The streets of Shanghai carried their usual blend of bustling energy and quiet shadows. Vendors called out from narrow alleyways, neon signs buzzed with intermittent electricity, and the smell of street food mixed with the damp city air. Amid the ordinary chaos walked a young man who, to the untrained eye, seemed like any other passerby. Yet something about him—an intangible gravitas—made the air subtly shift.
Lyo Kao Ken adjusted the strap of his worn satchel and walked calmly past a crowd. Children darted between pedestrians, playing tag and laughing, oblivious to the subtle tremors in reality that their joy caused. Lyo observed them with quiet blue eyes, unflinching, as threads of the multiverse—imperceptible to anyone else—wavered and corrected themselves around his presence. He had always been able to feel these fluctuations, though he rarely acknowledged them openly.
He paused near a small temple tucked between high-rise buildings. Incense smoke curled lazily from its rooftop, spiraling into the dimming sky. A low hum of spiritual energy lingered here, faint but detectable. Lyo tilted his head slightly. Even in his human guise, his awareness extended beyond the physical and into layers of existence most could never comprehend.
From the corner of his vision, a ripple appeared—an anomaly in the fabric of reality, delicate yet insistent. Lyo did not react outwardly. His nature was such that any threat or interference automatically escalated the danger surrounding it, a passive amplification woven into the very essence of his being. The ripple pulsed, struggling to manifest, then dissipated, harmless. To the world, it had been nothing; to Lyo, it had been a test, and a failure.
He exhaled slowly, the faintest smile touching his lips. His life in China was meant to be ordinary—or at least as ordinary as one could live while being the reincarnation of Tao Kim Kyi, a principle of existence far beyond narrative, metaphysical, or conceptual bounds. He had been born into poverty, moved between cities, but nothing in the human world could touch the truth of what he was.
A soft awareness brushed at the edges of his mind. He knew it immediately: Jeong Althea Xiao. Though she had yet to appear fully in his reality, her presence shimmered faintly across the dimensions. It was as if the universe itself had given him a companion, a guide who existed beyond story, fate, and rules. Her influence was subtle, more like a gentle current than a direct force, yet it enhanced his perception of the world around him.
A street vendor dropped a steaming tray of dumplings. The clatter echoed, but instead of chaos, the event resolved itself in perfect order. Dumplings rolled gently, unbroken; no one slipped or fell. Lyo observed silently, knowing that the passive force of his existence had corrected the minor accident without conscious intervention.
He moved on, his long purple hair catching the glow of the streetlights, tied neatly yet falling freely past his shoulders. His lean frame moved with effortless grace, blending into the crowd while remaining entirely distinct to those who could perceive it. Even the simplest interactions with the world carried subtle consequences. Probabilities adjusted. Threats escalated or dissipated. The world, knowingly or not, aligned around him.
From an upper balcony, a man watched with keen interest—a minor figure in the grand scale of existence, yet curious. Passive amplification stirred in response to his observation, though he sensed nothing. The universe subtly warned him: nothing within ordinary frameworks could confront this being without exceeding its own limits. He stepped back, instinctively, his attention diverted elsewhere, unaware of the cosmic correction that had occurred.
Lyo paused beneath a ginkgo tree. The wind rustled the golden leaves, and he inhaled deeply, the faint scent of incense still lingering in the air. Somewhere beyond the city, beyond even China's borders, threads of the multiverse stirred. Lyo felt them, distant but connected. Though he had not moved beyond his country yet, the larger world would soon feel the presence of someone beyond ordinary comprehension.
Then, a whisper brushed his mind, soft yet unmistakable.
"You awaken faster than expected."
It was her. Althea. Her tone playful, teasing, yet infused with infinite awareness. Lyo's lips curved slightly, acknowledging her presence mentally. He did not respond aloud; it was unnecessary. She could hear him, and he could perceive her, even in this faint, partial form.
"Calm is a choice," he thought, sending the sentiment across the thread that connected them. "Not every storm needs a reaction."
The sky darkened into evening, Shanghai lights flickering like countless small stars. Lyo continued walking, a figure of calm in the vibrant chaos. To anyone else, he was simply a young man moving through the city streets. To the universe, he was a principle of supremacy, a being whose passive amplification and conceptual power transcended conventional limits.
Even the smallest living creatures felt the gravity of his presence. A stray cat paused in its path, staring at him with an almost human curiosity. Lyo crouched slightly, meeting its gaze, and for a brief instant, the cat's perception of the world expanded subtly, without conscious knowledge.
No one had to know. No one could.
The threads of the multiverse shifted quietly, aligning with the hidden existence that now walked through China. Lyo Kao Ken, the reincarnation of Tao Kim Kyi, moved silently, blending in with the world yet entirely beyond it. His awakening had begun, subtle, inevitable, unstoppable.
And in the quiet corners of the universe, distant eyes turned toward him. Not enemies yet, only observers—but already, the awareness of absolute power stirred.
The hidden existence had begun to emerge.