Chapter 10 — The Fractured Pulse
The first thing Aiden noticed when he woke was the cold.
Not the natural cold of wind or weather—but a sterile, humming cold that seeped through metal walls and clinical lights. He blinked slowly, eyes adjusting to the soft white glow above him. A faint antiseptic scent clung to the air.
He was lying in a bed inside a medical ward.
How did I get here…? His mind churned, fingers flexing carefully. His body ached, but the pain felt distant, muffled. Memories trickled in—the Ashfall Zone, the attack, the Seeker, the mysterious female figure, the explosive surge of Void energy.
Next to him, a soft beep repeated steadily—his vitals monitor.
"You're awake."
Maya's voice drifted in from the chair beside him. She was staring at him, worry etched deep into her eyes. Her hair was slightly frizzy, as if she'd slept in that chair. Or not at all.
"Maya…?" Aiden's voice cracked; he swallowed. "Where are we?"
"Central Vanguard Medical Unit," she replied softly. "You were unconscious for almost fourteen hours. They said your Void output spiked beyond safe limits. You fried half the sensors they attached to you."
Aiden tried to sit up, but a sharp sting rippled down his spine.
"Easy," Maya warned, gently pushing him back down. "Your system went haywire."
He closed his eyes briefly.
His system…
That moment in the Ashfall Zone—when the Seeker had pinned him down and the strange woman intervened—something inside him had cracked. Not in a painful way, but as if something sealed had been forced open.
A system window flickered inside his mind, faint and glitching like disrupted static:
[ Void Core… Resonance Phase Detected ][ Stabilization Required ][ Warning: Interference Signature Detected ]
The last line was new.
And frightening.
Aiden released a shaky exhale and opened his eyes again.
"Where's Jiro?" he asked.
Maya hesitated.
Aiden's stomach tightened. "Maya?"
"He's alive," she said quickly, seeing the panic flicker in his expression. "But he's… shaken. Whatever that Seeker was, whatever attacked us—it messed him up. He keeps saying the 'air was watching him.'"
Aiden frowned. "That doesn't make—"
The door slid open.
Jiro stood in the doorway, but he looked different—drawn, pale, his gaze unfocused. The confident grin he always wore was gone, replaced by a hollow stiffness. His clothing was clean, patched with fresh bandages, but he seemed smaller somehow.
"Aiden," he said quietly. His voice trembled. "You're awake."
Aiden motioned him closer. "Hey. Sit down."
Jiro didn't move. His eyes darted around the room in small, frantic motions before locking onto Aiden's face.
"That thing," he whispered. "The Seeker. It didn't just attack us. It… reached. It was digging."
Maya stiffened. "Digging for what?"
Jiro swallowed, throat working visibly.
"For memories."
A cold quiet swept through the room.
"What do you mean?" Aiden asked.
Jiro shook his head helplessly. "I mean I could feel it. Like claws scratching inside my mind. Not to control me… but searching. Searching for something. Something about you."
The silence deepened.
Aiden's heartbeat quickened. "Me…?"
Jiro's gaze flickered with a mix of fear and confusion.
"It was looking for Void."
Later that day, after convincing the med unit he could stand, Aiden joined Maya and Jiro in the briefing chamber. Central Vanguard Headquarters was buzzing with agitation—soldiers sprinting through halls, researchers stumbling under stacks of data slates, alarms echoing down corridors every few minutes.
Ever since the incident in the Ashfall Zone, global Rift activity had surged.
On the holo-table, dozens of red markers pulsed across a world map—clustered around coastal cities, mountainous regions, and old Rift scars.
Aiden stared.
"These… weren't here yesterday," he said quietly.
Dr. Reeves—senior Rift scientist, with an underslept glare and perpetually stained lab coat—tapped the map with a stylus.
"Rifts aren't opening," she corrected. "Not yet. But Rift pressure readings are increasing at a rate we've never seen. Whatever attacked you triggered a chain reaction."
Jiro sighed heavily. "Great. So we pissed off the universe."
Maya elbowed him.
Dr. Reeves zoomed in on the Ashfall Zone.
"The entity you encountered—the one you identified as a Seeker—matches no known Rift creature profile. That makes it either an evolved form… or something new entirely."
Aiden felt a chill.
"And what about the woman?" he asked quietly. "The one who appeared just before everything went black. Did your drones catch her image?"
Dr. Reeves didn't answer immediately. Instead, she flicked her stylus, and a distorted image appeared—grainy, blurred, but distinctly human-shaped. A flowing cloak, hair swept back by wind, and eyes glowing with a faint violet hue.
"This is the only frame we captured," Reeves said. "Shortly after this, all drone footage becomes corrupted."
"Corrupted how?" Maya asked.
Dr. Reeves' face tightened. "Like something erased it. Or overwrote it."
Aiden felt his heart sink.
Void interference…?
The scientist's next words made every hair on his arms rise.
"Aiden," she said, fixing him with a steady gaze, "we believe this woman may share the same energy signature as you."
After the briefing, Aiden made his way to the cafeteria, though he had no appetite. He sat at a corner table with a cup of untouched tea cooling before him.
Voices murmured around him—soldiers, analysts, medics—all whispering, glancing at him subtly.
"…Cross—the Void user, right?""He's the reason the Seekers are appearing.""No, you idiot, he's the only thing keeping them in check.""Still. Void isn't normal. Not after the First Rift.""I heard the Ashfall spike happened the moment he lost control.""Do you think he's dangerous?"
Aiden closed his eyes.
Of course they'd start talking.
It wasn't paranoia. It was human nature. Something unknown frightens people—and nothing was more unknown than Void.
Maya sat across from him, dropping her tray loudly enough to shatter the whispers.
"Let them talk," she said. "People panic when they're scared. But they also cling to hope—and whether you realize it or not, you give them that."
Aiden forced a smile. "Not sure about that."
"You should be," she said simply. "Otherwise Jiro and I wouldn't be here."
Jiro appeared a moment later, juggling a pile of snacks and a half-completed diagnostic tablet. He grinned weakly.
"I stole extra pudding cups," he announced, dumping them on the table. "The kitchen guy tried to stop me, but I'm faster."
Aiden raised a brow. "That's the subplot you're bringing to the table today?"
Jiro waved a spoon dramatically. "Listen, man, we need subplots. Every hero story must have snack arcs. It balances the trauma."
Aiden snorted. Maya rolled her eyes but smiled.
For a moment—just a moment—the heaviness lifted.
Later that night, Aiden stood alone on the headquarters rooftop. The wind howled softly around him, carrying the faint thrum of energy in the air.
Rift pressure.
He could feel it now—like a heartbeat beneath the ground.
Pulse… pulse… pulse…
But something was wrong.
The pulsing wasn't just from the world.
It was inside him too.
A system notification flickered behind his eyelids:
[ Void Core Instability: Increasing ][ External Interference Detected ][ Tracking Origin… ][ Error: Unknown Void Signature Blocking Trace ]
Aiden clenched his fists, frustration twisting in his gut.
"Why now?" he whispered.
A soft crunch of boots on gravel made him turn.
It was Commander Hale—broad-shouldered, graying temples, a face carved by too many years of war. His gaze was steady but troubled.
"Couldn't sleep?" Hale asked.
Aiden shook his head.
"Didn't think so," Hale said. "After what you went through, anyone else would still be sedated."
Aiden looked back at the skyline. "Commander… am I a threat?"
Hale didn't answer immediately.
"You're a variable," he said at last. "A powerful one. And humanity has a bad habit of fearing what it can't control."
"Meaning…?"
"Meaning the Council is divided." Hale exhaled. "Half believe you're the key to sealing the coming Rift surge. The other half believes your presence is what's attracting these entities."
Aiden stiffened.
"And you?" he asked quietly.
Hale stepped beside him, staring into the starless night.
"I've seen men drunk on power. I've seen soldiers corrupted by fear. And I've seen heroes who never asked to be anything but human." He paused, then placed a hand on Aiden's shoulder. "You're none of those."
Aiden swallowed hard.
"But that doesn't mean the universe cares about our categories," Hale added. "Whatever is coming… it's looking for Void. And you're the only Void user we've ever seen."
Aiden looked away. "I don't know if I can control it."
"Then learn," Hale said firmly. "Before it controls you."
As Hale walked away, Aiden's system flickered sharply, like a static burst cutting through his mind.
[ Incoming Void Transmission ][ Decrypting… ][ Source: Unknown… Unknown… Unknown… ][ Message Received ]
A soft whisper echoed in his thoughts.
Find me before the Seekers do.
Aiden froze.
It was her voice.
The woman from the Ashfall Zone.
And then—
The night sky above him rippled, as if someone had brushed their hand across the stars.
Aiden looked up, heart pounding—
—and saw a faint violet crack appear for just a moment.
A Rift…
But not like any humanity had ever encountered.
This one felt personal.
Targeted.
Directed at him.
And as the crack sealed itself again, the whisper repeated:
They are coming for you, Aiden Cross.
Run.