The Rift opened like a screaming wound in the sky.
Kael stood at the edge, Vanguard insignia pinned loosely to his coat, the Ember Sigil glowing beneath his palm. Beside him, Lyra checked her relic's feathers, her aura resonating like calm waves of sunlight. Drayke Norr cracked his knuckles, Infernal Gauntlets already smoldering.
Zera was already gone—sent on a separate mission by Veyl, though Kael suspected it was something far more dangerous than a scouting task.
Before them hovered the entrance to the Rift: a churning storm of black stone and violet lightning. This wasn't just any dungeon. This was an Apex-tier anomaly—an unstable pocket of corrupted aura, known to eat entire teams alive.
And worse?
It was marked as unclaimed.
"Time's ticking," Lyra said, casting a healing ward on Kael's shoulder. "You sure you're stable?"
Kael inhaled slowly.
The Ember Sigil flared.
"Haaah... what a strong aura."
Drayke let out a low whistle. "There it is."
"Shut up," Kael muttered.
Then they stepped in.
Inside the Rift – Hollow Citadel
The landscape was twisted. Buildings floated, gravity twisted sideways. Aura storms crackled above like screaming ghosts. Shadows took form, whispering forgotten names.
It was not a dungeon.
It was a grave.
A system message flared across Kael's vision:
> "You have entered: Hollow Citadel – Apex-Class Rift Dungeon."
Aura Pressure: 78% — Warning: Core-level synchronization required.
Monsters Present: Graveborn Sentinels, Hollow Tyrants, Riftborn Executioner (Dungeon Lord)
"What's the plan?" Lyra asked, eyeing the data feed on her Sunveil Feather.
Kael drew his blade.
"We carve a path."
Drayke cracked his neck. "That's the Kael I like."
They didn't need more words.
The first wave hit like a nightmare—Graveborn Sentinels, half-wraith and half-metal, screaming with aura spikes that burned through shields. Lyra dropped a blinding light dome just in time, searing through the nearest husk, while Drayke lunged in with a roar, both fists ablaze.
Kael moved like smoke. His blade shimmered, his aura shifting mid-combat—adapting. He weaved between monsters, absorbing the traits of each he struck down.
>Skill Acquired: Grave Pulse (Passive) – Detect aura shifts in dead zones. Duration: 30 mins
He staggered for a moment—new instincts flooding in.
Then grinned.
"Keep feeding me."
Thirty minutes later
They pushed deeper, fighting through twisted arcways and floating debris. The walls themselves pulsed with aura, some trying to infect, others trying to consume.
Kael stopped.
He could feel something pulling him.
Like a presence behind the stone.
Then the voice came.
"You wear her relic."
It echoed from the walls.
"You carry her flame."
Kael spun, blade up. "Show yourself."
A figure stepped from the wall like it had been born from the stone—a tall, armored Hollow Tyrant with flickering red aura and no face. Just a mask carved into its helmet, smiling.
"I killed her," it said. "The Emberlight girl."
Kael's aura exploded.
Flame and ash swirled around him, the Ember Sigil crackling.
He stepped forward.
"You shouldn't have said that."
Boss Encounter: Hollow Tyrant (Warden of Emberlight)
It was fast.
Faster than anything yet in the Rift.
Kael barely parried the first strike—his blade cracked from the force. Lyra launched support seals, her aura pulsing in tight bursts to enhance Kael's balance and reflexes. Drayke went for a pincer move but got hurled back by a psychic scream.
The Hollow Tyrant turned to Kael again.
"Your flame is fractured. Not hers. Yours."
Kael's aura twisted—burning black.
Something unlocked.
>Aura Trait Evolved: Ashen Shift → Ashen Wrath
Effect: Amplifies aura absorption rate and adaptive mutation speed. Side effect: Aura instability under stress.
He didn't care.
Kael roared, flames bursting in spiral arcs around him as he vanished from sight—only to appear behind the Tyrant mid-slash.
New Skill Activated: Soul Scorch
Effect: Burns enemy aura directly. Ignores external shields. Duration: 7 seconds.
The Hollow Tyrant staggered.
Kael didn't stop.
Strike after strike. His body was breaking, but his aura—was alive. Lyra screamed his name, but he couldn't hear her over the burn.
He saw her—the girl in the Emberwell. The moment she fell.
This was her executioner.
Kael's aura ignited.
And he ended it.
With one final slash, the Hollow Tyrant's mask cracked—its body collapsing in a flare of corrupted aura.
Silence.
System Update
Dungeon Lord proximity confirmed.
Warning: Riftborn Executioner detected. Estimated power: S-Class. Unique Trait: Aura Reaper.
Kael dropped to one knee, coughing blood.
Lyra knelt beside him. "Kael! That trait—it's destabilizing you."
"I know."
"You have to rest—"
"No." His eyes glowed. "I want more."