Leonel and Aina moved swiftly through the broken landscape, the eerie glow of the dimensional rift behind them casting long, jagged shadows. The air still crackled with residual energy from his latest stunt, and he couldn't help but glance back at the swirling void he'd created.
"Not gonna lie, that was kind of awesome," he said, grinning.
Aina rolled her eyes. "You just tore open space itself. Do you even know what that means?"
"That I'm overpowered and cool?" Leonel offered.
"That you could have accidentally erased us from existence."
Leonel winced. "Okay, yeah, that sounds a little less cool."
Aina sighed but didn't argue. Instead, she kept moving, scanning the environment. "We need to find Xun. With all that energy you just released, we've probably attracted way worse things than those Invalids."
Leonel nodded, stretching his sore muscles as they jogged forward. "You think he's still in that bunker thing?"
"He should be," Aina said. "If the place held up."
"Great. So… any chance we can take a break before the next life-threatening encounter?"
Aina shot him a flat look. "You want a break? You can have one when we're not in the middle of a collapsing sub-dimension."
"Fair point," Leonel admitted, though he still groaned dramatically for effect.
As they made their way across the shifting terrain, Leonel couldn't help but feel like something was… off. It wasn't just the broken ground or the occasional ripples of unstable energy—there was something watching them.
"You feel that?" he asked, slowing his pace.
Aina stopped beside him, scanning the darkness. "Yeah… we're not alone."
Leonel swallowed. "Is it more Invalids? Because I'm fresh out of dimensional rifts to throw them into."
Aina didn't answer immediately. Instead, she pulled out a compact scanner from her belt, her fingers dancing over the screen. A moment later, she frowned.
"Whatever it is, it's fast," she muttered.
Before Leonel could respond, a blur of motion shot past them, followed by another—then another. He barely had time to react before something sharp whizzed by his ear.
"Okay! That was too close!" he yelped, ducking.
The shapes moved around them like shadows in the fog—fast, agile, and unsettlingly silent. They weren't Invalids. Their movements were too precise, too controlled.
Then, a voice echoed from the darkness.
"Leonel… we've been watching you."
Leonel froze. "Uh… cool? Who's 'we'?"
From the shadows, a figure emerged—a tall, masked individual clad in sleek, form-fitting armor. The suit shimmered, blending with the environment as if shifting between dimensions itself.
Behind the figure, several others materialized, their masks featureless, their stances rigid.
"Great," Leonel muttered. "Ninjas. It had to be ninjas."
Aina tensed beside him. "They're not normal soldiers," she whispered. "I've seen tech like that before. It's high-tier dimensional gear."
The lead figure took a step closer. "Leonel, you are an anomaly," they said, their voice calm but commanding. "And anomalies must be controlled."
Leonel frowned. "Wow. That sounds… ominous. And also, rude."
The masked warrior ignored his remark. "You've been marked. The Rift Order has been monitoring your movements. The power you wield is beyond what you should be capable of."
Leonel exchanged a glance with Aina. "Did they just say 'marked'? That sounds even more ominous."
Aina nodded subtly. "They're a high-tier faction. If they think you're a threat…"
Leonel sighed. "Let me guess. They won't just let me walk away?"
The lead warrior raised a hand. The shadows around them stirred.
"You will come with us. Or we will take you by force."
Leonel sighed dramatically. "Oh, come on. Can't we just talk this out over some tea? Maybe a snack? I fight better on a full stomach."
No response.
Leonel groaned. "Fine, I get it. You guys are all serious and mysterious. But I have a rule—I don't go with people who introduce themselves with threats. It sets a bad precedent."
The masked warrior tilted their head. "Then you leave us no choice."
They moved.
Leonel barely had time to react before the warriors were upon him, striking with a speed that blurred the air. His instincts kicked in.
"Dimensional Shift!"
He vanished just as a blade sliced through where he had been standing. He reappeared behind one of the warriors and swung his fist—only for it to pass right through them like they were made of smoke.
"Okay, that's not fair," he muttered.
Aina was already engaged, her movements swift and precise. She parried an attack with a crackling energy blade, countering with a well-placed strike that forced one of their opponents to retreat.
Leonel dodged another strike, teleporting again, but the warriors adjusted too quickly. They weren't just fast—they were tracking his movement pattern.
"Leonel!" Aina shouted. "We need to get out of here—now!"
"Working on it!" he called back, twisting mid-teleport to dodge another strike.
He needed a plan—fast.
His eyes darted to the unstable rift he had created earlier. The energy was still raw, still crackling with potential.
A crazy idea formed in his head.
"Aina, cover me!" he yelled.
Without waiting for a response, he sprinted toward the rift. The warriors pursued, their movements deadly and precise. But Leonel wasn't trying to fight them directly.
Instead, he reached out, feeling the energy of the rift with his dimensional sense.
"Come on… work with me here," he muttered.
The warriors closed in—blades flashing, hands reaching.
Leonel grinned.
"Hope you guys like surprises!"
With a surge of effort, he pushed against the fabric of space itself. The rift shimmered, then expanded outward in an explosive wave.
The warriors staggered back, their forms flickering as the unstable energy washed over them.
Leonel didn't wait to see the results.
"Time to go!" he shouted, grabbing Aina's arm and pulling her into a teleportation shift just as the entire area was consumed by the explosion of dimensional energy.
Darkness enveloped them—then light.
Then—
They landed hard on solid ground.
Leonel groaned, rolling onto his back. "Okay. That was a lot."
Aina sat up beside him, breathing heavily. "Where… where did you take us?"
Leonel blinked, looking around. The environment was unfamiliar—dark stone structures, glowing crystalline formations, and an eerie silence hanging in the air.
"Uh… not sure," he admitted. "But I think we're somewhere new."
Aina's expression darkened. "Yeah. And I don't think we're alone here either."
Leonel followed her gaze—and felt his stomach drop.
In the distance, massive figures stirred—twisting, shifting forms unlike anything he had seen before. Their glowing eyes locked onto him.
Leonel let out a weak chuckle. "So… no chance they're friendly, huh?"
Aina didn't even bother answering.
Leonel sighed. "Of course not. Why would they be?"
As the creatures began to move, Leonel pushed himself up, shaking off the exhaustion.
"Alright. Round two. Let's do this."
And with that, the fight for survival began again.