hai hummed with its usual morning energy. The river reflected the sun in streaks of molten gold, the streets buzzed with vehicles, and the aroma of fresh buns filled the air. To ordinary eyes, the city was nothing more than a normal metropolis, vibrant and chaotic. Yet beneath this mundane veil, reality rippled subtly, adjusting itself to one presence alone—Lyo Kao Ken.
He moved calmly, unhurried, through a crowded market. His purple hair fell past his shoulders, tied loosely, the soft light catching its sheen. People brushed past him without noticing anything unusual. And yet, those who unconsciously felt his presence experienced a flicker of unease, a whisper of something beyond comprehension.
From the unseen layers of reality, a ripple emerged—a disturbance originating from beyond the city, reaching toward him. Lyo sensed it immediately. He did not turn; he did not frown. His nature as the reincarnation of Tao Kim Kyi allowed him to perceive threats, anomalies, and shifts across conceptual, narrative, and multiversal layers simultaneously.
It was subtle but clear: three separate currents of energy, each independent yet converging, moved toward his location. One came from the distant mountains of China, another from the Korean Peninsula, and a third from Japan. Ordinary humans could not feel them. Even advanced detection systems would register nothing. But for Lyo, they were as tangible as the stones under his feet.
Passive amplification began to stir in response. The mere approach of these disturbances caused them to escalate themselves automatically, a phenomenon inherent to his existence. They did not understand what they were facing, and in escalating, they only heightened the futility of their approach.
Somewhere above the city, a bird of prey circled in the sky, its flight path subtly bending as if reality itself guided it. Lyo paused beneath a pagoda roof, watching the market unfold below. Street vendors shuffled their carts, children darted through the alleys, and the wind carried faint, unremarkable scents. And yet, the currents moved toward him, threading through space and possibility with a purpose that would have unnerved anyone else.
"You feel them," came a familiar whisper. Lyo's lips curved slightly. It was Jeong Althea Xiao, her voice threading lightly through his consciousness. She did not appear physically, but her presence shaped his perception, enhancing his awareness of possibilities and outcomes.
"Yes," he thought back silently. "Three currents. Approaching independently, converging by intent."
Her response was a soft amusement. "They do not understand the scale of what they approach. It is… fascinating."
Lyo observed quietly. The disturbances approached as invisible threads, invisible to normal senses but entirely tangible to him. One was an ancient force tied to a long-forgotten spiritual lineage in the mountains, seeking dominance; another was an external observation, perhaps curiosity, originating from the far reaches of Korea; the last was a subtle manipulation, a testing force from Japan. Each was unaware of the others, yet all moved toward the same point: him.
As the threads reached the city, the market itself remained unaware. People passed by, oblivious, while Lyo's presence alone aligned probabilities, neutralizing unintended chaos and allowing the disturbances to escalate on their own. The farther they pressed, the more their power amplified automatically, and yet they still could not breach the fundamental principle of his existence.
He tilted his head, watching the currents intersect, their invisible threads weaving patterns that would have seemed miraculous to an observer attuned to multiversal energies. Passive amplification surged subtly; the disturbances strained against the invisible barrier of his supremacy, unknowingly amplifying their own futility.
Lyo's calmness was absolute. He did not raise a hand, did not speak. Merely existing caused reality to correct itself around him, to repel forces that would have overwhelmed others. The market continued its rhythm, the city unaware, yet the multiverse trembled lightly under the weight of his latent supremacy.
A subtle shimmer appeared in his awareness—Althea's influence again. "Do you notice the patterns?" she teased. "Every force that approaches you grows stronger, yet simultaneously weaker in effect. It is… amusing, isn't it?"
He allowed a soft laugh in response. "They are blind to the principle. They escalate themselves without understanding. I merely observe."
As he walked, the currents began to falter—not because he acted, but because the very essence of his being negated ordinary measures of power. Any attempt to harm or even measure him increased the danger they themselves carried, a reflection of his passive amplification. The forces wavered, fluctuating between strength and futility, and soon, they dissipated quietly, leaving the city entirely unaware.
A small child dropped a toy on the pavement. Lyo bent slightly, picking it up without thinking, placing it back in the child's hands. The child smiled, oblivious to the multiversal dance that had just occurred. For Lyo, it was a reminder: despite his supremacy, he moved in the human world with subtlety, blending in, hiding his true power, allowing life to continue without disruption.
He felt Althea's presence linger, distant yet near, like the faint shimmer of light across the horizon. "You handled them well," she said. "But there will be more. The world is awakening to you, and others will seek to understand… or challenge."
He nodded internally. "Let them come. Their approach only strengthens themselves, not me. Their escalation is… inevitable."
The streets of Shanghai remained oblivious, ordinary, vibrant, and chaotic. Lyo Kao Ken moved through them as an ordinary man, his purple hair brushing lightly against his shoulders, blue eyes calm and observing. Yet beneath the surface, in the unseen layers of reality, currents of energy shifted, threads of possibility realigned, and forces beyond comprehension subtly corrected themselves.
He had seen the first hints of external recognition. Forces from three distant realms had approached, curious or testing, and had failed to understand his nature. This was only the beginning. The awakening of his presence across dimensions, and the subtle influence of Jeong Althea Xiao, would escalate further in the days to come.
Shanghai, China, remained ordinary—but the hidden existence, the reincarnation of Tao Kim Kyi, walked among them, unchallenged, untouchable, and supremely aware.
The disturbance had arrived.
And Lyo Kao Ken had observed, calm, composed, untouchable.