Chapter 10 CHAPTER 10 — THE FIRST CRACK

The massive outer gates of Jing-An Fortress City slammed shut with a deep metallic clang that vibrated through my aching bones. I stepped into the arrival bay, water still dripping from my boots onto the grated floor. My body felt wrong. Too heavy. Too old.

“Medical checks after debrief,” I said, voice rougher than I wanted. “Nobody leaves until we report.”

Captain Huo walked beside me. “Commander Shen is already waiting in the command room. She cleared the schedule the moment we signaled arrival.”

Ren moved ahead without a word, shoulders tight. Lian stayed right next to me, her eyes flicking to my face every few steps. Zhao Yun brought up the rear, tablet clutched in his hands.

The corridors of the mobile fortress were alive with the usual noise, but conversations died when people saw us. Saw me. I caught one young technician staring at the new gray in my hair and the deeper lines around my eyes before looking away fast.

The command room door hissed open. Commander Shen sat at the head of the long steel table, posture perfect, eyes sharp and focused. Too focused.

“Everyone sit,” she ordered. “Full debrief. No omissions.”

I dropped into the chair at the opposite end, suppressing a wince. “Mission success. Mid-tier Gate in the Shattered Meridian transit hub is sealed. We encountered spatial distortions and an early Calamity manifestation. Handled it. Squad made it back intact.”

Shen leaned forward, fingers steepled. “Handled it. Captain Huo, you joined for the final phase. Details.”

Huo glanced at me briefly. “The captain pushed the Fate Thread to seven seconds. Behavior shifted dramatically. Movements became extremely efficient. The Gate sealed with almost zero backlash. He collapsed immediately after.”

Ren crossed his arms, staring at the table. “It wasn’t just efficient, Commander. For forty seconds he wasn’t Wei. Voice changed. He spoke softer. Moved cleaner. Gave orders like someone else was in charge.”

Lian shifted in her seat beside me. “I felt two presences fighting for control. Wei’s determination mixed with… Mei-Ling’s warmth. She helped seal it. But he doesn’t remember any of those forty seconds.”

Shen’s gaze never left my face. “Your turn, Wei. What happened in there?”

I leaned forward, forcing confidence into my voice. “Thread overuse combined with heavy distortion. The Gate was acting strange from the beginning. Too stable, then too responsive. I pushed hard, burned some years, and old memories bled through. Grief. That’s all it was. Nothing systemic. We can manage it.”

Zhao Yun sat perfectly still, tablet face-down on the table. He said nothing.

Shen tapped one finger slowly. “Zhao Yun. Probability models. Full report.”

Zhao Yun hesitated, a tiny crack in his usual calm. “The data shows clear divergence, Commander. Thread efficiency spiked forty-three percent during the anomaly. Survival odds held at levels inconsistent with standard overuse. However… certain correlations need more verification before I include them in the official log.”

“You’re holding back,” Shen said flatly.

“Only until the numbers are conclusive,” Zhao Yun replied carefully. “Simple overuse doesn’t fully explain the synchronization patterns we witnessed.”

I cut in quickly. “It was an anomaly. The environment messed with the Thread. I adjusted, we sealed the Gate, everyone survived. End of discussion. No reason to overcomplicate a successful mission.”

Ren finally looked up, eyes hard. “Overcomplicate? Boss, you aged ten years in front of us. Your dead wife took control of your body for forty seconds and you’re calling it an anomaly? We watched you move like a completely different person.”

“Ren,” I said sharply. “We’re alive. That’s what counts. I’m still here making the calls.”

Lian touched my arm lightly, her voice soft but unsteady. “Wei, I want to believe that. But even now I feel the shift inside you. Parts feel like you. Other parts feel like her. It’s unsettling. I’m staying close because I’m scared for you.”

Captain Huo spoke evenly. “I knew Mei-Ling, Wei. I saw her style in those forty seconds. The precision. The calm. It was her. You’re carrying something dangerous and we all felt it.”

Shen raised her hand, silencing the room. “Enough. I believe you’re trying to stay in control, Wei. But new intelligence arrived three days ago. I waited to see how today’s mission unfolded before sharing it.”

She slid a encrypted data pad across the table.

“Another Thread-Bearer confirmed. Floating Mountain Dungeons. Male, early thirties, displaying similar probability manipulation abilities. The Veilwardens have already mobilized a team to capture him. You are not unique anymore.”

The room fell completely silent.

I picked up the pad, scanning the sparse report. “Another one? How advanced is he?”

“More advanced than you, from what little we intercepted,” Shen replied. “His condition appears further progressed. The Veilwardens believe Thread-Bearers are central to either slowing the Gates or opening them fully. Their interest in you is about to escalate from observation to active pursuit.”

Ren let out a short, bitter laugh. “Perfect. So now we’ve got another guy out there turning into something worse and the cult wants both of you. Boss, this changes everything. You can’t keep pretending it’s just grief and overuse.”

Lian squeezed my arm tighter. “Wei… if there’s someone else like you, maybe they know what’s happening. But what if they’re already lost? What if that’s where you’re heading?”

Zhao Yun finally spoke again. “The timing correlates with your synchronization metric, Captain. The new Thread-Bearer’s emergence aligns with the forty-second anomaly. My withheld models suggest this isn’t isolated.”

Shen studied all of us carefully. “Debrief is over for now. Medical checks for everyone. Wei, remain behind. The rest of you are dismissed. Get some rest.”

The squad stood slowly. Lian lingered, eyes full of worry. “Please be careful, Wei. We need you. The real you.”

Ren paused at the door but didn’t turn around. “Yeah. What she said.”

Huo gave me one last long look before leaving. “Four years under your command. Don’t make me regret trusting you.”

When the door sealed, Shen exhaled. “You’re cracking, Wei. I see it. Stop protecting them from the truth and start figuring out what that synchronization really means. Another Thread-Bearer out there means we might need to reach him before the Veilwardens do. Or we might need to stop him.”

I stood up, legs protesting. “Understood. I’ll handle it.”

The meeting ended. I walked toward the exit, exhaustion and new aches weighing me down. Near the door I passed a polished metal status panel, its surface reflective enough to show my face clearly.

For a split second, my reflection wasn’t mine.

The eyes softened with familiar warmth. The corners of the mou

th curved into a small, gentle, knowing smile I hadn’t seen in three years.

Hers.