Time slowed again.
Not because the world wanted it.
Because Yin Lie did.
1. The Moment He Stops Fighting
Yin Lie stopped resisting.
That was the first sign.
The tearing sensation that had been ripping him apart—moment by moment, layer by layer—eased slightly, not because the pressure lessened, but because he no longer pushed against it.
Qin Mian felt it instantly.
"…Lie?" she whispered.
He lifted his head and looked at her.
Really looked.
Not through distortion.
Not through misaligned moments.
Her.
Bloodied. Shaking. Furious. Terrified.
Alive.
2. He Understands the End Clearly
The world was closing in.
He could feel the termination process tightening around both of them now, widening its scope with mechanical certainty.
They would not survive this together.
That truth was no longer debatable.
Yin Lie exhaled slowly.
"…It's finished," he said quietly.
Qin Mian shook her head violently.
"No. We can still—"
He cut her off gently.
"You already did everything you could," he said.
That was worse than blame.
3. He Sees the Only Remaining Option
There was one thing left he could do.
Not a fight.
Not a rupture.
A choice.
Time still responded to him—not cleanly, not safely, but enough.
He could act once more.
One final manipulation.
But unlike every time before, this would not pull him forward.
It would not rewind.
It would not protect.
It would end.
4. He Tells Her Without Explaining
He reached for her.
This time, his hand was solid.
Fully.
She gasped and clutched it desperately.
"You're stabilizing," she cried.
"I can feel it!"
He smiled faintly.
"No," he said softly.
"I'm deciding."
5. She Realizes Too Late
Her Anchor screamed.
Not in pain.
In warning.
This was wrong.
This was irreversible.
"…What are you doing?" she whispered.
Her voice broke.
"Lie—don't—"
He squeezed her hand once.
Hard.
"Listen to me."
6. His Final Request
"If I stop being here," he said calmly,
"don't chase me."
She froze.
"…What?"
"Don't try to anchor me," he continued.
"Don't try to find me in the gaps."
Tears spilled freely down her face.
"I can't just—!"
"You can," he said firmly.
"You must."
7. He Names the Cost
"This will finish it," he said.
"The termination won't need to widen anymore."
Her breathing became ragged.
"…And you?"
He hesitated for just a fraction of a second.
Then answered honestly.
"I won't be here."
8. She Breaks Completely
"No!" she screamed.
She lunged forward, clutching him with both arms.
"I won't accept that!"
Her Anchor flared violently, instinctively trying to lock him down.
Pain exploded through her chest.
He groaned but did not let go.
"Qin Mian," he said sharply.
"Look at me."
9. He Forces Her to See
She lifted her head, sobbing.
He met her eyes.
There was no fear there.
No desperation.
Only resolve.
"You're alive," he said.
"That matters more than me being remembered."
Her heart shattered.
"That's not fair," she cried.
He smiled weakly.
"I know."
10. The Truth He Never Said Before
"I was always borrowing time," he admitted quietly.
"Every step. Every fight. Every second I stayed."
She shook violently.
"I didn't care," she whispered.
"I never cared."
"I did," he said.
"And that's why I have to stop."
11. Time Gathers Around Him
The air thickened.
Not with pressure.
With attention.
Time aligned around Yin Lie for the first time since his collapse.
Moments stacked cleanly.
Sequential.
Ready.
Qin Mian felt it and screamed.
"No! You're giving it what it wants!"
He shook his head.
"I'm taking something away."
12. His Last Time Act
He released her hand.
That alone nearly destroyed her.
She reached for him—
—and froze.
He stepped back.
Just one step.
Time responded instantly.
Not snapping.
Not tearing.
Opening.
Yin Lie placed his foot down—
and time moved.
Not forward.
Not backward.
Closed.
13. What He Actually Does
He did not escape.
He did not rewind himself out.
He collapsed his own timeline.
Every remaining misaligned version of himself folded inward, not into presence—but into non-continuity.
He made himself something time could no longer sequence.
14. Qin Mian Screams His Name
"LIE!"
She ran forward.
Her hands passed through him.
His outline dissolved gently, not violently, like mist evaporating under sunlight.
"No—no—no—!"
Her Anchor surged wildly, trying to grab something that was no longer there to grab.
Nothing responded.
15. His Last Words
As his presence thinned to almost nothing, his voice reached her.
Not sound.
Not echo.
Meaning.
Live.
That was all.
16. The World Reacts Immediately
The termination pressure collapsed.
Abruptly.
Containment vectors disengaged.
The widening scope halted mid-process.
The system recalculated furiously.
The initiating anomaly—
gone.
17. Qin Mian Falls
She collapsed to her knees, screaming.
The pain in her chest intensified brutally as the Anchor lost its second anchor point.
Something inside her snapped permanently.
She vomited blood and cried out, clutching the ground.
"He's gone," she sobbed.
"He's really gone."
18. Time Stabilizes — At a Cost
Reality smoothed.
The fractured space sealed.
The sky cleared unnaturally fast.
The world resumed functioning as if a storm had passed.
Too clean.
Too final.
19. What Remains
Qin Mian stayed where she fell.
Hours passed.
Or seconds.
She didn't know.
There was no outline anymore.
No distortion.
No trace.
Only absence.
But not empty.
Heavy.
20. End of the Chapter
The world survived.
The cascade stopped.
The termination protocol ended.
And Yin Lie—
who had bent time, broken rules, and defied judgment—
did not die.
He did something worse.
He finished himself
so the world would not finish her.
And Qin Mian, kneeling alone in the quiet aftermath, understood the truth that would haunt her forever:
He did not disappear because he was weak.
He disappeared because, in the end,
he chose her existence over his own continuity.