Chapter 4 — The First Night of Chaos
The body did not disappear.
It lay there on the shattered rooftop, twisted and enormous, steam rising faintly from its darkened flesh. Cracks spiderwebbed across the concrete where Kai's final strike had landed. Dust drifted through the morning light.
Kai didn't move.
His chest rose and fell heavily, each breath dragging Spiritual Qi into his lungs without conscious effort. The energy flowed smoother now, less wild than before, but the strain remained. His right arm trembled from the impact.
He had won.
But barely.
Slowly, he stepped closer to the corpse.
Up close, it was worse.
The creature's body looked partially human—distorted arms, elongated fingers ending in bone-like claws. Its face was stretched, jaw broken outward as if something inside had forced its way through. Blackened veins pulsed faintly beneath gray skin.
Unstable Qi.
That was what had twisted it.
Kai crouched, narrowing his eyes.
Through his expanded senses, he could still see energy—thin strands leaking from the corpse like smoke. But at its core…
There was something else.
A small cluster of denser light flickered within its chest.
Instinct whispered to him.
He placed his palm over it.
The moment his fingers touched the body, a shock of cold shot through him. Images flashed across his mind—fear, confusion, unbearable pressure. The memory of a man collapsing in the street as Qi flooded into him uncontrollably.
This had once been someone ordinary.
Kai clenched his jaw.
Spiritual Recovery was not a blessing for everyone.
With a steady breath, he guided his Qi into his palm.
The cluster of light trembled.
Then it detached.
A marble-sized crystal of faint gray energy emerged from the corpse, hovering briefly before dropping into his hand.
The body beneath him began to decay rapidly, as if something essential had been removed. Skin cracked. Flesh darkened.
Within seconds, it looked years old.
Kai stared at the crystal.
It pulsed weakly.
A condensed fragment of Spiritual Qi.
He understood immediately.
Energy left behind after mutation.
A resource.
Or a temptation.
Below, sirens wailed louder. Military vehicles were moving through the streets now. Helicopters circled overhead, though they kept their distance from the sky crack.
The world was reacting.
But it was too slow.
Another roar echoed in the distance.
Then another.
Not one.
Many.
Kai's grip tightened around the crystal.
This wasn't an isolated incident.
The Qi surge was still increasing. The pressure in the air felt heavier than it had an hour ago.
His eyes lifted toward the silver scar in the heavens.
It had widened.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Thin ripples spread outward from it like cracks in ice.
He could feel it now—clearly.
Something was pushing from the other side.
A sudden tremor shook the rooftop again.
Not from nearby.
From everywhere.
Kai steadied himself.
The ground beneath the entire city vibrated faintly, as if something deep underground had shifted.
His senses expanded again involuntarily.
And this time—
He saw it.
Spiritual veins beneath the earth were brightening. Lines of energy that had once been dim were now glowing like awakening arteries, pumping Qi through soil and stone.
Earth itself was changing.
Plants on nearby rooftops were growing visibly, leaves darkening into richer shades of green. A pigeon perched on an antenna suddenly twitched, feathers bristling as faint energy wrapped around its body.
Evolution.
Forced.
Rapid.
Dangerous.
A gunshot cracked from the street below.
Kai moved to the edge of the roof.
Two soldiers were firing at something between abandoned cars. Their bullets sparked uselessly against thickened hide as another mutated creature advanced, roaring.
A third soldier fell.
The creature moved too fast.
Kai's jaw tightened.
He was not strong enough to save the world.
But he was strong enough to move.
Without allowing himself time to think, he jumped.
The fall should have broken his legs.
Instead, Qi surged instinctively through his body.
He landed hard, knees bending as cracks spread across the asphalt beneath him.
The soldiers stared at him in shock.
The creature turned.
It was larger than the first. More stable. Its movements were less erratic, more controlled.
Its eyes were not fully clouded.
It was adapting.
Kai exhaled slowly.
Fear was still there—but something else stood beside it now.
Clarity.
The first battle had been survival.
This one would be choice.
The creature lunged.
Kai moved forward instead of back.
Qi flowed cleaner this time, guided along the invisible pathways in his body. He felt stronger than an hour ago.
The gap was closing.
Claw met fist.
Shockwaves rippled outward.
Windows shattered along the street.
The soldiers scrambled away.
The creature snarled, pressing down with overwhelming force.
Kai's feet dug into the asphalt.
He gritted his teeth and redirected the energy rather than resisting it.
A pivot.
A shift.
He struck at its side, channeling Qi into a single focused point.
The creature staggered.
He followed immediately.
No hesitation.
No pause.
Three strikes.
Each one more precise than the last.
On the final blow, something inside the creature cracked audibly.
It collapsed heavily against a crushed car.
Silence fell over the street except for distant sirens.
Kai stood over it, breathing hard.
This one did not decay immediately.
Instead, its eyes flickered.
For a brief second—
Recognition.
Then nothing.
Another Qi crystal formed within its chest.
Brighter than the first.
Kai hesitated.
This path—
If he continued, there would be no going back.
The old world was already gone.
The new one was being born in blood.
Above him, the sky crack pulsed again.
And for the first time—
A faint shadow moved behind it.
Not breaking through.
Not yet.
But waiting.
Kai closed his fingers around the second crystal.
The first night of chaos had begun.
And it would not end by morning.