The forest felt different as they moved north.
The air was heavier. Thicker. Even the birds had stopped watching.
Nyra led the group with a blade drawn, her eyes scanning every shift in the trees. Elara followed just behind her, her satchel clutched tight to her chest. Nuel brought up the rear, gripping his crowbar, eyes flicking between the undergrowth and the shadows overhead.
They moved in silence until midday.
Then Nyra stopped.
She crouched, running her fingers through the soil. "Tracks. Fresh. Humanoid, but too heavy for a normal person."
Nuel peered over her shoulder. "Riftling?"
She shook her head. "No. Something else."
Elara knelt beside them. "There's a pattern… almost like it's dragging something."
The trail led toward a cluster of stone ruins, half-devoured by vines. Moss-covered pillars marked the entrance to what might once have been a shrine or watchpost. A faded sigil—three interlocking circles—was carved into the largest stone.
Nyra cursed under her breath. "I've seen this symbol before. It's from a rogue faction—hunters who study Rift anomalies for their own gain. They don't care what they break along the way."
As they entered, the atmosphere shifted. Colder. Older.
A long-forgotten presence lingered here.
In the center of the ruins lay a circle of broken stones, arranged around what looked like an altar. Strange markings pulsed faintly on the ground.
"I don't like this," Elara whispered.
Nuel stepped closer to the altar. The bracelet on his wrist began to glow, reacting to something in the stone. As he reached out, the markings flared brighter—then fused with the light of his bracelet.
Images slammed into his mind.
Flashes of twisted figures. Burning skies. A monstrous eye opening in a rift of light.
And then—a voice. Deep and distant, yet familiar.
"You are not the first, Nuel. But you may be the last."
He staggered back, clutching his head. The light vanished. The stone darkened.
Nyra caught him by the arm. "What just happened?"
Nuel gasped for breath. "I saw… something. A warning. And a name—mine."
Elara stepped closer. "That mark on the stone—it's the same as the one in my drawing."
Before they could react, a low growl echoed from the trees.
They turned.
A hulking figure stepped from the shadows—over six feet tall, draped in ragged armor reinforced with bone and metal. Its face was hidden behind a crude mask made from Riftling skulls, eyes glowing faintly blue.
It spoke, voice distorted. "You're early."
Nyra stepped between it and the others, blade raised. "Identify yourself."
The figure tilted its head. "I was sent to find the bearer of the beacon. Seems I've succeeded."
It pointed at Nuel.
"Me?" Nuel asked, stunned. "What do you want?"
The figure chuckled, low and guttural. "To test you."
Without warning, it lunged.
Nyra met the strike, steel clashing against bone, sparks flying. She moved fast, but the figure was faster—unnaturally so. Nuel backed away, dragging Elara behind a pillar as the two fighters clashed in a blur of motion and fury.
"Is this normal?" Nuel asked breathlessly.
"Not remotely," Elara muttered, gripping his arm.
Nyra landed a solid blow to the figure's side, but it barely flinched. With a roar, it threw her back into a wall. She groaned, blood dripping from her lip.
Nuel's bracelet pulsed again.
And for a moment—just a flicker—he felt the enemy's movements. Where it would strike next. What its next angle of attack would be.
He shouted, "Nyra! Duck left—now!"
She did. The figure's blade sailed over her shoulder. She twisted, buried her dagger deep into its side.
It shrieked.
The glow in its eyes dimmed—and it fell.
Nuel ran forward, breath sharp, heart pounding. The figure twitched once… then stilled.
Elara approached cautiously. "What was that?"
Nyra wiped blood from her cheek. "A Hunter. Not one of the organized ones. This was something twisted. Maybe enhanced by Rift energy."
She looked at Nuel. "How did you know where it would strike?"
He hesitated. "I don't know. I just… knew."
Elara glanced between them. "He's changing. The beacon—it's not just a signal. It's a bridge."
"Between what?" Nuel asked.
Nyra's voice was grim. "Between you and whatever lies on the other side."
They buried the Hunter beneath the ruins. Whatever it had been, it didn't deserve to remain above ground.
As they resumed their journey, Elara walked beside Nuel, her brow furrowed in thought.
"You felt its movements," she said quietly. "That's not just instinct. That's connection."
He nodded slowly. "It felt like… like I was borrowing something. A memory that wasn't mine."
"Maybe it was part of the Rift," she said. "Or maybe something inside you is waking up."
Nuel didn't answer.
But deep in his chest, the bracelet pulsed once more—gentle, but persistent.
Like a heartbeat.