Kiran awoke to the sound of rustling leaves and the scent of something burning. His body ached as if he'd been trampled by a herd of wild beasts—which, given recent events, didn't feel far from the truth.
He opened his eyes slowly, the light of a nearby fire casting flickering shadows across the forest. Drayk sat on a rock a few feet away, sharpening his massive blade with deliberate precision.
"Finally awake," Drayk said without looking up. "Thought you might've fried yourself back there."
Kiran groaned, pushing himself into a sitting position. His head throbbed, and the sigil on his wrist felt strangely cool, as if drained. "What… happened?"
"You stabilized the rift," Drayk said, his tone gruff. "Barely. That Titan almost took us both out."
Kiran frowned, trying to piece together the fragmented memories. The rift, the Titan, the overwhelming power of the Key—it all felt like a half-remembered dream. "Did it work? Is the rift… closed?"
"For now," Drayk said, sheathing his blade. "But don't get too comfortable. That wasn't the last one."
Kiran's stomach sank. "What do you mean?"
"The rift you stabilized is just one of many," Drayk said, his gaze hard. "They're opening all over the realms. Some are small, barely noticeable. Others…" He gestured to the now-quiet sky. "Well, you've seen what they can do."
"So this is going to keep happening?" Kiran asked, his voice tinged with frustration.
"Until we find the source, yeah," Drayk said. "And that's where you come in."
Kiran glared at him. "Me? I didn't ask for this, remember? I don't even know how this thing works."
Drayk leaned forward, his expression unreadable. "The Key chose you for a reason. Whether you like it or not, you're connected to the rifts now. That makes you the best chance we've got at stopping them."
Kiran looked down at the sigil, the faint glow pulsing in rhythm with his heartbeat. The weight of Drayk's words settled heavily on his shoulders.
"And what about you?" Kiran asked. "Why are you here? You were ready to kill me back there."
Drayk smirked, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Don't get the wrong idea, kid. I still don't trust you. But I've seen what happens when a Rift Key falls into the wrong hands. If you screw this up, it's not just you that pays the price—it's entire worlds."
"Great," Kiran muttered. "No pressure or anything."
Drayk stood, his movements fluid despite the battle they'd just survived. "Get some rest. We've got a long journey ahead."
"Journey to where?"
"To the Conflux," Drayk said. "It's a nexus where the realms intersect. If anyone knows how to stop this mess, it's the Sentinels who guard it."
Kiran blinked. "Sentinels? Who are they?"
"Think of them as peacekeepers," Drayk said. "They monitor the realms, keeping balance. Or at least, they're supposed to. If the rifts are spreading, it means they've lost control."
"And you think they'll help us?"
Drayk's smirk returned, this time with a hint of bitterness. "Help? Probably not. But they'll want answers as much as we do."
Kiran sighed, rubbing his temples. He felt like a pawn in a game he didn't understand, being moved toward a goal he couldn't see.
As Drayk turned to extinguish the fire, Kiran's gaze wandered to the forest beyond. The glowing trees seemed almost peaceful now, their faint light casting an otherworldly glow over the clearing. But beneath that peace, he could feel the tension in the air—a sense of something vast and dangerous, lurking just out of sight.
"Hey," Kiran said, breaking the silence. "What's your story?"
Drayk paused, his back to Kiran. For a moment, Kiran thought he wouldn't answer.
"My story?" Drayk said finally, his voice low. "I've seen what happens when a Rift Wielder fails. Lost people I cared about. Watched entire worlds collapse."
He turned, his eyes hard as steel. "I don't plan on letting it happen again."
Kiran swallowed, unsure how to respond.
Drayk's expression softened, though only slightly. "Get some sleep, kid. Tomorrow, we find out if you're as strong as the Key seems to think you are."
Kiran lay down reluctantly, the hard ground doing little to ease his exhaustion. As he drifted into a restless sleep, his dreams were filled with images of rifts and shadowy figures, their voices whispering warnings he couldn't understand.
When Kiran woke the next morning, the forest was eerily quiet. Drayk was already packed and ready, his blade slung across his back.
"Time to move," Drayk said, tossing Kiran a piece of dried meat.
Kiran caught it clumsily, biting into it as they began their journey.
As they walked, Kiran couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. The forest seemed alive, the glowing trees leaning toward them as if listening.
"Drayk," Kiran said cautiously. "Does it feel… weird to you out here?"
Drayk didn't answer immediately, his gaze scanning the horizon. "This realm's unstable. The rift may be closed, but its energy lingers. Keep your guard up."
Kiran nodded, gripping his machete tightly.
Ahead, the forest began to thin, revealing a jagged mountain range in the distance. Drayk stopped, his eyes narrowing.
"There," he said, pointing. "The Conflux lies beyond those peaks."
Kiran stared at the mountains, their towering forms shrouded in mist. "Great. Just a casual hike through probably-dangerous terrain."
Drayk grinned, the first genuine expression Kiran had seen from him. "Welcome to the Infinite Realms, kid. It only gets harder from here."