The next day began like any other.
Birdsong drifted through the windows. Chi Yang sat at the breakfast table, chewing quietly as Chi Chu chattered beside him about school and cartoons. Their mother scolded her gently for talking with her mouth full.
Chi Yang smiled faintly. It was peaceful. Ordinary.
But in his mind, everything was sharp.
"System, is the girl present again today?"
[Confirmed. Target anomaly detected on school grounds. Location: Grade 1-B, seat near the rear window.]
Grade 1-B… same class as me.
It couldn't be a coincidence.
Yesterday's flicker of golden light in her eyes—he hadn't imagined it. It was the same hue as the divine energy that had surrounded him in the realm beyond. She was either touched by gods… or something that walked dangerously close.
He packed his bag slowly.
If someone else had been chosen—why?
And why now?
At school, Chi Yang entered the classroom and scanned the room immediately. There she was.
Same seat. Same posture. Same expressionless face, pretending to read again.
She didn't flinch when he entered, didn't greet him, didn't glance his way.
But he could feel it.
That gaze—subtle, buried beneath layers of control—was there.
Watching him.
Learning him.
He sat at his own desk without acknowledging her.
The day passed in fragments. Reading. Writing. Group counting games. It was supposed to be normal.
But both of them danced around each other in silence.
Their eyes never met, but the air between them was charged with something unspoken.
And then… during recess, it happened.
He stepped outside, walking to the tree once again. The sunlight was gentle, and the wind carried laughter.
But she was already there.
Sitting beneath the tree.
Waiting.
Chi Yang froze for half a second. Then approached, calm and deliberate.
She looked up. Her eyes met his.
This time, there was no flash. No shimmer. They simply glowed faintly—naturally. Her voice was soft and clear.
"You're not from here."
It wasn't a question.
Chi Yang didn't reply immediately. He sat beside her, keeping a safe distance. "Neither are you."
She nodded once. "Your soul has weight. It echoes."
"You've seen my soul?"
"No," she replied. "I felt it. When you returned yesterday… the world tilted. Just slightly."
He studied her for a long moment. She was strange—not in a dangerous way, but in a way that didn't belong to this playground, or this age.
"What's your name?" he asked.
The girl looked toward the sky. "Arin."
Just that.
No last name. No family name.
"Are you human?" Chi Yang asked calmly.
Her lips twitched, almost amused. "That's what my form says, doesn't it?"
Chi Yang's fingers dug lightly into the dirt beside him.
"What do you want?"
Arin turned her head slowly to look at him again. Her expression was unreadable.
"I'm here to observe."
"Observe… me?"
"No." She paused. "Well. Not just you."
The wind picked up slightly. Her hair rustled like silk across her shoulders.
"I was sent here to find something. Or someone."
Chi Yang narrowed his eyes. "By who?"
But Arin stood up, brushing off the dirt on her skirt.
"I'll know when I see it. But you're… interesting. Too stable. Too controlled."
She took a step forward, then glanced at him over her shoulder.
"You're not like the others."
And with that, she walked off toward the swings.
Chi Yang stared after her in silence.
"System… what is she?"
[Subject 'Arin' is not listed in Earth's timeline. She does not originate from this world.][Probability: Celestial Observer (Class-2), Divine Messenger (Class-3), or Lost Entity. Data incomplete.]
"Should I be worried?"
[Monitoring advised. Risk level: currently low. However—]
[A convergence is approaching.]
Chi Yang looked down at his small hands.
A convergence?
The system didn't explain further.
The rest of the school day passed quietly. But the weight in Chi Yang's chest had grown.
At home that night, after Chi Chu had fallen asleep beside him with a stuffed bear clutched to her chest, Chi Yang stared at the ceiling again.
That girl—Arin.
Her soul didn't feel heavy like his. It felt… ancient. Quietly powerful.
And he didn't believe for a second that she was just here to observe.
"She's waiting for something. Something big."
"Or… someone like me."
He closed his eyes slowly, but didn't sleep.
For the first time since his return, he felt the stirrings of true uncertainty.
And somewhere far above, in the higher planes between realms, a golden eye blinked.
End of Chapter 6