Part Three
Rain crashed down with brutal force.
Lightning struck a building across the street, shattering glass.
Wen De screamed as something ignited inside him.
Energy surged through his veins—raw and ancient. Not heat. Not electricity.
Something older.
It expanded outward like a pulse.
Across Riverfall City—
Streetlights flickered.
Traffic signals glitched red to green to black.
Every digital billboard went dark.
Phones vibrated in pockets.
Screens lit up simultaneously.
Two words appeared everywhere:
CONNECTION RESTORED
Drivers slammed brakes.
Pedestrians shouted in confusion.
The power grid hummed unnaturally, as if awakening from a long sleep.
Deep beneath the city, in forgotten underground chambers carved into stone, dormant patterns etched into the rock began glowing faintly.
Something ancient stirred.
On the rooftop, Wen De lay trembling in the rain.
His heartbeat gradually steadied.
He could feel something now.
Not pain.
Awareness.
The electrical current in nearby buildings.
The faint vibration beneath the ground.
Like invisible lines connecting everything.
Circuits.
Energy paths.
Waiting.
Above him, the swirling clouds parted briefly.
The sky—
Cracked.
Thin fractures spread across the darkness like stress lines in glass.
Through one of those cracks—
Something moved.
A presence vast beyond comprehension.
Watching.
Curious.
Hungry.
The voice returned, softer.
Host identity confirmed.
Welcome back, Wen De.
His breath caught.
"Back…?"
The signal has reached the higher realms.
A cold wave washed over him.
"They can see me?"
Yes.
Lightning flashed again.
And this time—
He wasn't alone.