in the plateau widened, revealing threads of starlight beneath, pulsing like veins.
Lin-Xi faltered, her sword wavering as the threads rose, wrapping around her ankles like silken chains. "What is this?" she hissed, hacking at them, but the threads tightened, glowing with the same indigo as the lantern.
Mei-Ling's hands shook, but she kept playing, the flute's notes weaving with the threads. The pendant glowed brighter, and she felt a pull, as if the Loom itself called her. "This is my family's legacy," she said, her voice steady despite the chaos. "Not yours."
Lin-Xi roared, breaking free of the threads with a burst of energy that sent a shockwave across the plateau. She charged, her sword aimed at Mei-Ling's throat. But the lantern moved, faster than thought, its flame erupting into a wall of light that blocked the strike. Lin-Xi staggered back, her armor scorched, her face twisted with rage.
"Enough!" Yue-Xin's voice cut through the air like a bell. She struck her staff against the ground, and the threads beneath the plateau surged, binding Lin-Xi's arms and legs. "The Loom has chosen. You are not its weaver."
Lin-Xi struggled, her eyes blazing. "The Court will destroy you all for this!"
Yue-Xin ignored her, turning to Mei-Ling. "Enter the temple, child of Wu. The Night of Shattered Veils is at its peak, and the Loom awaits. But know this: what you find may unravel more than you seek to mend."
Mei-Ling nodded, her breath ragged. She glanced at Lin-Xi, now bound by the starlit threads, then at the lantern, its flame steady and bright. The gate's cavern yawned before her, its starlight threads pulsing with a rhythm that matched her heartbeat. She stepped forward, the flute and pendant her only anchors, and descended into the Temple of Unseen Threads.
As she crossed the threshold, a whisper filled the air—not her mother's voice, but something older, vast as the sky. "Weave or be woven," it said, and the gate closed behind her, sealing her fate.