The shockwave that burst from Yin Lie's chest did not fade—it settled.
Like a foreign heartbeat imposed onto the world.
The cracked street beneath Qin Mian vibrated in slow, rumbling pulses,
each one carrying a pressure she felt in her bones,
something forcing its way into reality and reality trying—failing—to reject it.
She kept Yin Lie in her arms, her breath shallow.
"Lie… Lie, please look at me."
His skin was freezing cold.
His breath steamed like winter air.
His pulse flickered beneath her fingertips,
not steady—not human—
as if shifting between rhythms.
His body felt heavier by the second,
not because of weight,
but because the world itself felt like it was pushing against him.
"Don't fade… don't you dare fade…"
But there was no time to panic.
Because the street…
began to respond.
A ripple of distortion spread outward from their bodies—
not explosive,
but tidal,
like a slow gravitational shift.
Lamp posts bowed slightly toward Yin Lie.
Windows warped inward.
Dust lifted from the ground,
caught in invisible currents spiraling around him.
Qin Mian swallowed hard.
"What… what are you becoming?"
Yin Lie didn't answer.
He couldn't.
His eyes were half-open, unfocused,
caught between worlds.
Across the City — Sensations Spread
The first to react were the animals.
A rooftop cat
flattened its ears and hissed at the distant street,
fur standing as if lightning crawled through its blood.
It backed away, eyes wide.
But then—
instinct overrode fear.
The cat bolted off the roof entirely,
as if fleeing from something it couldn't comprehend.
In an alleyway,
rats burst from their hiding places,
scattering in every direction.
Some froze mid-run, trembling,
unable to decide whether to run toward the source
or away from it.
In the sky,
a flock of birds veered sharply—
not because of wind,
but because something in the resonance
pulled at their instincts.
They made a harsh, chaotic cry
as their formation broke apart.
The beasts sensed it first.
Then came the Variants.
District Twelve — A Mechanic's Shop
A tall man with augmented strength
was fixing a broken hover-bike when his arm spasmed.
The wrench dropped from his hand with a clang.
He pressed a palm to his chest.
"…that pressure…
It feels like—
no, stronger than that—
almost like when the First Wave awakened…"
His breath shook.
He looked eastward,
toward the source no one else could pinpoint.
"Who the hell just arrived in our city…?"
An Underground Gambling Den
A group of illegal Variants stopped mid-argument,
their dice frozen in the air.
One man's tattoos—normally dormant—
lit with faint electricity.
Another Variant's shadow peeled away from his feet for half a second,
like a frightened animal.
A woman touched her throat, unable to swallow.
"What is that…?
My powers are reacting on their own—"
The leader stood abruptly, knocking over the table.
His eyes glowed.
"That's no Variant."
He spoke through clenched teeth.
"That's a new apex."
His voice dropped lower.
"Or something worse."
A Mutant Child's Hospital Room
The little girl in the bed sat up slowly.
Her fingers curled around the thin blanket.
"Mom… someone's crying."
Her mother blinked in confusion.
"What? Sweetheart, who's crying?"
The girl pointed—
not toward the hallway,
not toward a window—
but toward the cityscape behind the glass.
"That heartbeat hurts.
Someone is waking up wrong."
Her mother shivered.
Back to Qin Mian and Yin Lie
Qin Mian had no idea that entire districts were reacting.
She only knew one thing:
Yin Lie was slipping away from her.
His hair drifted upward—not from wind,
but from distortions around him.
His veins glowed through his skin,
thin lines of silver and blue pulsing erratically.
Qin Mian pressed her forehead against his.
"Lie, breathe.
Stay with me.
Stay here—don't let the world push you out."
His lips parted.
A whisper escaped.
"Mian…
it's rejecting me…"
The street cracked beneath them.
"Because I don't belong in this reality anymore."
Her tears burned her cheeks.
"Don't say that.
You belong with me.
Wherever I am."
His hand lifted weakly,
finding her shoulder
with trembling fingers.
"…that's why I haven't disappeared yet."
Qin Mian froze.
"Lie… what does that mean?"
"I'm tethered…
to you."
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
Before she could answer,
a deep metallic hum shook the air.
A new pressure pressed down on them—
different from Yin Lie's.
Cold.
Precise.
Familiar.
Qin Mian turned sharply.
"No…
No no no—"
Hunter Division — Sentinel Nodes Activate
All across the city,
Black Ark surveillance towers lit up at once,
their sensors struggling to process the resonance wave.
"Unknown signal detected!"
"Waveforms unstable—unable to categorize—"
"Source expanding—danger level uncertain—"
The satellite feed glitched violently
as if the system itself was afraid.
Then—
A face appeared on the central screen.
The Director.
Her eyes narrowed as the wave patterns overlapped.
"…He's alive."
"Who, ma'am?"
an analyst asked.
The Director didn't look away.
"Yin Lie."
Gasps filled the room.
"But—Director—he was lost in the Rift—he shouldn't—"
"He shouldn't be anywhere,"
the Director replied softly.
"And yet—he is."
She lifted one hand.
"Deploy Kai.
And the Containment Unit."
Back to the Street — The Pressure Grows
Qin Mian felt it before she heard it.
A metallic thud
echoed from somewhere behind the ruined buildings.
Then another.
Then another.
Her muscles tightened.
"They're coming…"
Yin Lie's eyes fluttered open, unfocused.
"He can't…
he mustn't see me like this…"
The fear in his voice broke her.
She clutched his face.
"Lie! Kai is not your enemy right now—stop trying to protect me—"
He grabbed her wrist with sudden strength.
His mismatched eyes burned.
"I'm protecting you from me."
Her breath caught.
"…Lie…"
His voice was barely a whisper—
fragile, broken, resolute.
"I don't know what I'm becoming.
If I lose control—if my power expands again—
you must run."
She shook her head violently.
"No.
No, I'm not leaving—"
He leaned forward, forehead pressing to hers.
"You don't understand.
If this world rejects me again…"
A pulse shook the ground.
Cracks spread like lightning.
"…I might tear open another Rift.
A bigger one."
Her whole body trembled.
"Lie…"
He breathed her name like a prayer.
"Mian…
hold me down.
Anchor me."
She wrapped her arms around him,
burying his shaking body against her chest.
"I will.
I'll anchor you.
Just don't disappear."
He exhaled—
weak, relieved, trusting.
"Okay…"
But the world didn't wait.
A metallic shape stepped onto the street.
A visor glowed red.
Boots crushed broken concrete.
Then another unit appeared.
Then another.
The Hunter Division had arrived.
And Yin Lie wasn't ready.
Chapter 108 End