"Kael?"
A soft voice gently called out, causing him to turn, already knowing who it belonged to. The warmth in that tone was one that he could recognize from miles away.
There, standing in the kitchen bathed in morning light, was his mother. She wore that same faded apron with the sunflower patch, one that she'd repaired countless times.
Her silver hair, which matched her eyes, was tied back in a ponytail and allowed to fall down her back.
"You're up early," she said, her eyes glancing toward the couch where his younger sister sat, legs swinging and humming some forgotten tune.
Kael couldn't speak. His body, like always, refused his commands as he felt like just a viewer seeing through his own eyes.
"Good morning, Mom." Without his deliberate action or command, his mouth opened and words came out.
The voice was his, but a lot younger and a lot less tired than what he was used to. After all, these were the days he used to have a full night's sleep without worrying about those whispers.
His mom smiled, the kind of smile that made even the bitterest days sweet. "Morning, sweetheart. Sit down, I made your favorite."
His legs moved on their own, carrying him to the table as the smell of eggs and rosemary bread wafted through the air.
"Morning, big bro," his sister said as she moved away from the couch and joined him at the dining table.
Just like Kael, she had black hair and silver eyes coupled with a cute little smile that brightened his day even more.
But he knew, knew that this was just a nightmare wrapped in an illusion of warmth as it had always been for the past two years.
This always ended the same way....with death.
Kael wanted to warn her. Wanted to tell her to run, to grab Mom and leave. That the Rift would open any second now. That their home wasn't safe.
But the dream wouldn't let him.
He sat and ate. He smiled and laughed with them almost as if completely unaware of the impending danger.
The moment was one filled with warmth and happiness when suddenly, right in the middle of their living room, a soundless crack appeared in space.
'No,' Kael pleaded, but no sound left his lips as his dream body continued savoring the breakfast, 'Please not again…'
The family of three sat in the dining area, blissfully unaware of the rift that had just soundlessly opened in their living room.
That is, until they heard the sound of a low growl behind them.
Young Kael and his mother immediately froze mid-bite as they heard the growl. It definitely wasn't something that should've been heard this close.
Kael's sister turned her head in confusion, scrunching her brow. "What's that sound?"
Their mother stood slowly, wiping her hands on the sunflower apron. Her face was calm, far too calm.
"Kael," she said, in a firm voice, one that lacked its previous motherly warmth, "Take your sister and go hide in the basement."
"But—" his younger self began, only to be cut off by their mother.
"Now!"
The Rift split open fully.
Dark mist spilled into the room like ink in water, and from it emerged the Riftborn.
A wolf, so large it tore through the roof above them, stepped out. Its fur was black as the void, and its maw hung unnaturally wide, revealing rows of dagger-sized teeth with drool dripping from them.
Its red eyes locked on the family of three, causing Kael and his sister to freeze in fear, only to be snapped out of it by the voice of their mother.
"Kael!"
He immediately grabbed his sister, who was still frozen in fear, and headed directly in the direction of the basement, only to be cut off by another rift that suddenly opened in their path.
From within came out a similar Rift born, but this one with a tail similar to a scorpion's.
Kael's younger body trembled as he pulled his younger sister behind him, putting himself between the Rift-born and her by pure instinct.
"Get down!" Their mother shouted and Kael immediately obliged, dragging his sister to the floor with him.
As soon as he did, a golden blur flashed past their heads, and a second later,
Boom!
The scorpion-tailed Riftborn was flung backward, crashing through the far wall, landing outside.
The second Riftborn followed soon after, crashing into the first.
Slowly, he turned his head to see what had struck the creature.
Standing in the center of the room, bathed in golden light, was their mother, but not as he remembered her.
Her faded apron was gone, replaced by a golden armor and massive white wings. She looked exactly like how young Kael imagined Angels.
"Mom…?" his younger self whispered, disbelief and awe evident in his tone.
But Kael, the Kael trapped within the dream, remembered. This was the moment he first saw her for what she truly was— An Awakened.
A really powerful one.
"Kael," his mother said as she walked towards the massive hole in the wall created by the Riftborns. "Please, take your sister and run."
"I can't leave you!" his younger self cried out.
But she only smiled—that same sweet, warm smile—and said, "I'll be fine, just take your sister and run."
The two Riftborn were only just beginning to rise, their bodies already regenerating—but she didn't give them the chance.
She dashed towards the two, a sword made of light in her hand.
Kael hesitated for a moment, tears streaming down his face, before grabbing his sister, whose brain still couldn't process what was going on, and ran towards the main door.
They couldn't run to the basement since a rift was open right at the door leading to it.
Kael flung the door open—then froze. His body went rigid, pupils shrinking as they trembled at the sight before him.
The once-blue sky was now a soulless grey, the sun gone without a trace, plunging everything into an unnatural darkness.
But the worst part was, all across the neighborhood, Rifts had opened.
On rooftops. In gardens. In the middle of the streets. From each Rift, multiple Riftborns emerged—each one towering, easily the size of the two monstrous wolves from before.
"A... a Rift break?" he stammered, his voice trembling.
This is the first Rift break he had ever witnessed, and also the one that would define his life forever.