The thing in the breach was starting to take shape.
Not fully. Not cleanly.
But enough that Adrian could tell this wasn't like before.
Before, it had been fragments. Echoes. Pieces forcing themselves into existence.
Now—
This was something trying to become whole.
"…It's stabilizing faster," the man said.
Adrian didn't look away from the forming shape. "Yeah. I can feel that."
And he could.
Not just the pressure.
Not just the weight of it.
He could feel the way it was *aligning* with the world.
Like it was learning the rules—
And rewriting them at the same time.
The red-eyed woman stepped closer again. "You shouldn't have reached through."
Adrian let out a slow breath. "Yeah, I got that part already."
"You don't understand," she said, her voice quieter now.
That made him glance at her.
For the first time—
There was something different in her expression.
Not control.
Concern.
"…Then explain it," Adrian said.
A brief silence.
Then she spoke.
"When something like that notices you," she said, "it doesn't forget."
Adrian's grip tightened slightly.
"…Yeah," he said. "I figured."
"No," the shadowed woman added, stepping closer, "you didn't."
Adrian frowned.
She continued, "Before, you were a signal."
"Now?" he asked.
"You're a reference."
That word hit differently.
"…Explain that in a way that doesn't sound terrible," Adrian said.
The third woman exhaled softly. "It means it can find you."
Adrian's expression hardened. "It was already doing that."
"Not like this," she said.
The man crossed his arms slightly, his gaze fixed on the breach. "Now it doesn't need to search."
Adrian went quiet for a second.
"…So it always knows where I am," he said.
No one corrected him.
That silence was answer enough.
"…Yeah," he muttered. "That's bad."
The distortion surged again.
The shape inside it became clearer.
A torso.
Not human.
Not anything that should exist.
But structured.
Defined.
Adrian exhaled slowly. "And that's because of me."
"Yes," the red-eyed woman said.
No hesitation.
No softening.
Just truth.
Adrian nodded once. "…Alright."
The room went still for a moment.
Then he said, "Then I'll deal with it."
That got all their attention.
The shadowed woman narrowed her eyes slightly. "You already tried."
"And I learned something," Adrian replied.
"That's not enough."
"It will have to be."
The pressure surged again.
Stronger.
Closer.
Adrian felt it lock onto him fully this time.
Not searching.
Not testing.
Locked.
"…Yeah," he said quietly. "It knows."
The bond pulsed in response.
Harder than before.
But not unstable.
Not anymore.
It was adapting too.
The red-eyed woman noticed.
"…You're changing," she said.
Adrian glanced at her. "I don't think I have a choice."
"No," she said. "You don't."
The third woman tilted her head slightly. "But the speed matters."
Adrian looked back at the breach. "Then I'll just have to keep up."
The shape inside it moved.
Not randomly.
Not violently.
Deliberately.
Like it was testing its own form.
Adrian's eyes narrowed. "…It's getting used to this side."
"Yes," the man said.
"That means we're running out of time," Adrian added.
"Yes."
The shadowed woman stepped forward. "We collapse the breach."
Adrian frowned. "Can we?"
"Not completely," she said. "But we can force it back."
The third woman added, "Temporarily."
Adrian exhaled. "I'll take temporary over nothing."
The red-eyed woman stepped in front of him slightly.
"You don't lead this," she said.
Adrian met her gaze.
"…I'm the reason it's happening," he replied.
"That doesn't mean you're ready."
"That doesn't mean I wait."
Silence.
Brief.
Tense.
Then the man spoke.
"He's right."
All three women looked at him.
The man didn't flinch.
"It's keyed to him now," he continued. "If anyone can disrupt the stabilization, it's him."
The shadowed woman's voice lowered slightly. "Or he makes it worse."
"That's already happening," the man replied.
Adrian let out a short breath. "Glad we're all on the same page."
The red-eyed woman didn't move for a second.
Then—
She stepped aside.
"Don't lose control," she said quietly.
Adrian nodded once. "Working on it."
The bond pulsed again.
Stronger.
Clearer.
Adrian stepped forward.
The pressure hit him instantly.
Harder than before.
But this time—
He didn't slow.
He moved through it.
Toward the breach.
Toward the thing forming inside it.
"…You feel me," he said under his breath.
The shape paused.
Just slightly.
That was enough.
Adrian raised his hand again.
Not blindly this time.
Not instinctively.
Deliberately.
The bond flared.
But something else rose with it.
That presence inside him.
The one that had answered before.
It wasn't quiet anymore.
It wasn't passive.
It was—
Awake.
"…Then let's see what happens," Adrian said.
And he reached forward—
Not to touch.
But to push.
The moment his hand met the edge of the breach—
Everything reacted.
The distortion surged violently.
The shape inside twisted.
The room shook.
The pressure exploded outward.
But Adrian didn't pull back.
Because this time—
He wasn't reaching into it.
He was forcing it away from him.
The bond roared in response.
Not unstable.
Not strained.
Aligned.
For a split second—
The breach faltered.
The shape inside it broke—
Not shattered.
But destabilized.
The man's eyes widened slightly. "…He's disrupting it."
The shadowed woman moved instantly, reinforcing the collapse.
The third woman's power pressed in, distorting the structure further.
The red-eyed woman stepped forward—
And everything hit at once.
The breach snapped inward.
Violently.
The shape was forced back.
Not destroyed.
Not gone.
But pushed out.
The distortion collapsed.
The room went silent.
Adrian staggered back, breathing hard.
"…That worked," he said.
"For now," the third woman replied.
The shadowed woman scanned the room. "The breach is closed."
The man exhaled slightly. "…Temporary."
Adrian nodded. "I figured."
The red-eyed woman looked at him.
Longer this time.
"You forced it back," she said.
Adrian shrugged slightly. "Yeah."
"That shouldn't have been possible."
"…I'm starting to hear that a lot."
A brief pause.
Then she said, quietly—
"You're not just reacting anymore."
Adrian looked at his hand again.
Then back at the space where the breach had been.
"…No," he said. "I'm not."
The room was quiet again.
But the feeling hadn't disappeared.
Not completely.
Because somewhere beyond that broken boundary—
Something still watched him.
Not with curiosity anymore.
Not even interest.
With intent.
And now—
It knew exactly what he could do.