Yin Lie did not notice the gap.
That was the most terrifying part.
1. A Conversation That Ends Wrong
Qin Mian was speaking.
He knew that.
He could see her mouth moving, her expression tight with concern, her hand gripping his sleeve like she was afraid he might vanish if she let go.
"…Lie," she said.
He nodded.
"I hear you."
That was true.
At least, he believed it was.
2. The World Slips a Frame
The next thing he knew, she was screaming.
Not speaking.
Screaming.
Her grip was gone.
The ground was different.
The fractured stone beneath them was torn open, a jagged split running between where he stood and where she had been moments ago.
Yin Lie's heart stopped.
"…Qin Mian?"
No answer.
Only echo.
3. He Checks the Wrong Direction
He turned left.
Nothing.
Turned right.
Still nothing.
Panic rose sharply.
"Qin Mian!"
Then pain hit him.
Hard.
From behind.
4. He Realizes He Missed Something
Yin Lie collapsed to one knee, gasping as pressure crushed his back.
Not scavenger pressure.
Containment pressure.
He tasted blood.
"…This wasn't here," he rasped.
The world did not respond.
He tried to remember how he got here.
The memory refused to exist.
There was no transition.
No movement.
Just before and after.
5. Qin Mian Is on the Other Side
Her voice finally reached him.
"Lie! Don't move!"
It sounded distant.
Strained.
Terrified.
He looked up.
She stood across the fracture, one arm bleeding heavily, her Anchor flaring chaotically around her.
A containment field shimmered faintly between them.
Thin.
New.
His stomach dropped.
"…I jumped," he whispered.
Not forward.
Over.
6. The Missed Moment
Qin Mian was shaking.
"You disappeared," she shouted.
"For a second—you just—weren't there!"
Yin Lie's hands trembled.
"…How long?"
Her voice broke.
"Long enough."
7. What Happened While He Was Gone
She forced herself to breathe.
"When you vanished," she said, voice tight,
"the world reacted."
Containment pressure surged.
Not hunting.
Correction.
A scavenger—no, not a scavenger, something cleaner—had begun forming.
She swallowed.
"It was going to lock us in separate zones."
Yin Lie stared at her in horror.
"…And you stopped it."
She nodded.
"With the Anchor."
Blood ran freely down her arm.
"It took everything to break it."
8. The Cost He Didn't See
Yin Lie pushed himself to his feet despite the screaming pain.
Ice flared instinctively.
The response came late.
Too late.
The containment field thickened slightly.
"…I should've been here," he whispered.
Qin Mian's eyes burned.
"Yes," she snapped.
"You should have."
The anger in her voice was raw.
Real.
It cut deeper than fear.
9. He Understands the Horror
He hadn't hesitated.
He hadn't chosen wrong.
He simply wasn't present for a critical second.
And in that second—
the world almost won.
"…I didn't feel it," he said softly.
"That's the worst part."
10. The World Learns Something New
The containment field stabilized further.
Not complete.
But persistent.
The system beneath the hunt had recorded the event.
Subject Yin Lie:
Temporal discontinuity confirmed.
Subject vulnerable to separation scenarios.
Countermeasure viability increased.
Yin Lie felt cold dread settle deep in his chest.
"…They know now," he whispered.
Qin Mian wiped blood from her face with shaking fingers.
"They know you can be absent."
11. He Tries to Cross Back
He stepped toward the fracture.
The moment his foot touched the edge—
time stuttered violently.
Pain detonated through his skull.
He screamed as overlapping moments slammed into him at once.
He fell back hard.
"…Don't!" Qin Mian cried.
"You'll tear yourself apart!"
He lay there shaking, breath ragged.
"…I can't even choose to be with you," he whispered.
12. Qin Mian Feels the Weight Shift
She looked at him across the fracture.
Really looked.
Not as a protector.
Not as a weapon.
But as someone fragile in a way she had never seen before.
"…Lie," she said quietly.
"If this keeps happening…"
She couldn't finish the sentence.
He did it for her.
"You'll have to act without me."
Her chest tightened painfully.
"No."
"Sometimes," he said, forcing the words out,
"I won't be there."
13. The Most Dangerous Truth
He met her gaze.
"This is worse than dying," he said softly.
"At least death is final."
This—
this was unreliability.
Qin Mian shook her head, tears streaming.
"I don't care," she said fiercely.
"I'll wait."
He closed his eyes.
"…Waiting might be what kills you."
14. The Fracture Slowly Closes
The containment field thinned.
Slowly.
Reluctantly.
The world recalculated.
Qin Mian stepped back cautiously.
The fracture began to seal.
She took a step forward.
Then another.
The field flickered.
Finally—
they were on the same side again.
She collapsed into his arms, sobbing.
"I thought I lost you," she cried.
Yin Lie held her tightly, shaking.
"…I was right here," he whispered.
That was the lie.
15. End of the Chapter
They survived the separation.
Barely.
But something irreversible had happened.
Yin Lie had skipped a moment that mattered.
And the world had noticed.
From now on, every fight would carry a new risk—
not that he might fail,
but that he might not exist
when existence mattered most.
Qin Mian clung to him as if afraid time itself might pull him away again.
And Yin Lie knew, with absolute certainty:
The next time he vanished,
there might not be a second chance
to come back to the same moment.