Arc II: Broken Heart
Chapter 8: The Blue Gate
The alley was silent again. Only the faint hum of the city echoed through the night.
Emily Hina stood there, still trembling from what had just happened. Her cheeks warmed slightly as she looked at Jin Yuan, the black-haired man who had just saved her life.
> Emily: "Y-Yuan... can I ask you something?"
He didn't look at her. His eyes scanned the shadows, alert and calculating.
> Jin Yuan: "Yes."
Emily: "Why are you doing this? I mean... why did you save me?"
He finally turned his gaze toward her, expression unreadable.
> Jin Yuan: "I'm not saving you. Don't get emotional."
Their eyes met—cold darkness against soft pink.
> Jin Yuan: "I saved you because I want to find who's behind this. Not for you."
Emily: "Oh... my bad, Yuan."
Jin Yuan: "Don't apologize."
For a moment, something human flickered across his face—a faint warmth, quickly gone.
Emily smiled despite herself.
Jin Yuan's eyes drifted away again. He closed them, listening.
A low hum filled the air, faint but growing stronger.
Something was beneath them.
Without warning, a gate of light burst open under their feet.
Jin Yuan reacted instantly—his instincts razor-sharp. He grabbed Emily, lifting her in his arms and leapt away.
Another gate opened where they landed.
Then another.
High-tech portals began to appear in rapid succession, swallowing chunks of the street in glowing blue.
Jin Yuan dodged each one with impossible precision, his coat fluttering like a black flame as he carried her in a bridal hold through the chaos.
> Emily: (blushing) "Y-Yuan! Be safe!"
He didn't answer, but his grip tightened protectively around her as they moved.
The light of another portal flashed beneath them—too close. Jin Yuan kicked off a street pole mid-air, twisting his body to the side. He avoided it—
—but his hand slipped.
> Emily: "Aaah! Yuan!"
She fell.
Without hesitation, Jin Yuan dove after her, catching her again in mid-air as they both plummeted into the gate.
They fell through light.
And when they emerged, the world had changed.
Below them stretched a vast, underground city—a maze of futuristic towers and endless neon glow. The entire world shone in shades of blue.
Jin Yuan landed hard, still holding Emily close.
His eyes scanned the strange horizon.
> Jin Yuan (quietly): "What... is this place?"