The thunder did not fade.
It lingered, low and distant, rolling across the Borderlands like a warning that refused to end. The sky darkened further, clouds gathering in slow spirals that did not move with the wind.
Liuxue felt the pressure before she understood it.
It was not pain.
It was attention.
Her seal pulsed once, sharply.
"They are focusing," the Starborn man said, voice tight.
Yining squinted at the sky. "That does not look like watching. That looks like aiming."
A ripple tore through the clouds.
Not lightning.
Not sound.
Space itself bent, folding inward as a line of pale light split the sky open.
Liuxue's breath caught. "Another rift."
"No," the Starborn man said. "A gate."
The light widened, forming a circular aperture suspended in the air. Cold poured from it, frost forming on the ground beneath as the temperature plummeted.
From within the gate, figures descended.
Three this time.
They wore armor etched with divine script, their forms solid and imposing. Wings of condensed light flared briefly behind them before vanishing as they touched the ground.
Enforcers.
The Starborn man's posture hardened instantly. "Do not speak unless I tell you to."
Liuxue did not look away. "I am done being silent."
The central enforcer stepped forward. Its helm was smooth, featureless, reflecting the world back in warped fragments.
"Shen Liuxue," it said.
Her true name rang through the air like a struck bell.
Yining gasped.
Liuxue's seal burned violently.
The Starborn man swore under his breath. "They should not know that yet."
Liuxue forced herself to stand tall, even as the sound of her name rattled inside her bones. "You summoned me?"
The enforcer tilted its head. "You activated a fracture stabilization event. That authority is restricted."
"I did not ask for permission," Liuxue said.
The enforcer paused.
The other two shifted subtly, hands tightening around their weapons.
"That confirms deviation," the central figure said. "You are ordered to cease all interaction with structural layers immediately."
Liuxue let out a humorless laugh. "Or what?"
The air thickened.
"Or you will be forcibly returned to your sealed state," it replied.
Yining stepped forward, blade raised. "Over my dead body."
The enforcer did not even glance at her. "Mortal resistance acknowledged. Irrelevant."
Before the Starborn man could intervene, Liuxue spoke.
"No."
The word rang clear and steady.
The enforcers froze.
Liuxue took a step forward, her heart hammering but her voice firm. "You do not get to order me anymore."
The seal flared, light bleeding through the fabric of her robes. The ground beneath her feet warmed, stabilizing instinctively.
The enforcers reacted instantly.
Weapons formed from light, blades humming with lethal precision.
"Final warning," the central enforcer said. "Submit."
The Starborn man moved to Liuxue's side, starfire flaring around him. "Touch her and you will start a war you cannot finish."
The enforcer regarded him coldly. "You already did."
That single sentence hit harder than any blow.
Liuxue felt something inside her click into place.
She raised her hand.
Not in attack.
In refusal.
"I am not returning," she said. "And I am not breaking this world to please you."
The seal responded.
The fracture beneath them stabilized completely, a deep hum resonating through the land. The pressure from the heavens wavered.
The enforcers staggered.
"That should not be possible," one said sharply.
Liuxue met their gaze. "Get used to disappointment."
The central enforcer stepped back slowly.
"This deviation will be reported," it said. "And corrected."
The gate reopened, pale light pulling them backward.
Before disappearing, the enforcer looked at Liuxue one last time.
"You are running out of time."
The gate snapped shut.
Silence fell.
Yining let out a breath she had clearly been holding. "Well. That was terrifying."
Liuxue's legs finally gave out. She sank to her knees, breathing hard.
The Starborn man caught her shoulders. "You challenged them directly."
"I know," she said, voice shaking. "Did I make things worse?"
He looked at her with something like awe. "You made them hesitate."
Her seal pulsed once, steady and strong.
For the first time, the heavens had blinked.
And Liuxue knew, deep in her bones, that they would never look away again.