My stomach twisted.
I gritted my teeth."Lilith, where the hell is Vallen?"
She was already tense, her expression darkening.
Her eyes flickered with psychic energy, scanning the battlefield in a way only she could.
"…He's deeper in."
She exhaled, her hands clenching into fists."And he's not alone."
The Rift pulsed again.
And this time, I felt something else inside it.
Something waiting.
Something watching.
"I can still sense him, so he's not dead," Lilith said, her voice tight. "But remember, I can only track mind waves."
"Same here, Lu," Nico added, his usual confidence tempered by unease.
I swallowed, my body still burning from earlier, my pulse hammering like war drums in my skull.
Something inside me was shifting.
Not now. I couldn't afford to focus on that now.
"Something feels wrong. We gotta move."
I kicked off the ground, tearing through the trees, each step launching me forward faster than the last. My breath was steadying, but my heart was still erratic, pounding like a second presence inside me.
I didn't know why—
But the closer I got to the clearing—
The worse it got.
And when I finally saw it—
"Oh, shit."
Lilith and Nico caught up behind me, and I didn't have to say anything. I could feel the horror dawning on them too.
Six Storm Wraiths.
Two C-Ranked Phantasms.
A Nightrage Flora Golem.
A Dark Moth Seraph.
And no sign of Vallen.
💀 The Nightrage Flora Golem was a monstrous fusion of primal rage and unrelenting strength.
A colossal, lizard-like creature whose bioluminescent scales pulsed with eerie light, flickering from emerald to obsidian with each slow, thunderous step.
It didn't just move—it radiated menace.
💀 The Dark Moth Seraph was elegant, hauntingly so.
Its wings shimmered unnaturally, folding light around them in warped refractions.
It hovered, its body drifting like a phantom in the wind, and wherever it moved, the shadows twisted unnaturally.
The sheer pressure it exuded made my skin crawl.
"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Lilith blurted, gripping her staff so tightly her knuckles were turning white. "You know how hard it is to kill a Wraith, right? We'd need sealing magic—anyone know that? No? Then we're fucked."
I wasn't listening.
I was scanning. Searching.
Think. Think. THINK.
Then—
I spotted him.
"You fucking dumbass."
Vallen.
Unconscious.
Suspended inside a barrier—right next to the Seraph.
I leaped, propelling myself through the trees in one fluid motion, landing hard on a thick branch above. I could see everything from here.
The Wraiths were already descending toward Lilith and Nico.
The Golem's claws dug into the ground, its body coiling with tension, ready to charge.
This was bad.
I dropped back down next to Lilith and Nico. "Vallen's up there—he's trapped."
Their expressions darkened.
"Then we need a plan." Nico's voice was dead serious now.
I know. I fucking know.
But the problem was—
We didn't have one.
The battlefield was stacked against us.
Lilith and Nico were about to be overwhelmed.
Vallen was immobilized and completely vulnerable.
And I was useless—I had no sealing Arts, no real firepower to match these things.
I grit my teeth. Think. Adapt. Evolve.
Then—
I felt it again.
🌊 A ripple in the air.
The moment I acknowledged it, my body reacted.
My breathing slowed.
The heat in my chest—
That unstoppable, pounding sensation—
Wasn't just adrenaline.
It was something else.
And then, I saw it.
The blue-green energy.
It wasn't just swirling around me anymore.
It was moving toward me.
No—
I was pulling it in.
💧 Osmosis.
I didn't have time to question it.
I needed to act.
I tightened my stance, fingers curling slightly—
And the moment I moved—
💦 Water formed at my feet.
No.
Not just water.
Water Aether.
It wasn't something I summoned.
It was something I instinctively pulled from the Rift itself.
The moment I realized it—
Everything clicked.
The Wraiths lunged—
And before I even knew what I was doing, I moved like the ocean itself.
A wave built in my chest.
I could feel it surging.
My pulse was no longer erratic.
It flowed.
And just like that, I wasn't standing still anymore.
I was moving.
I twisted, ducking as a Storm Wraith's talons sliced through the air where my throat had been. My body snapped forward on instinct, and before I even thought about it—
🌊 Water coiled around my fist.
I struck.
It wasn't just a punch.
It was a ripple. A current. A force that didn't stop at impact.
The moment my fist connected, water exploded outward, twisting into spirals that lashed at everything in range. The Wraith reeled back, its distorted form spasming from the force—then collapsing into mist, its physical form broken.
What… was that?
I didn't have time to think.
Two more Wraiths came at me—one from the left, one from behind.
I didn't dodge.
I moved like the tide.
My body shifted fluidly, twisting in ways that felt impossible—like I was no longer just reacting to the attacks but flowing through them.
Then—
💦 I felt it.
The blue-green energy.
The Genesis Energy.
It was filling me.
No—
I was taking it.
💀 Osmosis.
**I struck the Wraith in front of me with an elbow—**and the moment my skin connected, I felt something shift.
I absorbed it.
Aether surged through me.
For a second, I saw everything.
Every ripple in the air.
Every drop of moisture clinging to the battlefield.
Every vibration of movement from the enemies around me.
My breath synced with the flow of the Rift itself.
And I knew—
💧 I wasn't just fighting anymore.
I was becoming the water.
💀 Genesis Stack: Initiated.
The Wraith staggered back, its form flickering like a glitch, the very energy holding it together disrupted.
I could feel it now.
Every attack—
Every impact—
Every moment I touched them—
I was taking from them.
Not their power.
Not their strength.
Their existence.
And I was learning.
💦 Adapt. Evolve.
Another Wraith lunged—
I sidestepped without thinking, my body sliding through the air like a drop of water rolling off glass.
Then—
💦 I struck.
I didn't even need to use strength.
The moment my palm touched it, the Wraith convulsed.
It was draining.
Breaking apart, piece by piece.
I exhaled.
💀 Stack: Increased.
And then—
I saw the others struggling.
Lilith was holding the line, her psychic energy crushing enemies mid-air while warping gravity to slow their movements. She was strong, but I could tell she was burning Aether fast.
Nico was cutting through shadows, weaving between Phantasms with lightning-fast swordplay. His movements were sharp, precise—but he was still human. He couldn't dodge everything forever.
And Vallen—
Vallen was still in the barrier.
I grit my teeth.
The Flora Golem was approaching them.
I needed to move—
But then the Dark Moth Seraph turned toward me.
Its wings shimmered, folding light around them—and suddenly, I felt something crawl into my head.
Illusions.
The world tilted.
The battlefield warped.
For a moment, I wasn't standing in the Rift anymore—
I was standing in an endless ocean.
My reflection stared back at me, flickering.
Then—
🌊 A ripple in the air.
The blue-green energy churned.
And something in me laughed.
A voice—not mine.
💧 "You are not ready."
My body locked up.
💧 "Take. Adapt. Evolve."
The Seraph struck.
And I—
Didn't move fast enough.
⚡⚡⚡
White-hot pain ripped through my side before I could even process what happened.
One second, I was standing—
The next, I was airborne, spinning through the battlefield like a ragdoll.
I hit the ground hard.
Vision blurred.
Everything hurt.
💀 Shit. I was too slow.
I tried to move.
Tried to get up.
Tried to breathe—
But my limbs felt heavy.
Like I was sinking.
💦 Too much. I took in too much energy too fast.
My body was rejecting it.
I clenched my fists, trying to push through the dizziness. My chest felt like it was about to explode.
💀 Come on, move—
BOOM!
A massive tremor rocked the ground as the Nightrage Flora Naga slammed one of its massive vine-coated limbs into the battlefield.
💀 WHERE IS LUCA?!
He should've been with us.
I hadn't even seen him since the fight started—
Then it hit me.
I turned my gaze, scanning through the chaos.
No sign of him.
💀 Grant it, he's suited for night hunting... but even still—
A sudden shockwave of force sent Phantasms flying.
💀 There!
Luca had been moving through the shadows, completely silent, weaving between the enemies without a trace.
He was already behind the Seraph and the Flora Naga, moving in a completely unnatural way—almost predatory.
He was too fast. Too precise.
Like he was hunting them.
Then I realized—
He wasn't fighting.
💀 He was freeing Vallen.
And then—
He did.
🔥💥
A surge of explosive energy flared as Vallen erupted from the barrier, flames scorching the air around him.
The Seraph shrieked in anger, its wings shimmering violently, attempting to regain control—
But then its red-gold eyes flickered.
It had sensed him.
💀 Luca. He was still behind them.
💀 Shit, shit, shit—
⚡⚡⚡
The Seraph struck.
Luca had half a second to react.
He twisted—but not fast enough.
The Seraph's massive wings slammed into him at full force, launching him like a bullet through the trees.
💀 LUC-
CRASH.
The sound of his body colliding with the forest was enough to make my blood go cold.
Vallen barely had time to react before the Flora Naga roared, its massive, plant-like limbs writhing as it surged forward, trying to crush him before he could regain control of his fire.
I pushed myself up, forcing my body to move despite the intense burning in my veins.
💀 Think, Lucian. THINK!
We were getting overwhelmed.
The Rift's difficulty was finally kicking in.
💀 One Tier 6 Rift is supposed to require at least TWO full Strike Teams.
💀 We're in a Tier 5 Rift... ALONE.
We should be dead already.
And now—
I was overloaded, my body refusing to cooperate . Luca was down. Lilith and Nico were still fighting for their lives. Vallen had just broken free, but he wasn't ready to unleash his full power yet.
💀 We're not going to last much longer at this rate.
The Seraph turned its gaze toward me.
The air distorted.
The world warped.
My vision flickered between the Rift and a vast, endless ocean.
The voices were coming back—
💧 "Not yet."
💧 "Your body cannot sustain it."
I gritted my teeth.
I didn't care.
💀 I need more. I need to move. I need to—
Then—
🔥 Black energy exploded forward.
Then—
🔥 Black energy exploded forward.
But this wasn't Nico's.
This wasn't Aether.
💀 No.
This was wrong.
The moment it touched the air, everything—**everything—**shifted.
The Rift trembled.
The sky cracked.
The Phantasms froze.
Something else had entered.
💀 Terminus Energy.
A cold, bottomless energy that didn't belong to this world.
An energy of pure entropy.
And Nico—
Nico was standing in the center of it.
His dagger was shaking in his grip, the black mist of Terminus Corruption weaving through the air around him like living tendrils. His eyes, usually bright and filled with mischief, were—
Dark.
Too dark.
Like something was looking back from inside him.
💀 No, no, no—
I tried to move—
Tried to reach him—
Butwhenn energy was reacting violently to Terminus.
💧 It's fighting it.
💧 It's rejecting it.
💧 But why?
💀 This isn't normal corruption—this is something worse.
🔥 The Seraph shrieked.
Its wings twisted, convulsing, as if it was being forcibly pulled apart at the seams.
The Nightrage Flora Naga recoiled, its body vibrating with instability.
The Rift itself—
💀 It's collapsing.
This shouldn't be happening.
A Rift doesn't just end mid-wave.
💀 Unless—
💥 A Rift Tear opened.
Everything went silent.
Then—
🌊💀🔥
Reality shattered.
I gasped. My hands touched solid ground.
No Aether. No Rift. Just… silence.
Then I looked up.
The city was burning.
The Rift was gone.
And the next thing I knew—
I was staring at the real world.
And it was hell.
The streets were ripped apart, craters and collapsed buildings stretching for miles.
Fires raged.
Corpses littered the ground.
And at the center of it all—
💀 A Rift breach.
A massive tear in reality, bleeding Aether and Phantasms into the city.
We had been inside too long.
💀 How long were we even gone?
💀 How much time passed?
Then—
My heart stopped.
In the distance—
The Syndicates were here.
And in front of them—
Not a Phantasm.
Not a Syndicate soldier.
A true foreign being.
What would later be called–
⚔ A Dominator.
And beneath it—
💀 No.
💀 No, no, no, no—
Carèe.
She wasn't moving.
Her body—
Her body wasn't moving.
🔥 The city was burning.
💀 The Syndicates were watching.
🌊 And something inside me—
💧 Snapped.