Chapter 22 — The First Breach Warning
The plateau had emptied, leaving only the whisper of wind and the faint metallic scent of discharged qi-resonance. Alex Grams stood alone at the cliff edge, staring at the horizon where faint ripples distorted the sky—subtle reminders that the rift's instability was spreading farther each day.
He rubbed his temples.
The Resonance Core test was a success.A dangerous success.
We can neutralize their weapons.Maybe even their techniques.But now there was another problem.
The sword's strange resistance wasn't a malfunction.It was adaptation.
Tech was learning to counter qi.Qi was learning to counter tech.
A feedback loop like that could spiral into something uncontrollable.
He frowned. "We're running out of time."
Bootsteps crunched behind him.
Cheng Mu approached with a thermal flask."You look like you're five minutes away from jumping into the rift."
Alex accepted the drink. "Almost."
"Don't." Cheng Mu leaned on the railing. "You're one of the few people whose brain we actually need."
Alex chuckled, but it died quickly."Did you see the dimensional readings this morning?"
"Yeah. Ripple distortion rose another four percent."
"Four percent in a single day," Alex corrected. "That's not drift. That's something pushing from the other side."
Cheng Mu's smile faded.
"Blue Star?"
"Or something beyond Blue Star," Alex said quietly.
Cheng Mu looked troubled, but before he could reply, a harsh alarm shrieked through the comms on Alex's wrist.
—ALERT. NEXUS STATION BREACH DETECTED.SECTOR A-01. UNCLASSIFIED ENERGY SIGNATURE.ALL SENIOR PERSONNEL TO COMMAND IMMEDIATELY.
Cheng Mu stiffened."That's the southern gate."
Alex was already moving.
Nexus Command Station — War Room
The command room was chaos—screens flickering, holographic projectors rebooting, alarms pulsing red. Engineers shouted over each other while soldiers rushed into defensive positions, rifles charged with stabilized plasma cores.
Dr. Sana Verma sprinted toward Alex the moment he entered.
"Alex—we have a problem."
"Define 'problem.'"
Sana brought up a hologram.Lines of data scrolled too fast to follow.
"Ten minutes ago, a sudden spike in qi density hit Sector A-01. We thought it was another ripple surge, but then—"
She zoomed in.
A tear in space, barely the width of a doorway, pulsed on the screen like a wound struggling to stay closed.
"—this ripped open inside the station."
Alex's heart sank.It was a rift.
But not like the primary one.This one was smaller, more concentrated… and active.
"And then?" he asked.
Sana swallowed. "Something came through."
Alex braced himself."A cultivator?"
"No. Worse."
She tapped the screen.
A blurred, four-legged silhouette flashed across the feed—massive, armored, its body lined with glowing runes that pulsed like veins of molten light. Its movements were too fast for security cameras to track, and the feed shattered into static each time it darted past a sensor.
Cheng Mu cursed softly."A spirit beast."
Alex exhaled. "Level?"
"One," Sana said."Maybe two. Definitely awakened. Possibly higher."
Alex stared at the frozen image.
A Level One spirit beast was equivalent to a high-end missile in destructive potential.A Level Two could take out a destroyer-class battleship on its own.A Level Three…
Don't think about Level Three.
"Where is it now?" Alex asked.
Sana's voice was tight."We lost track of it after it disabled the thermal sensors. It's inside the station."
Alex felt a cold weight settle in his stomach.
Nexus Station wasn't just a military base.It was Earth's primary research facility for rift studies.
If a spirit beast damaged the stabilizer reactors…
"Lock down all internal corridors," Alex ordered. "Activate containment drones. Shut off power to Sector A-01 and A-02."
"Already did," Sana said. "But Alex—"
She brought up another screen.A map of Nexus Station lit up in red zones.
"The beast isn't wandering randomly. It's heading toward the Main Stabilizer Core."
Cheng Mu's eyes widened.
"That thing is going after the reactors?"
"No," Alex said slowly."It's going after the rift generators."
"Why? It shouldn't even recognize tech."
Alex nodded."Exactly. Unless Blue Star cultivators taught it what to target."
Cheng Mu swore under his breath."Then this isn't a wild incursion. This is sabotage."
Sana's voice trembled."If the stabilizer goes offline, the primary rift could widen by kilometers. We're talking global-scale distortion."
Alex snapped into motion."Get me a strike team. Cheng—gear up."
Cheng Mu grinned despite the tension."Been waiting all day for you to say that."
Sana grabbed Alex's sleeve."Please don't do anything reckless."
"I won't," he said.Then, after a beat, "Not unless necessary."
Sana sighed deeply.
"Everything with you is 'necessary.'"
Deep Level — Sector A-03
The corridors were dark, lit only by emergency strips along the floor. Alex, Cheng Mu, and four Thunder Division soldiers advanced slowly, exo-suits humming softly with contained power.
The air tasted metallic.Like ozone.Like qi residue.
The beast had passed through here.
They reached a junction where claw marks raked the walls—deep, molten cuts still glowing faintly. A Thunder Division soldier crouched and scanned them.
"Energy signature confirms Qi-grade penetration. At least Level Two beast."
Alex nodded grimly."Keep weapons on full charge."
A distant crash echoed through the hallway.Something heavy.Something angry.
The team moved.Fast.Silent.
They turned a corner—
And froze.
The spirit beast was there.
A towering creature shaped like a panther carved from black stone. Runes pulsed across its body like molten cracks. Its eyes burned silver. Each breath released a ripple that warped the air like heat distortion.
It was feeding.
Feeding on the stabilizer energy conduit.
Cheng Mu whispered, "Oh hell… it's absorbing refined spatial energy."
"That explains how it navigated tech halls," Alex murmured.
The beast lifted its head.
Its eyes locked on Alex.
And the world seemed to tilt.
Then—
It roared.
Sound slammed into them like a physical force.Sparks erupted along the walls.
"FIRE!" Alex shouted.
Plasma bolts streaked toward the beast.It moved in a blur.
The attacks struck its hide, detonating in bursts of blue fire—but the beast barely staggered. It lunged forward, faster than a bullet. A soldier screamed as he was flung into a wall.
Alex raised his wrist device.
A surge of blue resonance burst outward—the prototype portable resonance disruptor.Not strong enough to neutralize qi, but enough to destabilize it.
The beast shrieked as the pulse hit.Its runes flickered.
Cheng Mu tackled it from the side, exo-suit amplifiers flaring as he struck its legs. The beast stumbled, regained balance, and snapped its jaws inches from Cheng's faceplate.
Alex activated the disruptor again—
PANG!
A second pulse fired.
The beast reeled backward, claws gouging the metal floor.
"NOW!" Alex shouted.
The remaining soldiers unleashed their full power.
Combined plasma fire hammered the creature, forcing it back against the stabilizer housing.
The beast roared in agony—
And then leapt straight upward, smashing through the ceiling and vanishing into the upper level in a shower of debris.
Silence.
Alex collapsed to one knee, gasping.
Cheng Mu groaned, leaning against a scorched wall."Well… at least it's running away."
"No," Alex whispered, staring up at the hole.
"It's not escaping."
Cheng Mu frowned."What then?"
Alex stood."It's repositioning."
"For what?"
Alex's eyes hardened.
"For something worse."
He touched the comm.
"Sana. Patch me to Command. The beast is trying to reach the primary generator ring."
Sana's voice came back, trembling.
"Alex… you're too late. The generator ring is activating."
Cheng Mu blinked."That's impossible. We didn't authorize—"
Sana cut in.
"It's not us."
A wave of cold washed down Alex's spine.
"The beast," he murmured. "It's triggering the ring from the inside."
The lights flickered.The walls groaned.
The rift screamed.
Alex whispered the words no scientist ever wanted to say—
"The primary rift is destabilizing."