Jason Wu had fought beasts the size of mountains.
He had survived the Void.
He had outsmarted ancient sentient weapons, crazed butchers, dimension-rending anomalies.
But nothing—
**absolutely nothing**—
prepared him for this:
The Observer Prime casually following him around like an overqualified ghost.
Jason pinched the bridge of his nose.
"…You're still here."
The silver-haired woman tilted her head.
**"Correct."**
Jason exhaled sharply. "Why?"
**"Monitoring protocol."**
"We already discussed this."
**"Yes."**
"…And you're still here."
**"Correct."**
Jason turned away and marched through the forest, muttering to himself.
Longwu Sword vibrated on his back.
*["Jason, boy… she is literally the most dangerous being you've ever met. You cannot just talk to her like she's a lost puppy."]*
"I'm trying," Jason hissed through his teeth, "to pretend this is normal."
*["It is not normal."]*
"No kidding!"
Behind them, the Observer Prime glided across the ground without disturbing a single blade of grass.
Not floating.
Not walking.
Gliding.
Jason tried again.
"Look, if you're going to follow me around, can you at least walk like a normal person?"
She blinked slowly.
**"Define normal."**
Jason inhaled the most exhausted inhale in human history.
"…Feet. Touch the ground. Movement. Physics."
The Observer Prime looked down—
as if seeing her own feet for the first time.
Then—
**Tap.**
Her feet touched the soil.
She took a step.
It was… almost human.
Almost.
Jason blinked. "Huh. Okay. That's—"
Her next step shattered a tree.
*BOOOOM!*
Jason stumbled back.
"WHAT—WHY—?!"
The Observer Prime stared at the splintered trunk.
**"I miscalculated the force distribution."**
Jason threw his hands up.
"You don't say!"
Longwu snorted with metallic laughter.
*["Oh, this is going to be fun."]*
Jason groaned. "Please shut up."
---
### **THE MOST AWKWARD CAMPFIRE IN HISTORY**
Night fell.
Jason lit a small fire.
Lily's pendant warmed softly against his chest, reminding him of the real world he needed to return to.
He sighed.
"Okay," he muttered to himself. "Just treat her like… I don't know. A dangerous aunt visiting uninvited."
Longwu chimed in.
*["Jason, if she were an aunt, she would be the kind who erases universes for bad manners."]*
Jason ignored him.
The Observer Prime approached the fire and sat.
No—
she didn't sit.
She copied the *idea* of sitting.
Which resulted in her hovering two inches above the ground with her knees bent at a mathematically perfect angle.
Jason stared.
"…That is not sitting."
**"It is within 92% similarity to the act,"** she replied calmly.
"That's not how sitting works."
**"You are incorrect."**
Jason rubbed his eyes.
"Okay. Fine. Let's… talk."
Her silver eyes locked onto him instantly.
Jason's soul flinched.
"…Not like that," he murmured. "Could you look less… intense?"
**"I do not have intensity."**
"Sure. Whatever you say."
Silence.
Wind rustled through the forest.
Fire crackled.
Jason cleared his throat.
"So… why me?"
The Observer Prime didn't blink.
**"You diverge."**
Jason frowned. "From what?"
**"From everything."**
Jason waited.
The Observer Prime continued.
**"All life follows a path. You do not."**
"…Meaning?"
**"Your decisions do not align with probabilistic expectation.
You choose differently from every projected outcome.
Even when knowing the consequences."**
Jason scratched his head.
"So… I'm unpredictable?"
**"Incorrect."**
She leaned closer.
Jason instinctively leaned back.
**"You are *anti-predictable*.
The more we calculate your future, the faster it changes."**
Jason blinked.
"…That sounds like a lot of stress for you guys."
The Observer Prime paused.
**"…Correct."**
Jason almost laughed.
But then—
Her tone shifted.
Slightly.
Barely.
Yet enough to chill the air.
**"You will meet the Riftbound again."**
Jason froze.
"…When?"
**"Soon."**
His pulse spiked.
"Are they coming for me?"
**"Yes."**
"Will you stop them?"
**"No."**
Jason stood abruptly.
"WHY NOT?!"
The Observer Prime looked up at him.
Expression still calm.
Still empty.
Still absolute.
**"Your anomaly is not to be prevented."**
Jason's breath hitched.
"…What does that mean?"
**"Your fate is not to be corrected."**
She stood slowly.
Graceful.
Terrifying.
**"Your fate is to be tested."**
Jason's jaw clenched.
"By who?"
**"By everything."**
Jason stared at her.
The Observer Prime—
the one assigned to monitor him—
the most powerful being he had ever met—
lowered her gaze for the first time.
Not submissive.
Not regretful.
Just… acknowledging.
**"Jason Wu."**
Her voice softened a fraction.
**"The universe does not know what you are."**
Jason felt numb.
She continued.
**"But one thing is certain."**
Her silver eyes reflected the campfire.
**"You will change it."**
Jason swallowed hard.
"…For better or worse?"
The Observer Prime stepped closer.
**"That is what I am here to observe."**
Jason exhaled shakily.
Lily, Leon, Wei Qing, Xueyin Pavilion, his home…
Everything felt so far away.
He whispered:
"I just want to go back."
The Observer Prime's expression didn't shift.
But her voice—
Her voice almost did.
**"Then walk your path."**
**"And survive long enough to return."**
Jason closed his eyes.
"…I'll survive."
**"Correct."**
Jason opened one eye.
"Hey—wait. You didn't predict that, did you?"
The Observer Prime turned away.
**"No."**
Jason sighed.
"Great. Even my confidence is unpredictable."
Longwu laughed again.
*["Boy, if this keeps up, you will drive the Prime insane."]*
Jason muttered,
"That's the plan."
The Observer Prime turned her head slightly.
**"I heard that."**
Jason froze.
"…Crap."