Chapter 7: The First Vision of Death
Lin Zhou walked slowly down the long street, following the direction the compass had pointed.
Night had deepened over the city. The bright energy of evening had faded, replaced by a quieter rhythm. Streetlights glowed softly along the sidewalks, casting long shadows that stretched across the pavement.
Yet something felt different tonight.
There was a tension in the air.
Lin Zhou could not explain it, but his instincts told him that something important was about to happen.
Behind him, the man with the compass walked silently.
Neither of them spoke.
Finally, Lin Zhou broke the silence.
"You said the real tests begin now."
The man nodded.
"Yes."
Lin Zhou glanced back at him.
"What kind of test?"
The man did not answer immediately. Instead, he pointed ahead toward a busy intersection.
"Look carefully."
Lin Zhou focused his attention.
Cars moved steadily through the crossing. Pedestrians waited at the traffic lights. A bus stopped nearby as passengers stepped off onto the sidewalk.
Everything looked completely ordinary.
Then suddenly—
The world changed.
A strange pressure filled Lin Zhou's mind.
The sound of the city faded.
The lights blurred.
And then he saw it.
A vision.
In front of him, the same intersection appeared again—but something was different.
A young boy stood near the curb, holding his mother's hand.
The traffic light changed.
People began to cross.
But the boy suddenly pulled away and ran into the street.
At the same moment, a delivery truck sped through the intersection.
Lin Zhou watched in horror as the scene unfolded.
The truck driver tried to brake—
Too late.
The vision froze at the exact moment before impact.
Lin Zhou gasped and staggered backward.
The image shattered like glass.
The real street returned.
Cars continued moving.
Pedestrians chatted casually.
The boy and his mother were not there yet.
Nothing had happened.
But Lin Zhou's heart was pounding violently.
He turned to the man with the compass.
"You showed me that!"
The man shook his head.
"No."
"Then what was it?"
"A possible future."
Lin Zhou struggled to breathe steadily.
"You mean… that's going to happen?"
The man's eyes remained calm.
"It will happen… if nothing changes."
Lin Zhou stared back at the intersection.
His mind replayed the vision over and over.
The boy.
The truck.
The moment of impact.
A chill ran down his spine.
"So this is the test," Lin Zhou said slowly.
The man nodded.
"You can now see threads that lead to tragedy."
"And I'm supposed to stop them?"
The man studied him carefully.
"That is a choice."
Lin Zhou frowned.
"A choice? How is that even a question? A child is going to die!"
"Yes," the man said quietly.
"And yet the web of fate is complex."
Lin Zhou felt frustration rising.
"You're saying I shouldn't interfere?"
"I'm saying every action has consequences."
Lin Zhou looked back at the street again.
In the distance, he saw a woman walking toward the intersection.
Beside her was a small boy holding a balloon.
His heart skipped a beat.
It was them.
Exactly as he had seen in the vision.
The boy laughed as the balloon floated above him.
They approached the crosswalk slowly.
The traffic light was still red.
Cars continued passing through the intersection.
Lin Zhou's pulse quickened.
The moment was approaching.
Behind him, the man with the compass spoke softly.
"What will you do?"
Lin Zhou didn't answer.
His mind raced through possibilities.
If he did nothing, the future he saw would happen.
But if he intervened—
Would something worse occur?
He remembered the earlier visions of alternate timelines.
Sometimes helping created new problems.
Sometimes interfering changed events in unexpected ways.
But this time felt different.
This was a life.
A child.
The woman and the boy stepped closer to the curb.
The pedestrian light changed.
People began crossing the street.
Lin Zhou saw the boy's balloon slip from his hand.
It floated into the air.
The boy laughed and ran after it.
Exactly like the vision.
Lin Zhou moved instantly.
"Stop!" he shouted.
He rushed forward and grabbed the boy just as he stepped into the street.
At that exact moment—
A delivery truck roared through the intersection.
The driver slammed the brakes.
The truck screeched to a halt only a few feet away.
The mother gasped in shock.
The boy stared wide-eyed at the massive vehicle in front of him.
The crowd fell silent.
Lin Zhou slowly released the child.
For several seconds, no one spoke.
Then the mother pulled the boy into her arms.
"Thank you," she whispered, her voice shaking.
Lin Zhou stepped back, still breathing heavily.
The moment had passed.
The tragedy had not happened.
The web of fate had changed.
He turned to the man with the compass.
"Did I do the right thing?"
The man looked at the intersection thoughtfully.
"You changed the path."
"But was it the right one?"
The man smiled slightly.
"That is a question every human must ask."
Lin Zhou exhaled slowly.
For the first time, he truly felt the weight of what he had become.
Not just an observer.
Not just a participant.
But someone capable of redirecting fate.
The man began walking away again.
"Where are you going?" Lin Zhou asked.
The man stopped briefly.
"Tonight you saved a life."
He looked back over his shoulder.
"But tomorrow… the web will test you again."
Then he disappeared into the shadows of the city.
Lin Zhou stood alone beneath the streetlights.
The city moved around him as if nothing had happened.
But he knew something profound had changed.
Somewhere in the vast web of fate—
One thread had been rewritten.
And this was only the beginning.