The first scream didn't come from fear.
It came from confusion.
---
A woman dropped her phone in the middle of the street, staring at nothing with wide eyes as if the air itself had whispered her name. Around her, traffic slowed—not because of an accident, but because drivers suddenly felt wrong.
Like they had missed a step.
Like reality had blinked.
---
I felt it immediately.
"…Damn it."
Mira's voice was calm, but tight.
"Your Chaotic Flow has reached civilian threshold."
I clenched my hands.
I hadn't touched them.
Not directly.
But fear spreads faster than intent ever could.
---
Above the city, Authority Enforcer and the unknown entity disengaged—temporarily. They hovered on opposite ends of the containment zone, recalculating, observing the ripple effects below.
They weren't worried about humans.
They were worried about noise.
---
And humans were the loudest variable of all.
---
On the ground, reactions split.
Some people froze.
Others ran.
A few—very few—looked up.
---
One of them was Ethan Hale.
---
Ethan was a ghost hunter.
Not the kind with rituals and incense—he used tech. Sensors, spectral lenses, probability-mapping software.
And right now, every warning on his HUD was screaming.
"Impossible…" he muttered.
His team gathered behind him in a half-circle formation.
"Boss," one of them whispered, "the readings… they're not hostile."
"They're not passive either," Ethan replied.
His eyes locked onto the sky.
Onto me.
---
"…That's not a monster," he said slowly.
"That's a phenomenon."
---
I felt his gaze brush against me.
Not fear.
Not hatred.
Curiosity.
---
> [System Notification: Human Observer — High Cognitive Compatibility Detected]
Mira reacted immediately.
"Rei. That man could become dangerous."
"…Or useful," I replied quietly.
---
Not far away, another group reacted very differently.
---
The Church of Luminous Order didn't hesitate.
They never did.
---
Father Marcus slammed his staff into the ground, activating a suppression array etched into the pavement.
"By the authority granted to us," he declared, voice amplified by faith and ritual,
"the abomination above this city shall be purged."
Around him, robed exorcists formed a complex sigil—layered, overlapping, designed specifically for high-tier spectral anomalies.
For beings like me.
---
"…They didn't even wait," I muttered.
Mira answered coldly.
"They never do."
---
The array ignited.
A wave of sanctified energy surged upward—not chaotic, not emotional—absolute.
Authority Enforcer didn't interfere.
The unknown entity didn't stop it.
They watched.
---
The wave hit my Chaotic Flow—
And tore straight through it.
---
"—!"
Pain exploded through my form.
Not physical.
Existential.
Like being told I shouldn't exist and believing it for half a second.
---
> [System Alert: Spiritual Suppression Detected]
Integrity: 87%… 84%… Stabilizing]
I hissed, pulling back instinctively.
"…So that's how it feels," I muttered darkly.
"To be judged."
---
Below, Father Marcus raised his staff again.
"Do not waver!" he shouted.
"The entity is reacting! Maintain formation!"
But something was wrong.
One of the younger exorcists hesitated.
"…Father," she whispered, voice shaking.
"It's not attacking."
Marcus didn't look at her.
"That is irrelevant."
---
Her hands trembled.
And in that tremble—
The array destabilized.
---
> [System Observation: Human Doubt — Resonance Detected]
I felt it.
That flicker of uncertainty.
And for the first time since I died—
I hesitated.
---
"…Mira," I whispered.
"Yes?"
"…If I push back…"
"…People will get hurt," she finished softly.
---
Above, Authority Enforcer shifted.
Its chains tightened—not to attack, but to contain escalation.
The unknown entity tilted its head slightly.
Observing.
Learning.
---
Everyone was watching me.
Waiting.
---
I could retaliate.
I should retaliate.
But then—
I saw Ethan again.
He had stepped forward, standing between civilians and the ritual zone, arms spread.
"Hey!" he shouted at the exorcists.
"Your array's destabilizing the block! You're gonna collapse the buildings!"
Marcus finally turned.
"And if we do nothing, more will die."
Ethan met his gaze without backing down.
"…Or maybe," he said quietly,
"we're provoking something that hasn't decided to be our enemy."
---
That sentence hit harder than the suppression wave ever could.
---
> [System Notification: Moral Anchor Detected]
Mira went silent.
For once.
---
I exhaled slowly.
Then I did something dangerous.
Something stupid.
Something human.
---
I withdrew Chaotic Flow from the civilians.
Not fully.
Just enough.
---
The air relaxed.
People stopped running.
The city exhaled.
---
Authority Enforcer paused.
The unknown entity's aura flickered—confused.
---
Father Marcus stared upward, eyes narrowing.
"…It retreated," he muttered.
"No," Ethan said quietly.
"It chose."
---
Pain still lingered in my form.
Weakness too.
But something else settled in its place.
Resolve.
---
> [Status Update:]
— Chaotic Flow: Civilian Suppression Applied (Voluntary)
— Human Factions: Polarization Increased
— Pro-Rei Observers Identified
— Anti-Rei Hostility Escalating
— Rei: Emotional Load Increasing
---
Mira finally spoke again.
"…Rei. You've just changed the trajectory of this conflict."
"…Good," I replied softly.
Because for the first time—
This fight wasn't just about survival.
---
I looked down at the living city.
At the people who could fear me.
Hate me.
Or—
Understand me.
"…I won't become a disaster they have to erase," I whispered.
"Not today."
---