The streets were calm, lit by the warm orange glow of overhead lamps. Lucien and *Amara* walked side by side, the air between them light, easy. It was strange — how quickly comfort had replaced awkwardness.
A few minutes later, they spotted her.
*Mira* stood by a cluster of bags outside a grocery stall, arms crossed and phone in hand. She looked up, immediately noticing Amara walking beside Lucien.
"Hey," Lucien called out, waving.
Mira blinked. "Is that...?"
Lucien scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, yeah. Mira, this is Amara. From work."
Amara smiled politely and extended a hand. "Nice to meet you."
Mira shook it, eyes dancing with suspicion and mischief. "Very nice to meet you."
Lucien saw the smirk forming on his sister's face. He gave her a warning look. She ignored it entirely.
With bags in hand, the three began walking home, the occasional honk of a taxi or chattering street vendor the only real noise around them.
Then something strange happened.
They passed an alley — narrow, dark, and quiet.
Lucien's steps slowed..
His eyes caught a glimmer on the ground, just beside a rusted dumpster. A small object, pulsing faintly with blue light, like a dying ember.
He stopped.
"You guys go ahead," Lucien said. "I'll catch up in a second."
"What is it?" Mira asked.
"Probably just some junk. I'll check."
Lucien stepped into the alley. The air felt… heavier.
He knelt slowly and picked it up.
It was a *small cube*, metallic but smooth, no seams, no buttons. As he touched it, the light pulsed once — then flared.
"Lucien?" Amara called out.
The cube suddenly *unfolded* in his hand — lines of light snaking across his skin like living code.
"Wha—?"
The object *shot into his chest*, merging through his hoodie like it wasn't even there.
Lucien stumbled back, gasping. Symbols danced across his vision. Glitches flickered in the air around him like broken pixels.
"Lucien!" Mira shouted, rushing forward.
But before she could reach him — *the ground cracked*.
A low hum rumbled from the alley, deep and unnatural. The very air twisted.
Amara screamed as a glowing *circular sigil* formed beneath them, pulsating with energy.
"What's happening?!" Mira yelled, grabbing Lucien's arm.
"I—I don't know!" he shouted back, pain racing through his chest where the cube vanished.
The world around them shimmered like glass under heat.
Then — *light exploded*.
A blinding, silent detonation — and then everything went dark.
Lucien felt himself falling, not through space, but through something deeper — like a crack in reality.
Flashes came.
A red sky. Towering gates. Floating text in a language he didn't know — yet somehow understood.
> *User Identified: Lucien Kade*
> *Initializing Core Synchronization...*
> *Warning: Rift Imbalance Detected*
Then silence.
When Lucien opened his eyes, the city was gone.
He stood in the middle of a forest clearing. Tall trees loomed like giants. Strange stars burned purple overhead. The sky was wrong.
He looked around — Mira and Amara lay unconscious nearby.
His heart pounded.
What just happened?
And why did the ground beneath him glow when he moved?
He didn't know it yet… but *Lucien Kade* was no longer just another guy from Earth.