Darkness. Silence. A void deeper than sleep, untouched by time.
Then came the whispers.
They slithered through the abyss, distant voices murmuring in forgotten tongues. They spoke of fractures, of endings, of hunger. A ripple spread through the darkness, and suddenly, Kai Patel was no longer dreaming. He was falling.
His eyes snapped open to a world drenched in moonlight, his breath sharp and ragged. A weightless sensation gripped him as the air around him twisted unnaturally, reality bending at the seams. The city skyline blurred into shifting spectrums of color, skyscrapers flickering like mirages. His body felt stretched, pulled in directions he couldn't name, as if something beyond the visible world had grabbed hold of him.
Then— impact.
Kai hit the pavement, hard. Pain exploded across his back, the breath ripped from his lungs. He gasped, his fingers scrambling for something solid, something real. His heart thundered in his chest, panic clawing at his throat. What the hell just happened?
The street was empty, a stark contrast to the turmoil inside him. A dim streetlamp buzzed overhead, casting a sickly yellow glow onto cracked asphalt. Storefronts were shuttered, their signs swaying slightly in the evening breeze. But the world around him felt wrong—distorted, unstable.
His vision swam, shadows stretching in unnatural ways. And then he saw it.
A rift.
It floated midair a few feet in front of him, a jagged tear in the fabric of reality itself. Like a wound carved into space, its edges shimmered with an eerie glow, shifting through impossible colors. Inside, there was movement—something crawling, something watching.
Kai's pulse pounded. He had seen things like this before, on the news, in grainy leaked footage from the Rift Authority. But never this close. Never so… alive.
A low hum reverberated from the rift, making his bones ache. His instincts screamed at him to run, but he couldn't. His body refused to move, as if drawn toward the anomaly by some unseen force.
Then, the rift reacted.
It expanded, swallowing the space between them in an instant. A wave of energy slammed into Kai, drowning him in unbearable pressure. His skin burned, his nerves screamed, and his mind fractured under the weight of something immense—something ancient.
One Hour Earlier
The world had still been normal then.
Kai leaned against the railing of a rooftop parking lot, a half-empty energy drink sweating in his grip. The city hummed below him—cars weaving through streets, distant music spilling from an open window, the rhythmic chatter of life moving forward. It was a quiet moment, stolen between the weight of existence and the uncertainty of tomorrow.
Aiden stood beside him, flicking a lighter open and closed, its tiny flame dancing against the night air. "You ever think about leaving this place?" Aiden muttered, his voice distant.
Kai smirked. "Every damn day."
Aiden huffed a laugh. "Yeah? Where would you go?"
"Anywhere." Kai took a sip of his drink. "Somewhere quieter. No curfews. No Rift Authority checkpoints. No feeling like everything's about to fall apart."
Aiden stayed silent for a moment, watching the city below. "My brother used to say the same thing." His tone darkened. "Before the Rift Authority took him."
Kai glanced at his friend, but Aiden didn't elaborate. He never did. Some scars weren't meant to be reopened.
Instead, Kai tilted his head back, staring at the sky. The stars were faint against the glow of the city, but they were there. Distant. Untouched. He liked to imagine that, somewhere out there, life was simpler. That there was a place where people didn't have to fear the unknown swallowing them whole.
But here? Here, reality was cracking at the edges. And deep down, Kai had always felt like he was waiting for something to change. Something inevitable.
Present
Visions flooded his mind in rapid succession—
A city crumbling beneath a crimson sky. A monstrous shadow with too many eyes and no face. A woman's voice, calling his name from the void.
Then, a new sensation—
Something breaking inside him.
A spark ignited within his core, raw and searing, spreading like wildfire through his veins. His breath hitched as an unfamiliar power surged through him, an alien force latching onto his very essence. It was overwhelming, exhilarating, terrifying.
And just as quickly as it began—
It was over.
The rift snapped shut, its eerie glow vanishing as if it had never been there. The pressure lifted, and Kai collapsed onto his hands and knees, gasping for air. His limbs trembled violently, sweat dripping from his brow. Every inch of his body screamed in agony.
What just happened to him?
Footsteps. Heavy boots pounding against the pavement. Coming fast.
Kai's head snapped up just in time to see a black-clad squad of Rift Authority enforcers emerging from an armored vehicle down the street. Their rifles were raised, energy coursing through their barrels, their sights locked onto him. Their leader, a towering figure in reinforced combat gear, spoke into his earpiece.
"Subject acquired. He's awake."
The soldiers moved in.
Kai ran.