The night air on Amphoreus was still. Too still — the kind of silence that made even lantern light hold its breath.

You pressed a hand to your chest, trying to calm your pulse after the encounter earlier. The Echo creature had come out of nowhere, its shockwave sending you against a wall before you could react. You weren’t badly hurt… but enough to shake you.

You didn’t hear footsteps approaching. You only heard your name.

You turned — and found Dan Heng standing there, cloak fluttering with the faint Qi around him. His expression was unreadable… but his eyes—

They burned with something sharp. Something protective.