Cold wind howled through the broken towers of the city's outer district.
The ruins rose like jagged bones against the dark sky, their shattered windows staring down like hollow eyes.
Dust drifted through the empty streets, carried by a restless wind that never seemed to stop blowing in this forgotten part of the city.
Thanex pulled his threadbare cloak tighter around his shoulders and kept walking.
The fabric did little to block the cold.
But it was enough.
His boots scraped against the cracked pavement as he moved through the silent street.
Step.
Step.
Step.
The streets were quiet.
Too quiet.
Most people avoided this district after sunset.
Not because of criminals.
Criminals existed everywhere in the lower districts. Thieves, smugglers, and scavengers lived in every alley of the city.
No, the real reason people stayed away from this place was different.
The air itself felt wrong.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
As if the world here had been slightly… forgotten.
Even the street lamps seemed dimmer near the outskirts. Their glow flickered weakly against the cracked walls, barely pushing back the darkness.
Thanex didn't mind.
Forgotten places were the only places someone like him could survive.
He exhaled slowly, watching his breath fade into the cold air.
Then he sighed.
Ahead of him, light spilled across the road from a fortified checkpoint.
A group of armored men stood there near a massive metal gate.
Their polished armor reflected the pale glow of lanterns mounted along the walls. Each piece was engraved with intricate symbols that marked their authority.
Resonants.
That was the name used to describe those who had awakened.
Even from a distance, Thanex could feel the faint pressure radiating from them.
Power.
Real power.
The kind that bent the world around it.
The kind people like him could only look at from afar.
Thanex approached the checkpoint quietly.
One of the guards looked up.
The man's eyes scanned him from head to toe before his expression twisted in mild annoyance.
"Another one?" he muttered.
Thanex didn't respond.
Instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small metal tag.
The tag was scratched and slightly bent.
A dull number had been stamped into its surface.
Below the number was a small engraving of a bird.
He handed it to the guard.
The guard glanced at the tag and snorted.
"Canary."
A few nearby Resonants chuckled.
The word carried a meaning everyone understood.
Disposable.
The nickname came from old mining practices, way before people began to awaken.
Miners used to carry canaries into dangerous tunnels. If toxic gas filled the air, the birds would die first—warning the miners to escape.
Now the same idea applied to Rift exploration.
Canaries entered Rift Gates alongside Resonants.
They carried supplies.
Opened paths.
Triggered traps.
And when something went wrong…
They died first.
Thanex showed no reaction.
He had heard worse.
Much worse.
Besides, he was here for the money.
And money didn't care about pride.
The guard tossed the tag back carelessly.
"You know the rules," he said lazily.
Thanex caught the tag before it hit the ground.
"Once the Rift opens, you follow the Resonants. Don't wander off."
The guard smirked.
"And try not to die too quickly."
He shrugged.
"It ruins the paperwork."
Laughter spread among the armored men.
Thanex slipped the tag back into his pocket.
His fingers tightened slightly.
But he said nothing.
Arguing with Resonants was like arguing with a mountain.
The result would always be the same.
He walked past them and entered the compound.
Inside, the air vibrated with a low mechanical hum.
The staging area stretched across a wide courtyard surrounded by reinforced steel walls. Floodlights illuminated the space in harsh white beams that erased most of the shadows.
Workers hurried between supply crates and equipment carts.
Technicians adjusted strange machines mounted on wheeled consoles.
Everything revolved around the massive structure standing at the center of the courtyard.
Thanex slowed as he approached it.
The Rift Gate.
Even inactive, the enormous circular structure radiated a strange pressure that made the air ripple like heat above a flame.
The gate stood nearly twenty meters tall.
Thick metallic rings surrounded its center, layered with glowing conduits and rotating mechanisms that clicked softly as they adjusted position.
At the heart of the structure floated a hollow circle filled with faint swirling light.
Like liquid glass suspended in midair.
Thanex had seen the gate before.
But standing this close still made his stomach tighten.
The Rift Gates were humanity's doorway to another world.
A dimension people called the Divine Realm.
No one knew exactly when the gates first appeared.
One day they simply existed.
And when they opened—
Monsters came through.
Cities burned.
Entire regions fell.
Humanity survived only because some people began awakening strange powers.
Those people became Resonants.
Individuals capable of extraordinary powers and abilities.
With that power, they could fight the monsters.
But the gates didn't only release creatures.
They also led into the Divine Realm itself.
A place filled with monsters, ancient ruins, and mysterious resources.
A place where power could be earned.
For Resonants, entering a Rift was opportunity.
Glory.
Wealth.
For canaries…
It was usually a grave.
The Divine realm in past times, could only be accessed through rifts opening randomly.
Over the course of years however, humans had been able to carve out territories, and create technologies that could aid in opening artificial rift portals to relatively safe parts of the realm.
Without the risk of monsters entering into the human realm from the Divine realm.
Thanex studied the swirling surface of the inactive gate. It was an artificial rift.
Something about it felt wrong.
He couldn't explain it.
A tall figure stepped forward near the gate.
His armor was different from the others.
Darker.
Heavier.
Intricate sigils glowed faintly across its surface.
The surrounding Resonants immediately straightened.
Someone whispered a name quietly.
"Legate Valerius."
Thanex glanced up.
Even someone like him had heard that name before.
Valerius was one of the city's rising hero.
A high-ranking Resonant who had closed several dangerous Rift Gates, ascended to the rank of a Legate and returned with powerful artifacts.
Stories about him spread through the lower districts like wildfire.
Some called him a savior.
Others called him a monster.
Thanex simply observed.
The man looked exactly like the stories described.
Tall.
Calm.
Perfect posture.
His dark cloak hung neatly over one shoulder, barely moving despite the wind.
He carried himself like someone far above everyone else.
Valerius surveyed the assembled group with a bored expression.
His gaze passed over the Resonants first.
Then briefly over the canaries gathered near the supply crates.
For a moment—
His eyes met Thanex's.
The look lasted less than a second.
But it was enough.
Thanex felt something cold settle in his chest.
Not anger.
Not hostility.
Just…
Complete indifference.
As if Valerius wasn't looking at people.
As if he was looking at tools.
The Legate turned away.
"The Rift will open shortly," he announced.
His voice carried easily across the courtyard.
"Low-level gate. Minimal threat."
Several Resonants relaxed immediately.
One laughed.
"Easy money tonight."
Another cracked his knuckles.
"Let's clear it fast."
Thanex didn't relax.
The gate trembled slightly.
So faint that no one else seemed to notice.
But Thanex did.
His eyes narrowed.
The swirling light inside the gate flickered.
For a brief moment—
He thought he saw a crack forming deep within the glowing surface.
Like a fracture spreading through glass.
Then it disappeared.
Technicians activated the gate.
Machines roared to life.
Energy surged through the thick cables surrounding the structure.
The humming grew louder.
Louder.
The air vibrated violently.
Then—
The gate exploded with light.
Reality twisted.
Space tore open.
A swirling storm of energy filled the circular frame.
The Rift had opened.
Valerius stepped forward first.
Without hesitation.
Without fear.
He walked directly into the light.
The Resonants followed.
Confident.
Excited.
Hungry for battle.
Thanex watched them disappear one by one.
Then the canaries were pushed forward.
"Move!" a guard barked.
Thanex stepped into line.
His heartbeat slowed strangely as he approached the portal.
The air around the gate crackled with electricity.
The swirling light filled his vision.
Then—
He crossed the threshold.
For a moment, the world vanished.
Sound.
Light.
Gravity.
Everything twisted together.
And then—
He stepped onto unfamiliar ground.