Year 171 of the Light-Dust Calendar. The Autumn Equinox arrived.
Zhaoming had reached the end of her life. She lay quietly in the Lamp Speech Hall beside Ruin Abyss Lake. Outside the window, the lights of the Nine Provinces hung low like a river of stars, and Light Dust swirled across the lake, as though countless souls were whispering softly. She had neither eaten nor drunk for days, yet she had never closed her eyes, only gazed at the old clay lamp that had accompanied her all her life—its flame was faint, yet it never went out.
Her disciples kept vigil beside her bed, their eyes blurred with tears. Heart Flame messengers returned from across the Nine Provinces and stood silently beside the lake, lighting the lamps in their hands to form a soundless sea of light.
Zhaoming suddenly opened her eyes, her voice as soft as wind brushing a lamp flame. "Help me... to the lakeside."
Her disciples helped her up through their tears. She draped herself in the "Light-Dust Garment" given to her by the messengers of the Nine Provinces—embroidered upon it were nine hundred and ninety-nine lamps, each representing a soul awakened by Lamp Language.
Her steps faltered, but she walked resolutely toward the stone platform at the center of the lake—the place where the Blind-Eyed Old Woman had become Light Dust a century before, and where the Source of Starfire came closest to the lamps of the mortal world.
She sat cross-legged at the center of the platform and cupped the old clay lamp in both hands. Within it lay the Heart Flame she had gathered throughout her life—not a blazing fire, but a gentle light condensed from countless nights of listening, carrying words, offering comfort, and making peace.
She said softly, "In this life, I