The Rift trembled as if something vast and ancient had been torn awake.
Colors bled from the air—violet fractures, silver currents, streaks of white light spiraling like nervous lightning. The ground beneath Qin Mian's feet shifted from solid stone to translucent glass, then to floating shards of geometry that moved with each breath.
She barely noticed any of it.
Because Yin Lie was standing in front of her.
Alive.
Changed.
He looked as though someone had carved a storm into human shape. Frost curled across his left arm like living armor. Blue fire flickered along his spine, bright enough to make the air distort. And behind him—three orbiting rings of Keystone symbols rotated in silent, impossible patterns.
He stepped toward her slowly, each step shaking the ground.
"Mian."
Her throat tightened at the sound of his voice—raw, frayed, painfully human beneath all that power.
"…Lie."
She moved to him, almost stumbling from exhaustion. He caught her before she fell—one arm around her waist, the other steady against her back. His hand was warm, even through the cold rolling off his body.
His expression softened the moment she touched him.
"Did they hurt you?" he asked, a dangerous edge in his voice that wasn't directed at her—but at anything that had dared come close.
Qin Mian shook her head, breath trembling.
"I'm okay. Scared. Tired… but okay."
His jaw tightened.
He pulled her closer for a brief second, holding her as though the universe itself might try to steal her away.
"I came as fast as I could."
"I knew you would," she whispered.
The Rift pulsed again—an angry, metallic heartbeat.
All around them, the white shadow-creatures reformed, crawling out of cracks in reality. Their faceless heads tilted toward the pair, drawn by warmth, by fear, by power.
Yin Lie moved instinctively to stand between her and them.
But Qin Mian grabbed his wrist.
"No."
He stopped.
Looked back at her.
"Mian—"
"No," she repeated, louder, steadier.
"Not this time. I'm not hiding behind you. I'm fighting with you."
For a moment he said nothing.
Then—very slowly—he smiled.
A real smile.
"Then we'll fight together."
The First Wave
The creatures lunged.
Dozens of them, sprinting like broken marionettes dragged by invisible strings.
Yin Lie raised one hand—
and the temperature collapsed.
A blast of ice erupted outward, flash-freezing the first wave mid-air. Their bodies turned brittle and crystalline, suspended in perfect silence.
Before they hit the ground, Qin Mian lifted her own hand.
A thin, sharp arc of light—dream-light—cut through the frozen creatures.
They shattered like glass hitting marble.
Yin Lie stared at her.
Qin Mian stared back.
There was no need to speak—both of them were thinking the same thing:
We move as one.
The Rift Grows Hostile
The Rift reacted violently.
Spines of crystal burst from the ground, bending into claws and spears. The air hummed with electricity as if the dimension itself was grinding its teeth.
"It's angry," Qin Mian whispered.
Yin Lie pulled her closer.
"It should be."
A massive spine thrust downward to impale them.
Yin Lie spun, lifting her easily in his arms as he leaped aside.
The spike drove into the ground, carving a canyon through the glassy floor.
He set her back onto her feet.
His voice dropped low:
"Stay close."
She nodded, cheeks flushing despite everything.
They didn't retreat.
They advanced.
A Guardian Wakes
The Rift condensed into a towering shape—
A Guardian.
Its body was composed of shards of mirror-like light, forming a monstrous wolf-shape with too many legs and no eyes. It let out a voiceless scream that shook the world.
Qin Mian staggered back.
"What is that?"
"A Guardian," Yin Lie replied.
"The Rift's last defense. It only appears when something inside threatens the dimension."
The Guardian lunged.
Yin Lie slammed his palm down.
An ice wall towered upward—
And the Guardian burst straight through it.
Shattered ice rained through the air.
The impact threw both of them off their feet.
Yin Lie rolled, pulling Qin Mian close to shield her from the debris.
Pain shot through his ribs—but he didn't let go of her.
Qin Mian pushed up, eyes blazing.
"I won't let it hurt you!"
She thrust both hands forward.
Dream-light spiraled outward in a swirling crescent.
It struck the Guardian's chest and—
CRACK—!!
A deep fracture tore down the creature's body.
Yin Lie stared, dumbfounded.
"Mian… that was—"
She shook, exhausted but fierce.
"…stronger when you're near."
Their powers harmonized.
Amplified each other.
The Rift trembled, its foundations weakening.
Together, They Become a Force
The Guardian reared back, preparing its final charge.
Yin Lie grabbed Qin Mian's hand, pulling her close.
"Follow my lead."
Her fingers tightened around his.
"Yes."
He stepped forward.
She matched him.
Their breaths synced.
Their heartbeats synced.
The Guardian lunged.
Yin Lie's voice dropped to a whisper.
"Now."
He struck the ground.
A giant ice spire erupted upward, impaling the Guardian from beneath and lifting it high.
Qin Mian leaped, letting his momentum guide her upward.
She sliced downward with a sweeping arc of dream-light—
SHIIIIIING—!!
The Guardian shattered into a storm of glowing fragments.
Light rained down around them like snow.
For the first time since entering the Rift—
there was silence.
Qin Mian fell forward, exhausted.
Yin Lie caught her, one arm tight around her back, the other cradling her head.
She breathed against his shoulder.
"Did we win…?"
Yin Lie looked around.
The Rift walls were shaking.
Cracks spread wider, deeper.
The sky rippled like torn fabric.
"No," he murmured.
"We broke through."
The Rift itself whispered—its voice ancient, wavering:
"…Anchor… awakened…"
Qin Mian shivered.
"What… what does that mean…?"
Yin Lie exhaled slowly.
"It means the Rift wasn't the real enemy."
He turned toward her, lifting her chin gently.
"It was the lock."
The air behind them split open—
A deeper, darker tear, leaking black light.
A voice drifted through the crack.
Soft.
Echoing.
Unfamiliar yet intimate.
"Mian…"
Her blood ran cold.
Yin Lie stepped in front of her immediately, eyes narrowing.
Something stepped through the tear.
Something that knew her name.
The true enemy had awakened.
—Chapter 100 End—