The streets of Lungmen had barely begun to settle when the storm struck. After the appearance of those bizarre creatures, Amiya, Talulah, Ch'en Hui-chieh, Nian, and Jingzhe made their way to the Lungmen Guard Bureau immediately after dispatching the threats. The civilian response—evacuation, triage, damage control—was left to the local Guard officers and a newly arrived team of technomancers from the Shuma Gia Corps.
Inside the Bureau, tension hung thick despite the efforts to remain composed.
"I've only been here once before," Nian remarked lazily, reclining on a bench with her arms behind her head, tail twitching in rhythmic agitation. "That time was because of that big lug. Can't believe it's already been so long. Time sure flies."
But the languid drawl and lazy fan flicks couldn't mask the agitation beneath her skin. The twitching tail and restless tapping were a dead giveaway. Something was deeply wrong.
Nearby, Amiya and the others were mid-call with the Doctor, reporting the incident in detail. The expression on the Doctor's face didn't shift through the explanation—not even at the more surreal elements.
"I see," the Doctor said calmly. "So those creatures… they were all drawn into being by Miss Xi, your sister?"
Amiya nodded. The Doctor's calm wasn't from ignorance—it was from understanding.
"They weren't born naturally," Nian confirmed with a frown. "There's twelve of us siblings. Used to be twelve, anyway. Now it's eleven. I'm number nine, and Xi is number eleven—the baby of the family. The creatures you saw, they're called Inkborn. Her power brings them to life from her paintings. They're fragments of her will, drawn in ink and given breath."
Jingzhe stood nearby, arms folded tightly, her face carved from cold steel. Her head throbbed. What had been a temporary surveillance mission had spiraled into chaos. She had been sent here to observe Nian and her kind, not to unravel some ancient, divine mystery. First Taihe's unexpected incident, and now… this.
"You're certain she's actually here in Lungmen?" Jingzhe asked, voice like frost. "Is there no other force on this continent capable of creating such constructs?"
Nian shook her head. She wished there were. But that lingering presence—faint but unmistakable—was Xi's. No one else could leave that kind of trace. You didn't just miss something like that when you were bonded by blood and divine thread.
"…Then this just got worse," Jingzhe muttered, pulling a specialized comms device from her coat.
"Hold on now, Dali Temple girl," Nian snapped, bolting upright, fan slapping her thigh. "What are you doing?"
"I'm reporting this to the Imperial Court," Jingzhe said, unflinching. "A Shoubeast proxy has breached containment and attacked one of Yan's cities. This is not something I can ignore."
"Please! Just give me a little time. I swear I'll find Xi and fix this." Nian was getting desperate now, lapsing into a regional dialect that slipped through her calm façade. "Xi's scared of her own damn shadow! You think she'd launch an attack on a city of her own free will? There's gotta be some huge misunderstanding here!"
If the Court got involved… if they classified Xi as a threat like they had their second brother… she wouldn't just be imprisoned. Every sibling would fall under heavy surveillance—herself included. That would shut down any chance of resolving this peacefully.
No. She couldn't let that happen. She had to find Xi first. If she could get to her little sister, talk to her, protect her—
But what if she was already too late?
Her tail whipped violently, the sharp snap of displaced air like thunder in the tight office space. The others instinctively tensed at the display of power barely held in check.
"I understand how you feel, Nian," Jingzhe said at last. "But you know what priority matters involving your kind carry in Yan's internal affairs. This goes far beyond you."
She didn't want to sound heartless. She wasn't trying to escalate the situation. But this was no longer just about family.
"Miss Jingzhe," the Doctor interrupted, raising a hand from the comms feed. "May I say something?"
"This is a matter of national security," Jingzhe snapped, sharp again. "We've allowed Rhodes Island to listen in out of courtesy, but don't mistake that for permission to interfere. I won't allow outside forces to meddle in Yan's internal affairs."
"I'm well aware of the legal boundaries. But all laws are meant to serve the people, not shackle them. This situation calls for reason, not rigidity."
"…What are you implying?"
The Doctor leaned forward, steepling his fingers. "Lungmen is at the northern edge of Yan's territory. It's days—if not weeks—away from Baizao. Unless the Grand Celestial himself teleports in to handle this personally, there's no way the Si Sui Tai can respond quickly enough. By the time reinforcements arrive, the New Year will be long gone—and Xi might be, too."
Nian winced, visibly bristling. "Watch your phrasing, Doc…"
"Point is, time is critical," he continued. "If you allow us to assist—even with just three of my Kamen Riders—we can track her far more efficiently. Hell, I'll even loan you Ghost Shadow Ninja if that's what it takes."
"This is confidential—"
"Confidential?" he scoffed. "Everyone in this room already knows what's going on, minus that one dork."
"…Huh?" Talulah looked up, blinking. "Wait—did you just call me dumb?"
"Don't worry about it."
"You jackass!"
"Enough," Nian growled, slamming her fan against the wall.
"Doctor's right, Jingzhe. If the worst-case scenario is real, then there's no way Xi did this on her own. She doesn't have the guts. This reeks of our damned second brother's scheming again. If he's involved—"
She paused, letting the weight of her words settle.
"Two Shoubeast proxies causing chaos in the same city? How long do you think you'll hold out if both of them dig in? Even the troops under Commander Wei wouldn't stand a chance. And if Xi's really hiding, using her full power? Not even your precious Lingjie could find her. But she won't need to hide to make chaos. She just needs to release a few more Inkborn."
Jingzhe said nothing. She didn't need to. Nian's words were painfully accurate.
"And there's one more thing you're missing," the Doctor added, turning back to his console. "Something we haven't talked about yet."
"What is it?" Jingzhe asked warily.
The screen flickered, then played back security footage from the earlier battle. It showed Talulah facing off against the largest of the creatures—the one known as Fury.
"That's one of Xi's stronger Inkborn," Nian noted. "Fury, born of anger and grief. What about it?"
"Look closer," the Doctor urged. "Not at the creature—at its armor."
Everyone leaned in. For a moment, the detail had escaped them. But now…
"Is that… Oripathy-grade stone armor?" Talulah blinked. "That wasn't Xi's doing?"
"No," Nian said firmly. "I'd know. Every creature she paints carries her essence. That armor? That's something else entirely. It wasn't drawn—it was grafted."
A ripple passed through the room.
"And I think I know where it came from," the Doctor said darkly. "Tracings point toward Theresa."
"Her again?!" Talulah groaned, gripping her head. "Why is she behind everything?!"
No one had an answer. But if Theresa had inserted herself into this situation… then things were worse than any of them thought.
"…You can report this to the Court," the Doctor said softly. "You're right. This goes deeper than any of us expected. But don't shut us out. Let us help."
Jingzhe looked like she wanted to argue—but didn't. After a long pause, she turned to leave.
"I'll send the report. And… you're allowed to assist, for now. But stay out of our way."
She left, the door clicking shut behind her.
"I'll go check on her," Taihe said, following shortly after.
Silence fell again.
"…You okay, Miss Nian?" Amiya asked gently.
Nian sat back down, fan hiding half her face. "…Do I look like I know where she is? If I did, I'd be out there already."
The frustration weighed heavy on her shoulders. If Xi had really gone rogue… No. That wasn't possible. Not without outside influence. But if it was…
No. She couldn't think like that.
"Can you at least sense her general location?" the Doctor pressed.
"Roughly," Nian admitted. "We siblings resonate. Like magnets. But I can't pin her down exactly."
"Then we start with that," Taihe said, reentering. "Even a rough lead is better than nothing. We need to mobilize now—before the next wave hits."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Chen gave a sharp gesture and left to organize her teams.
One by one, the room cleared.
Only silence remained.
And far away, in a space untouched by wind or time, someone opened their eyes.
A girl sat surrounded by inkstones, scrolls, and brushes. Her crimson eyes glowed faintly. Beneath her hand, a brush danced across paper, summoning mountains, rivers, snowfields, and deserts in bold, elegant strokes.
"…Found you."
The pen halted. Behind her, dozens of discarded paintings began to twist and writhe. From their pages crawled new creatures—larger, fiercer than the ones before. The Inkborn were evolving.
Even her tools stirred—her paperweight grew arms and legs, shifting into a massive, dragon-headed titan holding the very brush that birthed it.
And the mirrors and teacups surrounding her?
They, too, began to move.
"Bring her… back."