Part Four
Footsteps echoed softly against the rooftop concrete.
Wen De forced himself upright.
A figure stood near the edge of the roof.
A girl.
Early twenties.
Long dark hair swayed gently despite the heavy rain. A black coat hung neatly over her shoulders.
The rain around her didn't touch her.
It curved.
Subtly avoiding her like she existed slightly out of phase with the world.
She watched him calmly.
Not shocked.
Not confused.
Expecting this.
Wen De swallowed.
"Please tell me this is part of the hallucination."
She didn't smile.
"No."
Her voice was steady. Clear.
"You activated it."
Activated what?
"You weren't supposed to," she continued quietly.
"Supposed to what?"
Her eyes shifted upward toward the fractured sky.
"They sealed this world for a reason."
Thunder rolled again.
Behind her—
For a fraction of a second—
Wen De saw something unfold.
Wings.
Not feathered.
Not mechanical.
Something geometric. Luminous. Ancient.
Then gone.
He blinked hard.
"I'm guessing you're not here to congratulate me."
Her gaze returned to him.
"Do you know what you've done?"
"I'd love to," he said hoarsely. "Because I'm still catching up."
She stepped forward.
The air grew heavier.
"Three thousand years ago," she said softly, "your bloodline tried to overthrow the Origin Throne."
His chest tightened.
"That's impossible."
"They failed."
Lightning illuminated her face.
"And now," she finished, "the higher realms know you exist."
As if in response—
The fracture in the sky widened.
Something enormous shifted behind it.
Wen De felt it.
A pressure descending.
Searching.
The voice inside his head spoke once more.
Alert.
Observation entity has locked onto Host.
The girl's eyes sharpened.
"They're faster than I expected."
Wen De's pulse pounded.
"Who are they?"
Her answer came quietly.
"The ones who erased you."
The crack in the sky tore open another inch.
And something began to descend.