The rain stopped without warning, as if a giant hand had pressed a mute button over the entire city.
Streetlights flickered slowly, like they could sense something in the air that shouldn't be there.
Mira stood on that wet road with Kael and Rhen.
But the loudest thing wasn't the rain.
Not the city sirens.
Not the black fog closing in.
The loudest thing was
her own chest.
Eden energy whatever demon it was throbbed inside Mira like an ancient bell struck for the first time in a thousand years.
Rhen drew his sword.
"Three minutes before that fog reaches manifestation phase. We move."
Kael glared at him.
"I'm not moving until you explain everything to Mira!"
"Not now."
Rhen didn't even look at Kael his eyes stayed locked on the fog, which was beginning to form long arms out of shadow.
Mira felt her knees weaken… but her eyes stayed sharp.
"Kael."
Her voice was calm. Far calmer than she felt.
"I want answers. But if we die, answers don't matter."
Kael clenched his teeth, then nodded.
"Fine. We fall back. But I choose the route."
Rhen raised an eyebrow.
"I know this terrain better"
"Bro, you're from the Tang Sect," Kael cut in.
"This is Wudang mapping territory."
Rhen paused for two seconds then nodded.
Even geniuses know when to pick efficiency over ego.
Kael tapped the module on his Eden bracelet.
A blue holographic map projected into the air.
"Our drop-point base is near the docks, 1.2 kilometers west. But… there's a problem."
He glanced at the massive fog.
"They're tracking the source of the resonance not our footprints."
Mira narrowed her eyes.
"They're tracking me?"
Both of them looked at her.
Mira snorted.
"Great."
Rhen: "Accurate."
Kael: "Yeah, super great."
The fog thickened.
A second face had already formed both staring at Mira like she was a royal feast.
Rhen moved first.
"Fall back."
Kael grabbed Mira's hand.
"Don't let go. Your resonance is unstable if you're close, I can keep it from spiking."
Mira: "The hell are you talking ab"
But before she could finish, the ground vibrated.
Not an earthquake.
Something cracked in the air like invisible glass being sliced open.
Kael cursed.
"Oh no don't tell me… don't tell me that's its first portal"
Rhen stared at the crack, his pupils shrinking.
"Impossible… this fast?"
The crack widened.
From inside it came a sound.
Not human.
Not demonic.
It was
metal praying.
"Eden… return… Eden…"
Mira clutched her head.
The voice pierced straight into the core of her mind, like someone calling a name she didn't know… but her body remembered.
Kael gripped her shoulder.
"Mira! Focus! Fight it!"
"I I don't know how!"
Rhen stepped forward, his blade glowing deep crimson.
"If that portal opens fully, the entire district is gone."
He looked at Mira.
"Only a resonator can stop it."
Mira stepped back.
"I'm not"
Rhen: "You are, Mira."
Kael: "At least try."
Mira panted, her body trembling.
"I… I don't even understand what's happening…"
Rhen lowered his voice, unexpectedly gentle for someone with his brutal reputation.
"Mira. You carry a power Edenveil itself fears to touch. And you've lived for years without exploding. That means you're strong."
Kael added, his voice rough.
"We're here. You're not alone."
Mira closed her eyes.
In the darkness she saw something
not her childhood,
not Shaolin,
not the cult.
She saw light.
Warm golden light moving like breathing.
The light… wasn't hers.
But it touched her like it had been waiting.
Mira opened her eyes.
And for the first time
Eden energy surfaced on her skin.
Not a blast.
Not a storm.
Just… a soft gold-to-red shimmer tracing the veins along her hands.
Kael's eyes widened.
"This… this is a hybrid resonance pattern…"
Rhen gave a thin smile.
"Finally."
Mira clenched the air
and the light responded.
"If that portal wants to open…"
She stood tall.
"…I'll close it."
The crack screamed.
The fog surged.
The metallic voice grew louder.
But Mira stepped forward, light wrapping her like a second skin.
Kael and Rhen could only watch.
Kael whispered though Mira didn't hear it.
"…if she can control this… the world's gonna change."
Rhen answered without looking away.
"No. The world won't change."
His gaze stayed on Mira as she approached the first Edenveil fracture.
"This… is her awakening."
And when Mira touched the fractured air
the portal stopped breathing.