2026-01-25 13:32:39Falling is usually a terrifying thing. But falling upward into a violet sky while the city screams beneath you is a whole different kind of nightmare.
Xin soared through the air, surrounded by floating cars, chunks of asphalt, and screaming office chairs. The gravity of Earth-1 was losing the tug-of-war with the Earth-6 spire.
"Host," the voice in his head hummed. "Approach velocity is too high. You will hit the spire at 200 miles per hour. This will result in a very flat Window Cleaner."
"Not today!" Xin gritted his teeth.
He didn't use his blade. He looked down—or up—at the thousands of people being sucked into the sky. He saw a school bus hovering dangerously close to a swirling vortex of energy.
"I have to fix the gravity first!" Xin roared.
He pulled his knees to his chest and focused every bit of his Level 5 power into his gauntlet. The silver mark on his chest burned so bright it shone through his shirt.
[Initiating Kinetic Discharge...]
Xin slammed his glowing fist into the air itself. A massive, blue shockwave exploded from his position. It wasn't a destructive blast; it was a "Gravity Reset." The ripple hit the floating debris and the people, wrapping them in a soft silver glow.
Suddenly, the "upward" pull snapped.
Below him, the school bus and the cars didn't crash; they drifted slowly back to the ground like feathers. For a few miles around the spire, the world felt heavy again.
"Warning: Energy levels at 15%. Gravity Reset has drained the Core."
Xin didn't have time to worry about his battery. The momentum of his blast had kicked him like a rocket toward the top of the spire. He smashed onto the metal observation deck at the very peak, rolling through the dust until he hit a jagged crystalline throne.
"A brave choice," a voice purred. "Saving the insects while your own life-fire fades."
Xin stood up, his boots clanking on the alien metal.
Standing before him was the Elemental General. He was different from the others. He didn't look like a monster; he looked like a tall, regal man made of living quicksilver. His armor was white and gold, and he carried a spear that seemed to be made of a captured star.
"I'm not a life-fire," Xin panted, his gauntlet sparking. "I'm just the guy who’s going to kick you off my planet."
The General laughed. It was a beautiful, terrifying sound. "You humans are so small. You find a piece of our trash—the World Engine— and you think you are kings. That 'mark' on your chest? It’s not a gift, Xin. It’s a parasite. The more you upgrade, the less 'Xin' is left."
Xin looked at his arm. The silver metal of the gauntlet seemed to be creeping higher up his shoulder. He pushed the thought away. "Better a parasite than a coward like you, hiding behind a big ship."
The General’s smile vanished. He moved faster than Xin’s Pulse Sense could track.
CLANG!
The star-spear hit Xin’s gauntlet. The force was so immense that the metal floor beneath Xin’s feet shattered. Xin slid back, his heels sparking against the deck.
"You are Level 5," the General sneered, spinning his spear. "I am Level 20. Do you see the gap, little window cleaner? You are trying to fight the ocean with a cup."
"Host," the voice whispered. "The General is correct. Physical combat is 0% successful. You must access the Spire's terminal to Level Up. The Spire is an upgrade station."
"Where is it?" Xin dodged a thrust of the spear that melted the air where his head had been.
"Directly behind the throne. But it requires a blood-sync."
Xin looked at the throne. It was guarded by two more sentinels made of pure lightning.
"Mei! Are you seeing this?" Xin yelled into his comms.
"I’m watching from the bike!" Mei’s voice crackled through. "Xin, the Captain says that throne is the heart of the Spire. If you touch it, the General will lose control of the gravity field. But you'll be wide open for an attack!"
"Sounds like a Tuesday," Xin muttered.
He didn't run at the General. He ran at the throne.
"Foolish!" the General roared. He threw his spear.
The spear whistled through the air, aimed straight for Xin’s back. At the last second, Xin didn't dodge. He used his Rebounder power—not to push the spear away, but to pull it closer and use its own speed to launch himself forward.
He caught the spear's energy wave and flew like a bullet, slamming into the throne.
His hand hit the cold, alien crystal.
[External Interface Detected...]
[Downloading Earth-6 Archives...]
[Level 6... Level 7... Level 8...]
Xin’s mind exploded. He saw images of a dying world—a place called S6 where the sun had gone out. He saw the Elementals as they used to be: scientists trying to save their families. He felt their desperation, their grief, and their cold, hard cruelty.
[Level 9... Level 10 reached.]
[Title Unlocked: World-Changer.]
The silver mark on Xin’s chest surged. The gauntlet grew, forming a full suit of lightweight, shimmering armor that wrapped around his torso and legs. A helmet snapped into place, and a HUD (Heads-Up Display) flickered to life in front of his eyes.
"System Fully Integrated," the voice was no longer in his head—it was everywhere. "Welcome, Commander Xin."
Xin stood up. He felt... heavy. Not with weight, but with authority. He looked at the General, who had stopped in his tracks, his silver face twisted in shock.
"You... you survived the sync?" the General whispered. "No human can hold that much data."
"I’ve spent my whole life cleaning up other people's messes," Xin said, his voice echoing with power. "This is just a really big window."
Xin raised his hand. He didn't fire a blast. He simply closed his fist.
The gravity in the spire flipped again—but only for the General. The silver leader was slammed into the ceiling, pinned by ten times his own weight.
"The war ends now," Xin said, walking toward the controls. "I'm sending you all back to Earth-6."
"Wait!" the General gasped, struggling against the gravity. "If you reverse the Spire now, the rift will close forever! Your friend—the old man—and thousands of others are already on the fortress! If you close it, they stay with us as slaves!"
Xin froze. His hand was inches from the "Shutdown" button.
"He's lying, Xin!" Mei’s voice screamed over the radio. "He's just trying to save himself!"
But Xin’s Pulse Sense told him otherwise. He could feel life-signs—thousands of them—inside the golden fortress floating above the spire. Chen was down here, but hundreds of others from the building had been taken.
If he shut it down, he saved the city, but he lost the people.
If he kept it open, he could save the people, but the Elementals would keep coming.
The General laughed through the pain. "What will it be, Hero? The world... or the neighbors?"
Xin looked at the button. He looked at the silver armor fused to his skin. He realized the "World-Changer" title wasn't just about power. It was about the burden of choice
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The Deep Blue Secret
The battle for the mind was won, but the war was just getting started.Xin stood on the deck of a small, rusty boat. The city of Jiangnan was far behind them, a jagged line on the horizon. Ahead of them was the endless, dark blue of the ocean."Are you sure about this?" Mei asked. She was busy fixing a bulky diving suit made of metal scraps and alien wires. "The ocean is deep, Xin. And since the meteors fell, the fish haven't exactly been friendly."Xin looked at his chest. The silver mark was pulsing with a soft blue light, pointing like a compass toward the bottom of the sea."Host," the Engine’s voice hummed. "The Star-Steel is below. It is a piece of the original meteor that fell into the trench. You need it to harden your armor for the Level 20 evolution.""I'm sure," Xin said. He looked at the suit Mei had built. "And I’m glad you’re the one who built this. I’d hate to spring a leak a mile down.""Don't worry," Mei grinned, tightening a bolt with her wrench. "It’s 90% wat
Into the Nightmare Zone
Xin and Mei didn't wait. They jumped onto the flying bike and roared toward the center of the city. The giant glass Spire stood tall against the dark sky, but it didn't look like a beacon of hope anymore. It looked like a tomb.When they landed at the base, Captain Han was waiting. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week. Around him, dozens of soldiers were sitting on the ground, staring at nothing. Their eyes were wide open, but they weren't "there.""They won’t wake up," Han said, his voice cracking. "It started with the civilians we rescued from the fortress. Then it spread to my guards. They just... stop talking. Then they start screaming in their sleep."Xin walked up to a young soldier. He used his new Pulse Sense. In his mind’s eye, he didn't see blood or bones. He saw a thick, oily purple mist wrapped around the man’s brain."It’s a Mind-Stalker," Xin said. "A parasite from Earth-6. It feeds on fear. If we don't pull it out, their minds will dry up and die.""How do we
The Price of Peace
Two weeks had passed since the sky closed. Jiangnan City was a mess of construction cranes and broken glass. But for Xin, the hardest part wasn't the rubble—it was the quiet.He sat on the edge of a rooftop, looking at his hands. Without the armor, he looked like a normal kid again. But the silver mark on his chest felt like a cold stone. It hadn't glowed since the fight."If you stare at your palm any harder, you’ll grow a third eye," a voice teased.Mei climbed onto the roof, carrying two steaming bowls of noodles. She handed one to Xin."Any word from the 'Voice'?" she asked, sitting down."Nothing," Xin said, slurping the salty broth. "It’s like the Engine went into a coma. I tried to lift a brick yesterday and almost pulled a muscle. I think I’m back to Level 0.""Better than being a Level 10 statue," Mei said. She pointed toward the center of the city.The Spire was still there. It didn't belong to the Elementals anymore. The Resistance had turned it into a research base
The Hero's Final Stand
The General laughed, a sound like grinding metal. He was pinned to the ceiling by the gravity field, but he still acted like he had won."Time is up, Xin," the General sneered. "The portal is closing. You have sixty seconds. Do you save your planet, or do you save those few tiny souls?"Xin’s hand hovered over the big blue button. Inside his helmet, red lights flashed."Warning," the Engine’s voice said. "Closing the Spire now saves Earth. But 4,200 people are still trapped inside the alien ship. If you close it, they stay in Earth-6 forever.""Xin! Don't listen!" Mei’s voice crackled in his ear. "If you don't shut it down, the whole alien army will come through! You can't fight an entire world!"Xin looked out the window. High in the clouds, the giant golden ship hung like a hungry monster. He thought about the people inside. They weren't soldiers. They were just regular people—moms, dads, and kids. People just like him."I’m not choosing," Xin whispered."What?" the General
Falling Up
Falling is usually a terrifying thing. But falling upward into a violet sky while the city screams beneath you is a whole different kind of nightmare.Xin soared through the air, surrounded by floating cars, chunks of asphalt, and screaming office chairs. The gravity of Earth-1 was losing the tug-of-war with the Earth-6 spire."Host," the voice in his head hummed. "Approach velocity is too high. You will hit the spire at 200 miles per hour. This will result in a very flat Window Cleaner.""Not today!" Xin gritted his teeth.He didn't use his blade. He looked down—or up—at the thousands of people being sucked into the sky. He saw a school bus hovering dangerously close to a swirling vortex of energy."I have to fix the gravity first!" Xin roared.He pulled his knees to his chest and focused every bit of his Level 5 power into his gauntlet. The silver mark on his chest burned so bright it shone through his shirt.[Initiating Kinetic Discharge...]Xin slammed his glowing fist int
The Red Spark
The dust from the cave-in hung heavy in the air. Xin’s lungs burned, but the sight in front of him made his blood turn to ice.The Elemental was massive, its body made of jagged obsidian and flowing lava. It held Old Chen off the ground with one hand. Chen, the man who had taught Xin how to tie a safety knot and shared his lunch every day for three years, looked like a broken doll."Put him down," Xin said. His voice wasn't shaking anymore. It was flat and cold."Come and take him, little Spark," the Elemental hissed. Its grip tightened. Chen let out a strangled groan."Warning," the voice in Xin’s head rang out. "Emotional distress detected. Host energy is turning volatile. If you attack now, the Engine will enter 'Overdrive.' You will gain power, but you may lose your mind."I don't care, Xin thought. Save him."Xin... don't..." Chen wheezed, his eyes bulging. "Just... run...""I'm done running, Chen," Xin said.Xin didn't wait for a plan. He didn't wait for Mei or the Capt
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