Chapter 8 — The Gathering Sparks
The second tear in the sky did not open further.
It lingered.
Thin. Vertical. Darker than the main silver fracture.
Like a wound waiting to be widened.
Kai stood beneath it, silver-thread Qi still faintly circulating inside him. The air felt tighter now, heavier—as if the world itself was holding its breath.
Then he felt it.
Not from above.
From below.
Across the city, scattered fluctuations began rising one after another. Small at first. Flickers. Like sparks trying to catch flame.
Humans.
Awakening.
He turned toward the nearest surge—a violent spiral of wind tearing through a collapsed subway entrance two streets away.
When he arrived, debris was suspended midair, spinning in chaotic circles. Concrete shards sliced through pillars. A car alarm screamed somewhere underground.
At the center of it stood a girl—early twenties—eyes glowing faint green, hair whipping wildly around her face. Every time she panicked, the wind intensified.
Three mutated beasts lay shredded around her.
She wasn't controlling it.
She was drowning in it.
"Stop!" she shouted at nothing. "Please—stop!"
Kai stepped carefully into the edge of the wind field. The pressure cut against his skin, but his reinforced body held.
"It won't stop if you fight it," he said calmly.
She turned toward him, fear and confusion mixing in her eyes.
"Who are you?"
"Someone who survived."
The wind surged again, slicing into the walls.
Kai inhaled slowly, letting his own Qi stabilize outward.
"Match my breathing," he told her. "Slow. Deep. Don't reject it. Guide it."
"I—I can't—"
"You can."
He stepped closer despite the slicing currents. His presence, steady and grounded, began interfering with the chaos around her. Silver-thread Qi subtly harmonized with the wind energy.
"Inhale."
She copied him instinctively.
The winds stuttered.
"Exhale."
The spiral tightened instead of exploding outward.
Again.
And again.
The slicing gusts gradually lost their edge. Concrete stopped lifting. The air pressure eased.
Her glowing eyes dimmed from bright green to a steady emerald.
Finally, the wind settled around her like a cloak instead of a storm.
Silence returned to the subway entrance.
She stared at her trembling hands.
"It… listened."
Kai shook his head slightly.
"No. You listened."
Her energy stabilized further.
Qi Gathering Realm.
Natural entry.
Not forced.
She looked up at him carefully.
"You're different," she said. "Your energy feels… heavier."
He didn't answer directly.
"What's your name?"
"Mei."
"Kai."
A distant roar interrupted them.
Not close.
But powerful.
And not chaotic.
Mei felt it too. Her posture stiffened.
"That's not like the others," she whispered.
"No."
Kai's gaze slowly lifted toward the sky.
The thin vertical tear flickered again.
Wind currents subtly pulled upward toward it.
And then—
A pulse descended.
Invisible to normal sight.
But crystal clear to Kai.
A scanning wave.
It passed through buildings.
Through streets.
Through people.
When it touched him—
The silver-thread Qi inside his body reacted violently.
The wave paused.
Just for a fraction of a second.
Mei shivered.
"What was that?"
Kai didn't respond immediately.
Because he understood.
Something on the other side of that tear had just taken notice.
Not of Earth.
Of him.
The wave continued past and dissipated.
The vertical tear darkened slightly, stabilizing rather than fading.
That wasn't good.
It meant anchoring.
Mei stepped closer to him instinctively.
"What's happening?"
Kai exhaled slowly.
"We're not the only ones who felt the world change."
The air grew colder.
The sky above shimmered.
And for the first time since Spiritual Recovery began—
The feeling wasn't chaos.
It was intention.
Someone wasn't just observing anymore.
They were preparing.
Kai looked at the tear.
Then at Mei.
Then at the city still trembling under awakening pressure.
"We don't have much time," he said quietly.
Because sparks were igniting everywhere.
But storms—
Storms were coming from above.
Chapter 8 End