The Hunters appeared at the far end of the broken street—
visors glowing red,
boots crunching over shattered concrete,
rifles snapping into position with precise, practiced movements.
The air tightened like a drawn bowstring.
Qin Mian held Yin Lie protectively,
her body curling around his like a shield.
His breathing was shallow, uneven.
"Lie… stay with me… please…"
But the faint pulse under her hands—
that unstable keening vibration inside his chest—
was worsening.
His resonance wasn't calming.
It was building.
A low rumble crawled through the street,
dust falling from windowsills,
loose debris lifting ever so slightly off the ground
as if gravity were reconsidering its purpose.
The nearest Hunter raised a gloved fist.
"Contact confirmed.
Subject Yin Lie located.
Condition: unstable."
Qin Mian snapped:
"Get back! He can't control—"
But they didn't listen.
Hunters never listened.
One stepped closer.
His visor scanned the air around Yin Lie's body—
and shorted out instantly,
sparking violently.
He stumbled back, cursing.
"What the—?
The air density around him—
it's fluctuating—he's warping the pressure field—"
Qin Mian held him tighter.
"Lie… please… hold on…"
His fingers twitched around her arm.
"Mian…"
She bent close.
"I'm here.
Look at me."
But his eyes—those mismatched silver and blue—
rolled slightly,
like he couldn't keep them anchored to her face.
"I can't… stay…
it hurts—"
Her blood went cold.
"Lie—no—NO—stay here, stay with me—"
Behind them, a rifle clicked.
A Hunter shouted:
"Contain him before he destabilizes—!"
Qin Mian screamed:
"STOP!
If you touch him—if you provoke him—
the whole place will—"
Too late.
One Hunter fired a containment round.
A net of energy shot toward them.
And the world broke.
The Pulse
The net never touched Yin Lie.
Because Yin Lie moved.
Not physically.
Not consciously.
His power reacted first.
A shockwave burst from his body—
a ring of pale blue and silver light expanding outward,
so bright Qin Mian had to shield her eyes.
The Hunters went flying backwards
as if hit by a giant invisible hammer.
Concrete shattered.
Lamp posts bent.
Windows on both sides of the street cracked at once.
Qin Mian was thrown back—
—but Yin Lie's arm snapped around her waist mid-air,
pulling her against him instinctively.
Even unconscious,
even breaking,
he held her like she was the only thing anchoring him to existence.
She gasped into his shoulder.
"Lie… your power—
you don't even know you're doing this—"
He trembled violently.
Blue fire licked up his neck.
Ice cracked beneath his feet.
Keystone symbols spun in frantic loops behind his back,
cutting through the air like burning halos.
His voice was a whisper of agony:
"I'm… splitting…"
Her heart twisted.
"No.
No, look at me—
stay with me—"
The world around them disagreed.
Gravity warped for five meters in every direction—
Hunter bodies twisting mid-air as if suspended in water.
Loose stones floated upward.
Dust spiraled like galaxies.
The ground beneath Yin Lie softened,
melting into a liquid glass-like sheen.
Qin Mian felt her breath stutter.
This wasn't chaos.
This was rewriting.
His power wasn't rampaging randomly—
it was rearranging the world to make room for him.
Like reality was trying to decide
whether to fight him
or kneel.
Kai Arrives
A shadow flickered across a rooftop.
Then Kai dropped onto the street,
knees bending to absorb the impact.
Her eyes went wide the moment she saw him.
"…Lie…
What have you done to yourself…?"
Qin Mian snapped:
"Don't come closer!
He's not stable!"
Kai raised a hand.
"I can help.
My nullification field might suppress—"
Qin Mian shook her head wildly.
"No—NO—if you suppress him now—
it'll trigger a collapse—
he'll tear open another Rift!"
Kai froze.
"What?"
But she didn't have time to ask more.
Because Yin Lie's body arched suddenly—
a wordless cry ripping out of him,
raw and terrible.
"Mian—!!"
Qin Mian grabbed his face.
"Lie, I'm here—look at me—
FOCUS—on—ME!"
His hands slammed onto the ground.
The earth cracked.
Not from force.
From incompatibility.
The world could not decide how to render him.
Kai's breath hitched.
"…This is beyond Variant coding.
This is… ontological instability."
One Hunter whispered behind her, voice trembling:
"He's not a Variant…"
Another added, horrified:
"He's not human…"
Kai didn't answer.
Because she didn't know.
The Break
Yin Lie's aura surged.
Not outward.
Upward.
A column of blue-white light erupted around him,
shooting toward the sky,
cutting clouds clean in half.
Qin Mian clung to him desperately.
"Lie—PLEASE—COME BACK—
COME BACK TO ME—"
He gasped her name.
"Mian—
please—
hold me—
I'm falling apart—"
Her tears fell onto his cheeks.
"I'm here.
I won't let you fall.
I won't let you disappear!"
But the power didn't care.
A final violent pulse ripped through the street—
BOOOOOOM—!!!
Dust exploded outward.
Street cracked open.
Air vibrated like struck metal.
Yin Lie's body jerked forward—
And the world bent.
Literally bent.
The buildings leaned inward.
Shadows stretched toward him.
Colors dimmed.
Sound slowed.
Several Hunters collapsed, hands on their ears.
Kai shielded her eyes.
Qin Mian screamed his name again:
"LI—E!!"
His eyes snapped open—
Fully.
Silver and blue blazed like burning stars.
His voice came out layered:
"Mian."
The world froze.
For one terrifying heartbeat,
Qin Mian felt it:
He wasn't entirely Yin Lie anymore.
Something else was waking up through him.
But his hands—
shaking, burning, freezing—
grabbed her arms with desperate strength.
"Mian…
don't let go of me…"
Then his body went slack.
And he collapsed into her arms again,
unconscious,
power still humming violently beneath his skin.
The world around them trembled in fear.
Even Kai whispered:
"…What are you becoming…?"
Chapter 109 End