Linhai City noticed patterns.
Not individuals—yet—but anomalies.
A week after their licenses were issued, reports began circulating quietly through trainer networks.
Unstable Pokémon calming without intervention.Minor realm breaches resolving faster than expected.A Primeape incident that ended too cleanly.
Eren read the bulletin twice, then closed it.
"They're connecting dots," Lia said, not looking surprised.
"Not to us," Eren replied. "Not yet."
But someone else was paying attention.
At the South Dock Training Zone, a young man in a gray jacket watched security footage replay on a loop.
The Primeape incident.
He paused the frame just before the Pokémon collapsed.
"No impact," he murmured. "No visible suppressor."
A Luxray sat beside him, eyes glowing faintly as it watched too.
"Something leaned on reality," the man said. "And it wasn't a Pokémon."
The Luxray growled low.
"Find out," the man ordered. "Quietly."
Back in their apartment, Lia frowned at her screen. "Local trainer activity's increasing. Patrols too."
Eren nodded. "We expected this."
"What we didn't expect," Lia said slowly, "is how fast."
They adjusted immediately.
Realm entries reduced.Training sessions shortened.Public presence minimized.
But growth didn't stop.
It just went underground.
Inside the Sovereign Genesis Realm, sealed zones pulsed faintly, reacting to Honedge and Charmander's presence now.
Not unlocking.
Acknowledging.
Honedge began responding before commands were issued—anticipating corrections, adjusting stance without instruction.
Charmander's flames grew denser, hotter, yet more contained—dragon blood sleeping, not raging.
[Hidden Progress: Ongoing.]
One evening, as Lia catalogued resources, she paused.
"Eren," she said quietly. "If someone like that Luxray trainer comes looking…"
Eren didn't ask how she knew.
"We don't fight," he replied. "We vanish."
"And if vanishing isn't enough?"
He looked at Honedge. At Charmander.
"Then," he said calmly, "we let them realize they were never hunting prey."
The realm hummed faintly in response.
Somewhere beyond city limits, a Tier-2 secret realm destabilized unexpectedly—then corrected itself.
Heaven's Rule shifted its gaze.
Not alarmed.
But alert.
And in Linhai City, the twins slept lightly, knowing one truth had become unavoidable:
They were no longer invisible.
They were unknown.
And unknown things made the world nervous.