Tianmu: Eyes of Illusion

The coffee shop wasn't supposed to be upside down.

Lucas stared from the street corner.

Its windows reflected sky.

But the door was in the ceiling.

Pedestrians walked by like nothing was wrong.

Except for the man in the gray hoodie standing across the street—staring straight at Lucas. Not blinking.

Lucas blinked.

And suddenly, the coffee shop was normal again.

Door on the ground. People inside. Smiling. Laughing.

But the man in the hoodie was gone.

No. Not gone. Just moved.

Lucas looked behind.

The man now stood inches from him.

Same hoodie. Same eyes—gray, too deep, like staring into a tunnel of shattered mirrors.

He spoke without moving his lips:

"How many times will you refold the moment before it tears?"

Lucas stepped back. "Who are you?"

"I am the first thought you erased. The reflection you blinked away."

"I am the Architect."

Lucas reached for the bronze mirror inside his coat.

But it wasn't there.

Instead, the Architect held it in one hand.

Turning it slowly.

Watching versions of Lucas flicker in the surface.

"You built a sanctuary. Clever. But unstable."

"You used dream-logic to patch real fractures. That makes you a danger."

Lucas narrowed his eyes. "To whom?"

The Architect grinned. "To both sides."

"The Hunters want you silenced. The Watchers want you opened. I, on the other hand…"

He crushed the mirror in his palm.

"...want to see what happens when the fold breaks."

The world shivered.

People around them froze. Some began speaking backward. Others duplicated—double images walking out of bodies like living echoes.

The sky cracked.

And from it, ribbons of calligraphy unraveled, spiraling downward in impossible geometries.

Lucas clutched his head.

His thoughts felt unglued—like his brain was thinking itself sideways.

The Architect leaned close.

"What you call 'reality' is simply the slowest illusion."

"But you're speeding it up."

"You've opened Gates not meant to align. The city folds now—not just your mind."

He raised a finger.

The space beside them warped—turning into a perfect copy of Lucas's bedroom, floating in the air.

"See? Creation is just a question of intent and memory. That's the trick. That's what you inherited."

Lucas dropped to one knee, eyes bloodshot.

Too many angles. Too many layers.

He reached into his coat again.

This time, not for the mirror.

But for the burned talisman Nora had drawn weeks ago.

He slammed it onto the ground.

The glyph lit.

Not in gold.

But in dream-fire.

The floating bedroom imploded, shattering like glass.

The coffee shop twisted, reorienting itself back to normal.

Time hiccupped—then resynced.

And the Architect staggered back, just a step.

He looked at Lucas with genuine curiosity.

"You anchored with a memory? Primitive, but effective."

"You are not what I expected."

Lucas stood.

Breathing hard. Pale. But upright.

"Stay out of my head."

The Architect smiled.

"Too late."

And with that, he stepped backward—

into the reflection of a passing car's window.

And vanished.

Lucas collapsed.

His phone buzzed violently.

Dozens of missed calls.

All from Nora.

He picked up.

"Nora?"

"Lucas, thank god—where are you? You disappeared from my wards!"

"I just saw him. The Architect."

"...Shit."

"Did he speak to you?"

"He said… I was speeding up the illusion. That reality's folding."

"He's right. Things are starting to slip."

"I've seen three identical buses on different streets at the same time. My client's baby aged six months in a day."

"It's not just your mind anymore, Lucas."

"It's the city."

Lucas leaned back against the wall, mind racing.

"Then I need to find the second Gate."

Nora's voice was cold.

"Lucas. You already opened it."

"The third one is next."

🔍 下一章预告（Chapter 15 – Echo Maze）:

Lucas and Nora explore a shifting mirror-labyrinth hidden beneath the Haleford subway. In its depths, time loops devour memories, and reflections fight back. To escape, Lucas must confront a version of himself who never stopped folding.