The world fell silent.Every soldier—Emberwake or Shadowcrest—froze where they stood, their battle forgotten as two figures stepped forward into the center courtyard.Rick.And the Masked Herald.Snow-like embers drifted from the shattered battlements, glowing faintly in the night. Moonlight glinted off the Herald’s half-mask, giving him an otherworldly, almost ghostly aura.Hailey whispered, “Luna… this is bad. Really bad.”Luna didn’t blink. Her hands were trembling.Not from fear.From knowing something was about to change forever.Rick didn’t turn back to them.He didn’t need to.He whispered one thing under his breath—soft, almost lost in the growing wind.“Stay behind me.”---The Herald moved first.No warning.No battle cry.Just pure speed.A whisper of fabric—A flicker of the mask—And suddenly he was in front of Rick, blade drawn from a hidden sheath, slashing straight for Rick’s throat.Rick blocked with his forearm.Steel met shadow-infused skin.Sparks exploded outward.

The night stretched endlessly as the group stood at the fractured entrance of the Emberwake fortress. The moon hung low, pale and heavy, casting silver light across the broken stones.Ahead of them drifted the trail—a thin ribbon of shifting dark aura, weaving through the night air like smoke that refused to disperse.Rick stared at it with an expression somewhere between recognition and dread.Hailey nudged his shoulder gently. “You sure you’re ready for this? You just fought a masked demon without a lunch break.”“It’s not about being ready,” Rick said quietly. “It’s about having no choice.”Luna stepped beside him, her eyes soft but determined. “Then we walk with you.”Alder cracked his knuckles. “Yeah, yeah, let’s get this over with before more masked psychos show up.”Rick almost smiled.Almost.---They stepped onto the trail.The moment Rick’s foot crossed the faint swirling aura, the world shifted.The air thickened.The temperature dropped.And a low hum resonated beneath th

The estate was still shaking from the celestial rupture when Adrian marched straight into the Council Hall, Malia at his side. The elders, guards, and core disciples rushed in behind them, whispering in fear and confusion.Elder Rowan stepped forward first.“Adrian… what was that being? Why did it call you the bearer of the Star-Core Shard?”Adrian didn’t answer immediately. He moved to the center table, placed both palms on its surface, and let out a slow, controlled breath.“We don’t have time for debates,” he said. “Rick is alive—and trapped in a place worse than any battlefield: the Abyssal Rift.”Malia summoned the holographic imprint the celestial entity had left behind, projecting it above the council table. The swirling map lit up the entire chamber, casting deep shadows across every elder’s face.A dark region pulsed at the center—like a bleeding wound in the world.Elder Magnus squinted. “Impossible… That region shouldn’t exist. Every record says the Abyssal Rift collapsed c

The ground shook beneath Adrian’s boots as the Abyssal Rift widened across the sky like a wound ripped open by invisible claws. Purple-black lightning forked outward, illuminating the land in flashes of unnatural light.Malia shielded her eyes.“By the gods… it’s bigger than I expected.”Selene didn’t flinch.“It grows larger every cycle. And it’s hungrier.”Adrian stared at the colossal tear, his pulse matching the Shard’s frantic beating inside his chest.Rick… I’m coming.Their path led through a barren stretch of land known as the Broken Expanse. Once green, it was now a wasteland—forests reduced to ash, the sky permanently dim.Selene walked ahead, her cloak snapping in the wind.She spoke without looking back.“Stay close. The Rift bleeds corruption into the air. It can make you hear things.”Malia frowned. “Hear things like what?”“Terror,” Selene replied simply.They continued in tense silence.---The First WhisperHalfway across the cracked terrain, Adrian suddenly froze.A

Adrian couldn’t move.Rick stood in front of him—real, breathing, battle-worn. Not a twisted echo. Not a dream. Not a memory.Rick.Older by years Adrian never got to see.Scarred in places Adrian didn’t recognize.And carrying an aura that crackled like caged lightning—powerful, restrained, and not entirely human anymore.Rick lifted two fingers and tapped Adrian lightly on the forehead.“You’re staring like you’ve seen a ghost.”Adrian let out a breath that felt stuck for fifteen years.“You are practically a ghost! You vanished, Rick. We all thought—”Rick raised a hand.“Later. I swear I’ll explain everything. But right now…”He tilted his head.A distant, bone-deep rumble echoed through the forest of glowing trees.“…we need to move before the Rift finishes welcoming you.”Adrian stiffened. “Welcoming me?”Rick sighed.“You’re the Bridge. Of course it’s excited.”Before Adrian could ask, Rick turned and pushed him forward.“Walk. And stay close. Everything here has teeth.”---Th