The afternoon sun hung heavy over Westview, casting long, sharp shadows that divided the windowpanes of Anthony's house into golden shapes.
Wanda sank into the soft sofa, gently cradling her astonishingly large belly.
In the few minutes Chu Hang had spent fetching water from the kitchen, the second button on her floral maternity dress had popped free as her belly swelled again.
She looked down at the warm curve of her stomach, serene. Each time the little life inside her rolled, a nearly invisible scarlet ripple spread through the air. The outlines of the furniture and walls blurred for an instant, then snapped back into place.
Chu Hang emerged from the kitchen wearing an apron and carrying a plate of sliced fruit. His steps were steady. Each time his foot touched the wooden floor, it gave off a faint hum like a tuning fork. This was no simple physical contact. His laws were replacing and overwriting the logic of this false dimension from its foundations, with a force nothing could stop.
Westview had been a fragile dream woven from Wanda's Chaos Magic. Now, as Chu Hang's influence spread, everything in it was gaining real substance. The weight of every speck of dust and the path of every breeze began to obey undeniable physical laws.
Wanda took a slice of apple and bit into it. Sweet juice filled her mouth. "Darling, he's especially lively today," she said. "When he kicked me just now, I felt the whole house shake."
Chu Hang sat beside her and laid his broad palm over the dome of new life. Beneath his hand, the baby stirred happily, as though greeting his father.
"If the baby's in such a good mood, let's invite the neighbors over tonight," he suggested with a smile. "I've already spoken to Agnes