Dragon Queen’s Gambit

You lost track of YinTsumo, swept up in the strange “Mindhole” vortex, and found yourself face-to-face with its cryptic master. The entire experience felt too unreal, too baffling to grasp, but you had no choice but to listen to what the so-called master had to say.

“I once bore the surname Xiao. But having glimpsed the Way, I no longer use names. You may call me Xiao the Recluse.

“At the very center of every human brain lies an empty cavity, sustained by vital energy. When one dies, the energy dissipates and the cavity collapses. Because it can’t be observed or studied, scholars and physicians dismiss the Mindhole as nonsense. Yet it truly exists, and it connects to an unseen realm, a world more real than the one you know, the Shadow Realm.

“This Mindhole bridges two worlds. What people call ‘Awakening to the Way’ is the path through that passage. While many living beings have methods of traversing between realms, only the Mindhole allows memories and identity to remain linked across both. A rare few in the outer world have awakened and can even shape extensions of the Shadow Realm within their own Mindhole, training there with Spirit Blades... though there are exceptions — those born with Spirit Blades before ever awakening.

“I need you to travel with me into that other realm, to find another person’s Mindhole. Ten years ago, I performed the Soul Separation within his Mindhole. My primordial spirit lies dormant there, my Body Core tugs at fate in the outer world, and my Spirit Core has waited here in the mirror. Now that the Body Core has already stirred up trouble outside, and you’ve appeared here in my Mindhole, this confluence of chance... in the terms of your own Skydow arts, it is your Skydow Force that guided you here.

“Help me break the seal within that man’s Mindhole. Come! This journey isn’t only to save him, it is your own inevitable Skydow path!”

According to Xiao the Recluse, the Mindhole you are about to enter belongs to a powerful woman from the outer world - a master of the Spirit Blade. While cultivating within her Mindhole, she accidentally mischanneled her inner force. In the moment her qi spiraled into chaos and tore open her Mindhole, a mysterious spirit-buddha from the Shadow Realm intervened. With its subtle guidance, her twisted energy was gradually diffused into the Shadow Realm.

But that energy carried an unusual signature. From the depths of the Shadow Realm, it unwittingly lured forth a legendary demonic behemoth.

In order to prevent the creature from breaching into the outer world, the woman summoned Xiao into her Mindhole. Unfortunately, even with their combined strength, they could not hold the monster back. With no other option, she resolved to destroy her own body, cutting off the creature's only path of escape. But the spirit-buddha acted first, restraining her primordial spirit and sealing her Mindhole. In doing so, the monster was trapped, and the woman was saved, but only just. Her spirit has remained sealed for the past ten years, leaving her in a deep slumber.

Despite this, her willpower has proven extraordinary. For a decade, she has used sheer force of thought to confine the furious creature to one corner of her Mindhole. Yet no one can say how much longer a mortal can endure such a struggle against a timeless monster. The chaos within her mind has already taken root. Even if the seal is broken, she will remain locked in a deadly contest with the beast. If she is to be saved, the only way forward is through battle — by destroying the creature outright.

Having heard all of this, you know in your heart: this woman is worth saving. Resolute, you follow Xiao the Recluse into the dragon’s lair hidden within her Mindhole, ready to stake everything on the coming fight.