Spiritrun Arena

​The autumn wind carried a faint, metallic hum through the Spirit Pattern Plaza. Lin Ye stood at the edge of the courtyard, his Reverse Scale Core pulsing faintly as he stared at the horizon. The Starlight Flower, now fully bloomed at the base of the Spirit Pattern Tree, glowed softly in the dawn light, its petals swirling with silver and gold like a living nebula.

"Captain," Xiao Tao called, jogging toward him with a tablet in hand. Her shadow crow bells jingled faintly, and her eyes were bright with urgency. "The Spirit Pattern Guild just sent a distress signal. There's a sealed ruin deep in the mountains—the Lighthouse of Echoes. They say it's radiating the same pollution we fought in Dragon Lock Abyss, but… stronger."

Lin Ye took the tablet, his gaze narrowing at the holographic map. The ruin was marked with a red X, surrounded by warnings: "Danger: Temporal Residue" and "Do Not Approach Without a Pure Light Source."

"Yuehuan's seed," he murmured, touching the Starlight Flower. Its petals flinched, as if in response. "It's calling us."

​​The Lighthouse of Echoes​​

The journey to the mountains was swift. The group—Lin Ye, Xiao Tao, Sakura, Zhao Yan, and Grandma Chizuru—traveled in a modified spirit chariot, its engines humming with the power of their combined cores. As they neared the ruin, the air grew thick with a sickly green haze, and the trees lining the path withered, their leaves falling like ash.

"This isn't just pollution," Grandma Chizuru said, her voice grave. "It's… echoes of the past. The same darkness that consumed Yuehuan's world is trying to break through here."

The chariot screeched to a halt at the foot of a cliff. Before them stood the Lighthouse of Echoes—a crumbling stone structure, its once-bright lantern now cracked and oozing black fluid. The entrance was sealed by a massive door, etched with spirit patterns that matched the ones on Lin Ye and Xiao Tao's cores.

"The door's locked by a temporal seal," Zhao Yan said, scanning it with her modified scanner. "Only someone with a 'pure light' can open it. That means…"

"Us," Xiao Tao finished, her hand resting on the Starlight Flower. The flower's petals flared, and the seal began to glow with a soft, golden light.

​​The Echo Chamber​​

Inside the lighthouse, the air felt heavy with time itself. Walls were lined with mirrors, each reflecting not the present, but fragmented glimpses of the past: Yuehuan fighting the Eclipse Beast, Mingyuan tending to wounded soldiers, even a young Xiao Tao (no older than ten) laughing as she chased fireflies in a meadow.

"Atmospheric residue from the past," Sakura said, her tablet recording everything. "It's like… the lighthouse is a prison for lost memories."

The group ventured deeper, their footsteps echoing off the stone walls. At the center of the chamber stood a pedestal, holding a single, flickering lantern—the Lighthouse Core. Its light was dim, as if struggling against the darkness that had seeped into the walls.

"That's it," Lin Ye said, his Reverse Scale Core flaring. "The source of the pollution. It's feeding on the trapped memories."

Xiao Tao approached the lantern, her shadow crow bells singing. The darkness recoiled, but not before a shadowy figure stepped out of the mirrors—a young girl, no older than fifteen, with silver hair and a face that mirrored Xiao Tao's own.

"Xiao Tao?" she whispered. "Is that really you?"

Xiao Tao froze. "Who are you?"

"I'm… you," the girl said, her voice trembling. "The you who never made it here. The you who let the darkness win."

​​The Battle of Memories​​

The shadow-Xiao Tao lunged, her bells chiming with a distorted, discordant tone. Lin Ye reacted instantly, his core erupting in a golden aura that shielded the real Xiao Tao. The two girls clashed—real vs. echo—each strike sending ripples through the chamber's mirrors, shattering fragments of the past.

"You're not me!" real Xiao Tao yelled, her bells blazing silver. "I don't give up. I fight for now!"

The echo-Xiao Tao laughed, her voice hollow. "You will. You'll get tired. You'll lose someone. And then you'll let the darkness in, just like I did."

Lin Ye's Reverse Scale Core pulsed, syncing with Xiao Tao's Shadow Crow Bells. Their twin patterns merged into a star-and-moon motif, their combined light searing through the shadow-Xiao Tao's form. "No," Lin Ye said, his voice firm. "We don't lose. We carry each other's light."

The echo-Xiao Tao shrieked, dissolving into stardust. But before she vanished, she whispered: "She's watching. The one who started it all."

​​The Light That Endures​​

With the echo gone, the Lighthouse Core flared to life, its golden light sweeping through the chamber and dissolving the remaining shadows. The mirrors now reflected only the present: the group, victorious; the Starlight Flower, glowing brighter than ever; and Yuehuan's seed, floating above the core.

Yuehuan's voice echoed from the lantern, warm and proud: "Well done, my loves. You've shown that even the darkest echoes can be silenced by the light of 'now.'"

Xiao Tao approached the core, her hand outstretched. The light wrapped around her fingers, and she felt a surge of energy—Yuehuan's spirit, strong and steady. "Thank you," she said, tears in her eyes. "For everything."

Lin Ye joined her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "She's not just a memory. She's part of us. Of this." He nodded at the Starlight Flower, which now bloomed with a third petal, glowing with the same intensity as their cores.

​​The Journey Ahead​​

As they left the lighthouse, the group was met with a surprise: a fleet of spirit chariots descended from the sky, carrying delegates from the World Spirit Arena. The lead chariot bore a banner emblazoned with the Starlight Flower's symbol.

"Announcement from the Guild," the lead delegate said, bowing deeply. "The World Spirit Arena has declared a new era: the Era of Eternal Now. Your victory at the Lighthouse of Echoes has proven that light, forged in the bonds of now, can overcome any darkness."

Xiao Tao and Lin Ye exchanged a glance, their hands lacing together. "Eternal Now," Xiao Tao murmured. "That sounds… right."

Lin Ye smiled, pressing a kiss to her temple. "It is. Because the sweetest part of all… is the now we share."

​​Epilogue: The Light Unfolding​​

That night, beneath the Spirit Pattern Tree, Lin Ye and Xiao Tao sat together, the Starlight Flower's petals swirling around them. The Lighthouse Core, now placed at the tree's base, glowed softly, casting a warm light over their faces.

"Do you think there's more to come?" Xiao Tao asked, tracing the flower's petals.

Lin Ye nodded. "Probably. But whatever it is… we'll face it together."

He leaned his head on hers, and she rested hers on his shoulder. The Reverse Scale Core and Shadow Crow Bells hummed in unison, a lullaby of light and trust.

Somewhere, in a place beyond time, Yuehuan smiled. Now, she thought, is the song I've been waiting to hear.

(Wind carried the scent of osmanthus. In the distance, the Spirit Pattern Arena's broadcast played: "Tonight's featured story? A love that outshines even the stars.")