The day started like any other in Valcaria.
The kingdom's construction was well underway, its towering structures rising from the landscape of Nexora.
The survivors had carved out a place for themselves, but as with everything in this dimension, peace was never guaranteed.
Ryker stood on the balcony of the command tower, his eyes on the horizon.
The skies were unusually dark for this time of day, storm clouds swirling ominously.
He had felt a strange energy in the air all morning, something off.
His gut told him trouble was coming.
Just then, his comms buzzed.
"Ryker, you need to get to the control room. Now," Elara's voice came through, urgent and crackling with static.
Without a word, Ryker turned on his heel, heading for the stairs.
Whatever it was, it wasn't good.
The control room was in chaos when he arrived.
Screens flickered with warnings, and data flowed across the monitors at a frantic pace.
Elara stood at the center, her fingers dancing over her console as she tried to make sense of the readings.
"What's going on?" Ryker asked, his voice steady but tense.
She barely looked up.
"The Rift. It's destabilizing—fast."
Ryker's eyes narrowed.
"Destabilizing how?"
"One of the Rift zones near the kingdom is widening. It's dumping more creatures into the area than ever before. Whatever's happening, it's out of control."
Ryker glanced at the screen, watching as a pulsing red dot representing the Rift expanded across the map.
Around it, clusters of moving signatures—creatures, no doubt—pushed toward Valcaria's borders.
"How many?" Ryker asked.
Elara grimaced.
"Too many. We've got everything from the lower-tier beasts to some we haven't even identified yet."
"Damn it," Ryker muttered.
"Where's Zara?"
"Already at the outer walls. Kaid's mobilizing the heavy artillery and defense squads," Elara replied, rapidly typing commands to relay orders.
Ryker's mind raced as he calculated their next move.
"And the civilians?"
"Evacuation protocols are in place. But with the Rift spilling this much... It's going to get ugly, Ryker."
He didn't need to be told twice.
"Prep the team. I'll meet Zara and Kaid at the front."
As he stormed out of the control room, a voice crackled through his earpiece—it was Kaid.
"Ryker, we've got hostiles already breaching the outer perimeter. Zara's leading the first defense line, but it's getting worse by the minute."
"I'm on my way," Ryker responded, breaking into a sprint.
The sound of battle greeted him as soon as he reached the outer wall.
The once-quiet fields surrounding Valcaria were now overrun with creatures from the Rift—twisted, nightmarish things with claws, fangs, and glowing eyes.
Some looked familiar, like the lower-tier Riftspawn they had faced before, but others were far more dangerous, towering beasts covered in spiked armor, their roars shaking the ground beneath his feet.
Zara was already in the thick of the fight, her twin blades flashing as she cut through the creatures like a whirlwind.
Behind her, the defense squads fired heavy rounds and energy blasts into the fray, but the wave of monsters seemed endless.
"Kaid! We need artillery support!" Ryker shouted into his comm as he joined the battle, pulling out his plasma rifle and taking down a charging beast with a precise shot to its head.
Kaid's voice came back through the static.
"Give me thirty seconds. We've got cannons locked and loaded."
Beside Ryker, Zara slashed through a Riftspawn that had leaped at her, her movements sharp and fluid.
"This isn't just some random Rift breach," she said, panting slightly as she caught her breath between attacks.
"Something's pushing these creatures out, forcing them through."
"I figured as much," Ryker muttered, glancing toward the Rift's location in the distance.
It was still out of sight, but he could feel its energy growing, an ominous pulse in the air.
Suddenly, the ground shook violently, sending some of the smaller creatures tumbling as cracks spread through the earth.
From the rift's direction, an explosion of dark energy erupted, followed by a high-pitched, bone-chilling shriek.
Zara's eyes snapped toward the source.
"What the hell was that?"
"I don't know, but we're about to find out," Ryker said, his grip tightening on his rifle.
The defense squad continued to hold the line, but Ryker knew they couldn't just sit here and wait for whatever was coming next.
They had to push toward the Rift, find a way to close it, or at least slow it down.
"Kaid, how's that artillery coming?" Ryker barked into his comm.
"Locked and loaded. Sending a full barrage your way," Kaid responded.
Seconds later, the ground rumbled again—this time from the force of Valcaria's artillery.
Explosive rounds hit the advancing creatures, blasting them apart and clearing a temporary path.
Ryker turned to Zara.
"We need to reach the Rift."
She nodded, wiping blood from her face.
"Let's move."
Together, they pushed forward, cutting through the thinning wave of creatures as Kaid's artillery continued to provide cover fire.
Ryker's heart pounded in his chest as they neared the Rift.
The energy pulsing from it was intense, crackling through the air like a living thing.
When they reached the Rift's edge, Ryker could see it now.
What had once been a small, relatively stable portal was now a massive tear in the fabric of reality, swirling with dark energy.
Creatures clawed their way through, but something else was coming—something far worse.
Zara's eyes widened as she spotted the shifting form within the Rift. "What the—"
Before she could finish, the ground split open beneath them, and a monstrous figure emerged—a colossal creature, easily three times the size of any they had faced before.
Its body was covered in jagged, black scales that glistened with the Rift's energy, its eyes glowing a menacing red.
"Damn," Ryker breathed.
"Kaid, we've got a problem. A big one."
"I see it," Kaid replied, his voice tense.
"I'm diverting all firepower to your location."
The beast let out an ear-splitting roar, raising one massive clawed hand before slamming it down toward Ryker and Zara.
They dove in opposite directions, barely avoiding the impact as the ground cratered beneath the creature's weight.
"This thing's not going down easy," Zara shouted as she scrambled to her feet, her blades ready.
Ryker fired his plasma rifle at the creature's head, but the shots barely left a mark on its armored hide.
"We need heavier firepower."
"On it," Kaid's voice came through again.
"Stay clear—I'm sending a direct hit."
Ryker and Zara quickly retreated as the ground began to tremble again.
A moment later, a massive explosion hit the creature square in the chest, the force of the blast sending it staggering back toward the Rift.
But it wasn't enough.
The beast let out another roar, this time louder, more enraged, and began charging forward again.
Zara swore under her breath.
"That barely slowed it down!"
Ryker's mind raced as he watched the creature approach.
They needed to drive it back into the Rift—if they could contain it somehow, maybe they could buy enough time to stabilize the portal.
"Elara," Ryker called over the comm.
"Can you run an energy scan on the Rift? See if there's a way to close it or at least weaken it?"
"I'm on it," Elara replied, her voice filled with urgency.
"Give me a few seconds."
The creature roared again, swinging its massive claws toward Zara.
She ducked just in time, slashing at its leg with her blades, but the creature barely reacted.
"Elara, we're running out of time here!" Ryker shouted as he fired more rounds into the beast.
"I've got something!" Elara's voice finally came through.
"There's a buildup of Rift energy at its core. If you can disrupt that, it might destabilize the entire thing."
Ryker's eyes narrowed as he focused on the glowing heart of the Rift.
"Got it."
Turning to Zara, he gave a quick nod.
"We need to hit it at the core. I'll distract the creature—you make the strike."
Zara didn't hesitate.
"Let's do it."
With Kaid's artillery covering them, Ryker charged forward, firing at the creature's head and drawing its attention. The beast roared and lunged toward him, leaving its core exposed.
Zara dashed forward, her blades flashing in the dim light.
With a swift, precise movement, she plunged her weapons into the heart of the Rift, disrupting the energy flow.
The effect was immediate.
The creature let out a final, agonized roar as the Rift began to collapse in on itself, pulling the beast back into the swirling vortex.
Ryker and Zara barely had time to retreat before the entire portal imploded with a deafening roar, the ground shaking beneath them.
For a moment, everything was still.
Ryker exhaled slowly, his heart still pounding.
"That was close."
Zara wiped the sweat from her brow, breathing heavily.
"Too close."
Elara's voice came over the comm again, relief evident in her tone.
"Looks like the Rift's closed… for now."
Ryker nodded, his eyes on the scorched ground where the portal had been.
"But something tells me this isn't the last we'll see of it."
Zara sheathed her blades, her expression grim. "You are right."