The alarms did not scream this time.
They whispered.
Alaric noticed it first. His screens lit up in cascading red, not from a breach inside the facility, but from the world outside it.
"Xin," he said slowly, carefully. "He is not coming here."
Xin frowned. "Then where."
Alaric pulled up the feeds.
Five cities. Different regions. Different time zones.
All burning.
Zane hovered above each one in sequence, not even staying long. Just enough to ignite. Just enough to remind the world what boredom looked like when it could fly.
"He is forcing tempo," Rion said. "If we do not move, millions die."
Xin clenched his fists, then loosened them deliberately.
"He wants me angry," Xin said. "So I make mistakes."
The screens flickered again.
Zane appeared closer now. Low altitude. Close enough that cameras caught the details of his face. The smile. The calm.
He raised one hand.
A city block folded inward like paper.
People vanished.
Zane looked straight into the camera.
"Tick," he said.
Xin closed his eyes for a second.
When he opened them, his voice was steady. "We engage. On our terms."
Rion stared at him. "You are not ready for a full fight."
"I am not fighting," Xin replied. "I am leading him."
Alaric hesitated. "Xin, if he reaches you before the chamber is active—"
"He won't," Xin said. "Because I won't let him."
Raxton hummed above them, louder than before.
Three plates drifted into position around Xin's torso. Not locking. Hovering. Testing.
Alaric's breath caught. "Partial sync at thirty percent."
Xin stepped forward. The plates followed.
"I don't need more," Xin said. "I just need to survive."
Rion drew his sword. "Then I am coming with you."
Xin shook his head. "Not yet. You stay with the chamber."
Rion's eyes narrowed. "This is bait."
"Yes," Xin said. "And if I die, pull the trigger anyway."
Silence.
Then Rion nodded once. "Do not die stupidly."
Xin smirked. "No promises."
Xin emerged into open air alone.
The world outside felt smaller than it used to. Like the sky itself was watching him.
Zane was already there.
Hovering.
Waiting.
"You came out," Zane said, genuinely pleased. "Good boy."
Xin looked up at him. "You're sloppy."
Zane laughed. "I'm efficient."
He moved.
Not attacking.
Testing.
Zane appeared behind Xin and back again in the same instant, speed of light movement tearing the air into shock rings. Xin barely had time to turn before a fist slammed into his chest.
Raxton flared.
The impact still sent Xin flying, but his ribs did not shatter. He rolled across the ground, skidding to a stop in a crater.
Xin stood.
Blood ran from his mouth.
Zane raised an eyebrow. "Oh."
Xin wiped the blood away. "See. Sloppy."
Zane grinned wider and struck again.
This time faster.
Xin reacted on instinct, dodging barely in time. The ground behind him vaporized. Buildings in the distance collapsed from the shockwave.
Raxton adjusted.
Plates shifted closer. Tighter.
Xin felt it.
Not power.
Balance.
Zane attacked again. A barrage of blows at impossible speed. Xin blocked some. Dodged others. Took a few directly.
He stayed standing.
Zane slowed.
Just a little.
"You're not panicking," Zane said. "That's new."
Xin looked at the distant horizon.
At the direction of the chamber.
"Walk with me," Xin said.
Zane tilted his head. "Where."
Xin smiled faintly. "Somewhere quiet."
Zane laughed.
"Oh," he said. "You think I'm following you."
He vanished.
Reappeared directly in front of Xin, eyes blazing.
"No," Zane continued. "You're following me."
He struck again, sending Xin hurtling in the exact direction Xin needed to go.
Toward the trap.
Xin crashed through rock and earth, pain exploding through him.
Raxton held.
Barely.
Xin dragged himself up, coughing.
Behind him, Zane hovered, smiling.
"Run," Zane said. "I love the chase."
Xin ran.
And for the first time, Zane followed.