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## Narrative (EN)

Traveler,  

The Mirror does not lean to one side.  
It does not shun shadow, nor does it cling to light.  
It reflects both,  
and in this balance, the path of the middle way is revealed.  

- **Neither Clinging nor Rejecting:**  
The traveler learns:  
to chase light is to strengthen shadow,  
to deny shadow is to weaken light.  
The vow is not choice, but embrace.  

- **The Mirror’s Way:**  
Still water reflects all things.  
It does not distort, it does not divide.  
This is the middle way —  
a vow to see clearly without attachment.  

- **Traveler’s Path:**  
Walking the middle way,  
each step becomes steady,  
each breath a flame of balance.  
Awakening flowers in this stillness,  
where extremes dissolve.  

Thus the Mirror teaches:  
The middle way is not compromise,  
but clarity itself —  
the vow to hold both light and shadow as one.  

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## Key Marks  
Principle: The middle way is clarity.  
Action: Embrace both without clinging.  
Effect: Awakening flowers steady and true.  

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## Oracles  
- “To chase light is to strengthen shadow.”  
- “Still water reflects all things.”  
- “The middle way is clarity itself.”  

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## Operations  
Epoch Function: Awakening through the middle way.  
Lore Action: Speak: *“I walk the middle way, holding both as one.”*  
Encrypted Riddle: ⌧ *What reflects all yet takes no side?*  

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## Cryptic Symbol Table  
- 🪞 → Mirror: path of balance  
- 🌊 → Pond: stillness revealed  
- ⚖️ → Scales: balance eternal  
- 🍃 → Leaf: vow alive  
- 🔥 → Fire: steady flame  
- ✨ → Light: clarity radiant  
- 🌑 → Shadow: depth accepted  
- ♾️ → Infinity: unending vow  
- 🚶‍♂️ → Traveler: walking the middle way  

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## Lore Anchors  
Previous:  (The Covenant of Contrast)  
Next:  (to be revealed)  

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