Wuchen folded the space around the command desk into a closed loop. The wall map and outer door appeared at several angles, each one leading back to the same pillar. The floor stretched beneath Yan’s feet. He could not trust the apparent distance; he had to choose a line through the seal.
He used Heaven-Burial Step, following the practiced spatial sequence. The art reinforced his foundation as he crossed. Wuchen’s fold pressed against him but did not dictate his route. Yan emerged beside the ledger and braced the desk before it could turn toward the capital mark.
His old shoulder wound pulled sharply. He shifted weight to his uninjured side. The wall report had slid to the floor. He pushed it beneath the command seal, placing the local station’s release reading where Wuchen would have to write across it to continue the order.
Wuchen tried to pin Yan’s foot with a registered oath. Yan moved before the mark closed and struck its copper anchor with Thousand Fractures. The plate snapped. Its force scattered across the floor, and the binding vanished. Yan’s own art strengthened him; the enemy oath remained a hostile seal, not a cost the System could reverse.
Three provincial lines were now disconnected. Wuchen looked at the marks still lit. “The remaining network is enough to force the capital wall.”
