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CHAPTER 21 — The Heart of the Rift
The world inside the Rift was collapsing.
Cracks of silver light tore across the sky like lightning frozen in place. The ground beneath Aren's feet throbbed with each pulse, trembling as if something massive was trying to wake beneath it. The air tasted like metal and fire.
Behind him, Lirien stepped closer, her breath unsteady. "Aren… the Rift is dying."
"No," Aren murmured. "It's waking up."
And he could feel it — like a heartbeat that wasn't his own, echoing through his bones.
The Rift pulsed again.
The colors bent.
Reality wavered.
Arden, Kyris, and the rest of the squad spread out, weapons raised, watching the swirling light around them.
"What now?" Kyris muttered. "We finish the mission or die trying?"
Arden smirked. "Isn't that always the plan?"
But Aren wasn't listening to either of them.
His gaze was fixed on the center of the Rift — where floating shards of crystal were orbiting a core of pure, shimmering blue light. It pulsed like a living thing… and each pulse tugged at the seed within his chest.
Lirien noticed. "It's calling you."
Aren swallowed hard. "I know."
He took one step forward.
The air thickened.
The Rift trembled.
And the core responded — glowing brighter.
Images flashed in his mind.
A forest burning.
A city drowned in shadows.
A world choking on silence.
Then, a whisper:
"Remember…"
The voice wasn't human.
It wasn't male or female.
It was the world itself.
Aren's breath caught. "Why are you showing me this?"
Another pulse.
Another whisper.
"You were not summoned to fight."
"You were summoned to remind."
Aren's heart pounded in his ears.
Remind…?
He stepped closer — and the Rift rippled, opening a path toward the core. Arden shouted something behind him, but the sound warped and faded.
Only Lirien's voice reached him, clear through the chaos.
"Aren! If you go too close, your body—"
"I have to," he said quietly. "It's the only way to understand."
He walked forward.
The Rift roared.
The floating crystals crashed together, sending shockwaves of energy through the air. The ground fractured, revealing streams of glowing blue liquid mana flowing beneath the surface like rivers of light.
Lirien tried to follow — but the Rift pushed her back.
"No!" She reached out desperately. "Aren!"
He turned, just for a second, and offered a small, reassuring smile.
"I'm okay. I promise."
Then he stepped into the glow.
The world vanished.
He stood in a vast expanse of swirling light — stars, memories, visions — all spinning around him. He wasn't falling. He wasn't floating. He was simply there, inside the Rift's true self.
And at the center…
A giant shape of shimmering blue leaned close.
It wasn't a creature.
It wasn't a spirit.
It was a memory made real.
The memory of the world.
"Why me?" Aren whispered. "I'm nobody. I'm not strong. I'm not chosen by a kingdom. I'm just… me."
The light pulsed gently.
"That is enough."
Aren squeezed his fists. "What do you want me to do?"
The Rift responded:
"Teach them."
"Teach them to listen."
"Teach them to live."
The light wrapped around him — warm, comforting — then surged into his chest.
Aren gasped as waves of energy flowed through him. His vision blurred. His body felt weightless. The seed inside him burned like a tiny sun.
Then everything shattered.
The Rift convulsed violently.
The world tore apart.
Aren was thrown outward—
—and landed hard on real soil, outside the collapsing Rift.
Lirien was at his side instantly, helping him sit up. "Aren! Say something!"
He coughed, breath heavy, but he was alive.
Arden and the others were staring at him with wide eyes.
Kyris pointed at his chest. "Your… your mark. It's glowing."
A faint circle of light pulsed beneath Aren's shirt — the seed reacting to whatever he had touched inside the Rift.
Before he could speak, the sky above the torn Rift turned dark.
A new presence stepped out from the shadows near the tear.
A tall figure wearing a long black coat embroidered with red sigils. His eyes were cold. calculating. Familiar.
Lirien froze. "…a Hunter."
But this one wasn't like the others.
He smiled.
"So," the man said softly, "the world finally chose a voice again."
Aren's heart dropped.
The man stepped closer.
"And this time… it chose a boy."
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