The air didn't just distort this time.
It broke.
Adrian felt it before he saw it—the exact moment the space in front of them stopped behaving like something solid. It folded inward, like a surface being pushed from the other side.
Not a crack.
Not a ripple.
A breach.
"…That's new," he said under his breath.
"Yes," the red-eyed woman replied. "This is closer to its true form."
"That's not comforting."
"It wasn't meant to be."
The man beside them shifted his stance slightly, his gaze fixed on the forming distortion.
"…You shouldn't have let it anchor," he said.
The shadowed woman's voice came from somewhere unseen. "We didn't 'let' anything."
"That doesn't change the result."
Adrian glanced between them. "Can we argue about blame after we don't die?"
No one disagreed.
That alone told him enough.
The distortion deepened.
Darkness didn't pour out of it.
It erased what was behind it.
Light bent. Sound dulled.
Even the floor beneath it looked like it was being overwritten.
Adrian felt his chest tighten as the bond reacted.
Stronger than before.
Not just a pulse.
A pull.
"…It's dragging something through," he said.
"Yes," the third woman replied quietly.
"Something bigger?"
"Yes."
"Of course it is."
The man stepped forward slightly now, no longer just observing.
"Stay behind me if you can't keep up," he said.
Adrian gave him a look. "You just met me."
"And I've already seen enough."
"…Fair."
The red-eyed woman didn't move back.
"If you interfere recklessly, you'll die first," she said.
The man didn't respond.
But he didn't step back either.
That tension again.
Different kind this time.
Not hostility.
Competition.
Adrian exhaled slowly. "Great. Two problems now."
The distortion surged.
And then—
Something pushed through.
Not fully.
But enough.
A limb.
If it could be called that.
It didn't have a fixed shape. It extended outward like something forced into a form it didn't belong in.
The moment it entered—
The entire room shuddered.
Adrian's knees bent slightly as the pressure slammed into him.
"…That's heavier," he said through clenched teeth.
"Yes," the red-eyed woman replied. "Don't let it touch you directly."
"Working on it."
The thing moved.
Faster than anything before.
The man reacted first.
He stepped forward and struck—not with a weapon, not with visible force, but something precise.
The air snapped.
The limb recoiled slightly.
Adrian blinked. "…You can hit it too?"
"Yes," the man said.
"That's actually reassuring."
"It shouldn't be."
"…Right."
The shadowed woman moved next.
The darkness surged upward, wrapping around the limb like restraints.
For a moment—
It held.
Then it twisted.
The shadows cracked.
Not shattered.
But strained.
"…It's stronger than before," she said.
"No kidding," Adrian muttered.
The third woman raised her hand slightly.
The air shifted.
Not visibly.
But Adrian felt it.
A pressure against his mind.
A distortion that wasn't physical.
The limb slowed.
Just slightly.
"…Now," she said.
Adrian didn't hesitate.
The bond surged violently this time.
Not controlled.
Not calm.
Hungry.
He stepped forward and struck.
His hand collided with the distorted limb—
And for the first time—
It didn't break immediately.
Adrian's eyes widened slightly. "…That's different."
The resistance pushed back.
Hard.
Like hitting something that existed and didn't at the same time.
The impact sent a shock through his arm.
Pain flared.
But he didn't pull back.
"…Not this time," he muttered.
The bond flared again.
Stronger.
Deeper.
And something beneath it—
Answered.
The space around his hand warped slightly.
Then—
The limb snapped back.
Not shattered.
But forced out.
The distortion flickered violently.
The room shook.
Adrian stumbled back, breathing hard. "…I pushed it back."
"Yes," the red-eyed woman said.
But her voice wasn't calm anymore.
It was focused.
Tense.
"It felt you," she added.
Adrian looked at her. "That sounds bad."
"It is."
The man stepped forward again, eyes narrowed. "It's stabilizing the breach."
Adrian frowned. "That means?"
"It's trying to come through fully."
Silence.
Heavy.
Adrian exhaled slowly. "Yeah, I was afraid you'd say that."
The distortion widened.
Not fast.
But steady.
The edges sharpened.
The pressure intensified.
This wasn't testing anymore.
This wasn't probing.
This was entry.
The shadowed woman reappeared beside Adrian. "We can't let it complete."
"No argument here," he said.
The third woman's gaze flicked toward him. "Then don't hold back this time."
Adrian frowned slightly. "I wasn't holding back before."
"You were," she said.
The red-eyed woman stepped closer again, placing her hand against his chest.
This time—
There was no adjustment.
No slow build.
The bond ignited instantly.
Full.
Violent.
Alive.
Adrian's breath caught.
Everything sharpened.
The room.
The distortion.
The presence beyond it.
And something else.
Something deeper inside him.
Awake.
"…That's new," he said quietly.
"Yes," she replied.
The man glanced at him briefly. "…What did you just do?"
"Nothing," Adrian said.
"That's the problem."
The distortion surged again.
Another limb pushed through.
Then another.
Not random.
Structured.
Forcing its way into shape.
Adrian clenched his fist.
The bond pulsed in sync with something deeper now.
Not foreign.
Not borrowed.
His.
"…It's not just reacting to me anymore," he said.
"No," the red-eyed woman replied.
"It's responding."
Adrian's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Then I'll give it something to respond to."
He stepped forward.
The pressure slammed into him again.
Harder than before.
But this time—
He didn't slow down.
Behind him, the three women moved.
Beside him, the man stepped in.
And in front of them—
The breach widened.
This wasn't just a fight anymore.
It was a threshold.
And Adrian had just realized something.
If that thing could come through—
Then maybe—
He could reach through too.