The Return Undeserved

They moved before dawn.

No fanfare, no light. Just five silhouettes against a pale wasteland.

Su carried supplies and scrolls, one hand never straying too far from her belt-sheathed knife.

Shen Yan led, sword strapped to his back, his one remaining arm expertly balanced as he traced terrain with the ease of a predator.

Xue Yiran glided in silence, cloak dancing behind her, frost-laced eyes sharp and unreadable.

Camellya walked behind them all, fingers glowing faintly, scanning the air for any magical interference.

And Jin Mu…

Jin Mu walked in the center—both hands pocketed, both Pathways pulsing beneath his skin.

They were headed northwest—toward the ancient ruins of Velthram.

A once-sacred city long buried under time and corruption. Whispers claimed that deep below its broken sanctuaries were fragments—slivers of broken Sequences—shards of Pathways too unstable, too alien, or too heretical to be included in the Codex of 72.

And Camellya had reason to believe some of those remnants responded to Jin's Bifurcated Seed.

That made their journey urgent. But it also made them hunted.

Midway through the jagged canyon trail, Shen stopped.

He dropped low.

"Hold."

Jin, Camellya, and Su followed instantly.

Xue scoffed, but crouched beside a slanted rock. "You sense something?"

Shen nodded.

Then threw a rock down the path.

It vanished midair—no sound, no impact.

Camellya stepped forward and waved her hand. Sigils peeled the air open like glass.

A shimmering veil rippled across the pass.

A mirror-field trap.

"That's Concord tech," she muttered. "High-level. Supposed to be forbidden."

Xue's expression darkened. "Then they know where we're headed."

Before Camellya could dispel it fully, a voice rang out from the cliffs.

"Don't bother."

Five figures stepped from the canyon walls—cloaked, masked, and armed with sequence-bound weaponry.

And behind them, descending the cliff with controlled grace, was a man clad in white and gold.

Elegant. Thin. A silver monocle shimmered on one eye. His smile was patient.

"Jin Mu," the man said, "Regressor. Or should I say—Regression-Anchor?"

The camp froze.

Jin's pupils narrowed.

"How do you know that term?"

The man bowed with aristocratic flair.

"I am Veylen Cadun. Executive-Handler of Internal History for the Concord Tribunal. You could say… I clean timelines when they misbehave."

Camellya's face turned cold. "You're from the Temporal Audit Department."

"Indeed." Veylen smiled. "And you, Jin Mu, are a problem that doesn't fit."

Xue drew her blade.

Shen readied his stance.

Su clenched her jaw.

Jin Mu simply straightened.

"You're early," he said. "I was expecting your kind after the Tribunal ruling."

Veylen chuckled. "Yes, yes. But let's skip all that. You've interfered with a sealed causality. Worse—you've become a dual-Pathway anomaly. And Velthram… is off-limits."

Without warning—

Veylen vanished.

And reappeared midair, above Jin Mu.

"Time Carve: Second Dissonance!"

A sliver of time warped around Jin's neck.

Camellya reacted faster than humanly possible.

"Dispel—Twilight Halo!"

She collapsed the surrounding arcane field, shattering the pocket dimension just as Veylen's blade touched Jin's skin.

Xue and Shen struck in tandem.

"Lotus Fang—Ice Spiral!"

"Sword Arc—Descending Star!"

Their attacks converged—but Veylen stepped backward in time, simply not being there.

Jin Mu exhaled slowly.

Then stepped forward.

His hand swept in a slow circle.

"Distortion—Law of Axis."

The cliff tilted.

Reality curved.

Two of Veylen's bodyguards were flung sideways, screaming as gravity betrayed them.

Su surged forward, blade flashing.

"Phoenix Quill—Seven Cuts!"

Veylen caught her wrist with effortless grace. "Impressive," he whispered.

Then he twisted space—and flung her against the canyon wall.

She hit hard.

Jin snapped.

"Split Sequence: Grief Branch!"

Roots exploded from his shadow, dragging Veylen's feet into the stone.

"Now!" he barked.

Xue and Shen didn't hesitate.

Camellya whispered:

"Ignition Command: Blood of the False Prophet."

Fire licked the air.

Veylen vanished in a blur of golden time-runes, but not before one of Shen's strikes nicked his shoulder.

The monocle shattered.

For a moment, the fight froze.

Veylen touched the wound. Then smiled.

"Ah. Good. You're stronger than last time."

Jin frowned. "What do you mean, last—"

But the man was already stepping back through a slit in time, vanishing.

Only his voice remained:

"The city of Velthram is a grave. And the bones there remember your sins."

Then silence.

The group stood panting.

Camellya helped Su to her feet. "Are you alright?"

Su nodded, bruised but alive.

Xue sheathed her blade. "That man… he's not an ordinary agent."

Shen spit. "He knew too much."

Jin stared at the empty air where Veylen had stood.

"Someone's feeding them information."

Camellya's voice dropped. "Someone inside the Tribunal."

A chill passed through the camp.

Su shivered.

Xue muttered, "Then we're already being hunted."

Jin clenched his fist. "Let them hunt."

They made camp deeper in the canyon.

No one spoke for hours.

The fire crackled quietly. Wounds were tended. Thoughts were grim.

Eventually, Jin sat beside Su. "You okay?"

She nodded, arms wrapped around her knees.

Jin tilted his head.

She glanced at him. "He called you 'Regression-Anchor.' What does that mean?"

He was quiet for a long time.

Then finally answered:

"It means I didn't just go back. It means the world is tethered to me now."

Camellya looked up from her corner. "If he's right… and Jin is the Anchor…"

"Then his death," Xue finished, "breaks everything."