Episode 17: The Rift Awakens

  Opening: The Pull of the Abyss

  The air around Kade grew thick as the rift continued to pulsate, glowing in shades of violet and black, stretching wider by the second. Its gravity was undeniable, an unseen force pulling him toward it. But Kade stood rooted to the ground, heart racing, muscles tense. He had felt the rift’s call before—its primal, raw power had clawed at his soul, whispering in the deep recesses of his mind. But this was different.

  This time, it wasn’t just a presence.

  It was an invitation.

  And he was the guest of honor.

  Behind him, Sable moved in a fluid, predatory motion, scanning their surroundings with a sense of urgency. Her eyes never left the rift, but there was a strange hesitation in her posture. The woman who had once charged into battles without a second thought was now uncertain—unsettled by what lay ahead.

  “What’s happening, Kade?” Her voice broke through the silence, trembling, though she tried to hide it. “This isn’t just the Abyss. This is something else. Something older. Something… worse.”

  Kade didn’t answer immediately, his mind reeling. He could feel it now—a dark awareness creeping over him. The rift was not just a tear in the fabric of their reality; it was the beginning of something far more sinister. And whatever it was, it had a claim on him.

  The man—the figure with the metallic arm—stood silent in front of the rift, unmoving, watching them with cold, detached interest. His presence seemed almost out of place here, like a relic of the past that shouldn’t belong. He wasn’t part of the world Kade knew. He was a fragment of something… forgotten.

  “Why are you doing this?” Kade finally asked, his voice steady but tinged with the anger he felt building within him.

  The man’s head tilted, as if considering the question for the first time. He spoke without emotion, his voice low, mechanical. “I am only a guide, Kade Voss. A messenger. You should be asking yourself what you want to become.”

  “What do you mean?” Kade’s voice grew sharper.

  The man’s lips barely twitched as he spoke again. “You’re standing on the precipice of a new era. The world you know—your world—has already begun to collapse under the weight of its own decay. But you,” he paused, as if savoring the moment, “you, Kade, are the key to everything that is coming. And the choice is yours. You can stop it, or you can let it swallow you whole.”

  Kade’s hands clenched into fists, his body vibrating with the fury of everything he’d already lost. His father, his friends, the world that once was. “Stop what? What are you talking about?”

  The man didn’t respond. Instead, his hand shot up toward the rift, fingers pressing against the air, and the fabric of the world around them shuddered. The sky above them cracked like glass, breaking into a thousand jagged pieces as the rift began to widen further, pulling in the very atmosphere, twisting the air until it hummed with otherworldly energy.

  Sable stepped closer to Kade, her hand on his arm, her eyes full of fear but determination. “Kade… whatever is behind that, whatever this is, we’re not prepared for it. We need to stop him. Now.”

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  But Kade couldn’t tear his eyes away from the rift. He could feel it now—the connection. It was as if the rift knew him, recognized him as part of the equation. A part of something bigger. And the pull was irresistible. He didn’t want to admit it, but deep down, a dark curiosity was growing in him. What lay on the other side? What was the Abyss?

  “Come,” the man said again, his voice now carrying the weight of finality. “It’s time to see.”

  Into the Heart of Darkness

  Before Kade could make a move, the man stepped forward and disappeared into the rift. The air snapped violently, and Kade’s instincts screamed at him to turn away, but he couldn’t. The rift beckoned, and he was drawn in, like a moth to a flame. Every part of him resisted, but something deep within—something ancient—urged him forward.

  Sable’s voice was a distant echo in his ear. “Don’t, Kade! This isn’t you! Whatever’s behind that is not for you to face!”

  But it was too late.

  Without thinking, Kade reached forward, and with a force that felt like a ripple in time, the rift’s energy wrapped around him. He stepped into the void.

  For a moment, everything went dark. The world as he knew it—Sable, the ruins, the city—disappeared entirely. He was suspended in nothingness. The silence was all-consuming, like a black hole that devoured sound, light, and thought.

  And then, a voice echoed in his mind.

  “Kade Voss.”

  It was a whisper at first, faint and indistinct, but it grew louder, sharper, until it felt as though the voice was within him. He couldn’t escape it. He couldn’t fight it.

  “I’ve been waiting for you.”

  The voice was no longer just a whisper. It was powerful, deep, and felt like it was weaving itself into his very soul. His heart pounded in his chest, and he was paralyzed, unable to move or respond.

  And then, the darkness receded.

  Kade found himself standing on a landscape that defied all logic. The ground beneath him was made of black stone, stretching infinitely in every direction, broken only by jagged spires that shot up into the sky. The sky above him was a violent storm of swirling energy, purple lightning crackling through the clouds.

  This was no place he knew. It felt ancient, like a world forgotten by time, hidden beyond the veil of reality.

  And standing before him, bathed in the glow of the storm, was the figure.

  A figure that was not human.

  It was tall, impossibly tall, with a dark form that shifted constantly, like it was made of shadows that writhed and reformed. Its face—if it could be called a face—was a mask of smooth blackness, featureless and yet full of intent.

  “Welcome to my realm,” the figure said, its voice resonating in Kade’s mind. “I have been waiting for you, Kade Voss. You are the one I have chosen. You are the one who will either break the chains of fate… or tighten them forever.”

  Kade’s breath caught in his throat. His eyes scanned the figure, trying to understand. “Who are you?”

  The figure’s shape rippled, and for a moment, its form seemed to fragment, revealing glimpses of other, darker entities that lay beneath. “I am not one. I am many. I am the first whisper of the void. The thing that lived before time. And now, I am the thing that will outlast it.”

  The figure’s hand stretched out toward him, its long fingers reaching through the air with deliberate slowness. “You have power, Kade. Power beyond what you know. Power that could reshape this world… or destroy it.”

  Kade recoiled instinctively, but the air around him thickened, and his body felt heavier with every breath. It was as though the very atmosphere had grown oppressive, suffocating him.

  “I don’t want your power,” Kade managed to say, his voice ragged.

  The figure’s laugh echoed in his mind, a deep, unsettling sound. “You have no choice.”

  The Price of Power

  Kade’s chest tightened. He could feel his mind fraying at the edges. The figure’s presence was overwhelming, not just physically but mentally. Every thought he had seemed to twist, morph, and dissolve under the weight of the dark being’s influence.

  “Why me?” Kade managed to ask. “Why me?”

  “Because you are the one who will either bend the world to its knees… or break it in your image,” the figure responded. “You see, Kade, the Abyss was not the end. It was a warning. A herald. The true power, the force that waits beyond, is something far more dangerous. Something ancient. And it is coming.”

  Kade’s pulse quickened. “What is it? What is coming?”

  The figure seemed to pause, its form flickering like a malfunctioning shadow. “I cannot show you. Not yet. But know this: you are its herald. You will open the path. You will be the one who sets it free.”

  Kade’s mind reeled, unable to process the enormity of the words. The air around him seemed to shift again, like the fabric of reality was warping and twisting, pulling him deeper into this nightmare.

  “You have two choices, Kade Voss,” the figure continued, its voice now dripping with malice. “Join me, embrace the power I offer, and become the ruler of this world… or resist me, and watch as everything you care about is consumed.”

  The ground beneath Kade’s feet cracked open, and a rush of cold, dark energy surged toward him, as if the entire world was collapsing inward.

  Kade clenched his fists. His mind was a blur, his thoughts fragmented by the power around him, but one thing was clear:

  He couldn’t give in. Not to this.

  He wouldn’t let the rift consume him.

  With every ounce of willpower, Kade pushed back. The energy swelled around him, trying to break him, but he fought through the crushing pressure. His body burned with the exertion, but he wouldn’t bend. Not this time.

  “I won’t become your pawn,” Kade spat, his voice a defiant roar.

  The figure’s laughter filled his mind, a chilling sound that shook him to the core.

  “Then you will watch it all burn, Kade. You will witness the unraveling of everything. And in the end… you will join me. Whether you want to or not.”