Part I: The Signal Beneath the Roots
Three days passed as the group moved deeper into the forested deadlands. Twisted trees clawed at the sky. Blackened rivers trickled with glowing residue. The further they went, the more Artemis could feel the Beacon's pull—not just in her hand, but in her bones.
Then, one night, as the wind fell silent and the stars blinked out behind thick cloud, they found it.
A ruined cathedral swallowed by earth and roots. Ancient, stone walls cracked open like a ribcage. At its center, a pulsing energy field shimmered—green and gold, shaped like a dome.
Elara approached it first, reaching out with her tech-enhanced senses.
"It's shielding," she whispered. "But it's alive."
The field shimmered—then opened.
Figures stepped forward, cloaked in tattered armor and old-world fabrics. Their eyes glowed with various hues—silver, violet, amber. Bonded. Just like Artemis.
But older. Some looked ancient.
One stepped ahead—a tall woman with silver tattoos along her jaw, eyes like fractured glass.
"You brought the fire," she said to Artemis.
"You know me?" Artemis asked cautiously.
"Not yet. But we've dreamed of you. Come. All of you. There's much to see—and less time to see it."
Part II: The Hollowheart Enclave
The interior of the cathedral was repurposed—converted into a living sanctuary powered by fused organic tech. Vines pulsed with energy. Old servers grew from stone altars. It was both beautiful and eerie.
"This is the Hollow," the silver-eyed woman explained. "We are what's left of the First Wave."
Artemis frowned. "First wave?"
"The ones who survived the earliest rifts. Before the world realized what the portals truly were."
Nova moved cautiously, eyeing the others. "Why are you hiding?"
"Because we refused to be weapons. The Hunters… were made for us. We weren't threats. Until we decided not to obey."
A younger bonded, barely older than Artemis, leaned in. "You burned one of the heart-beasts, didn't you?"
Artemis nodded. "In the tunnels. A mutant."
"They're not all lost," he whispered. "Some still remember."
That caught her attention. "What do you mean?"
Part III: The One That Remembers
Beneath the cathedral, in a sealed chamber overgrown with silverroot vines, lay a creature unlike the others.
Chained in a glowing containment field was a mutant—its flesh warped, its limbs elongated… but its eyes were human. Intelligent. And sorrowful.
It looked at Artemis the moment she entered.
"You…," it rasped. "You resisted. You held onto yourself."
Artemis stepped closer. "Who were you?"
The creature chuckled bitterly. "A scientist. I helped design the portals. We thought we were touching the stars. Instead, we touched something older."
"What happened to you?"
"I stood too close. It noticed. It rewrote me—but not all the way. Some of us… we remember. And if I can remember, then maybe others can be pulled back."
Elara stepped forward. "You think there's a way to reverse it? To cure the corruption?"
"Yes," the creature whispered. "But not without risk. The bond is alive. It doesn't like being undone."
Nova bristled. "Why undo it at all? We were chosen. Elevated."
"No one chose us," Artemis growled. "We survived. That doesn't make us gods."
Nova's voice hardened. "Speak for yourself."
The tension in the room grew sharp as glass.
The Hollow survivors watched silently.
Lines were forming.
Between those who wanted to reclaim what was lost…
And those who were ready to become something new.
Part IV: The Choice Ahead
That night, Artemis stood alone beneath the shattered stained glass dome. Stars filtered through the broken sky.
Elara approached quietly. "You okay?"
"No," Artemis said honestly. "If what that mutant says is true… we could bring people back. Save the ones still turning."
"But?"
"But I'm not sure everyone wants to be saved."
She glanced toward Nova's silhouette in the distance—speaking in hushed tones with a group of bonded who looked far too eager for change.
"We need to choose soon," Elara said. "We can't stay in the Hollow forever."
Artemis looked at her hands. The claws. The scars. The glow under her skin.
"I'm going to talk to the creature again," she said. "I want to know what it really saw on the other side of that portal."
Elara nodded. "I'll go with you."
Together, they turned back toward the crypt below—toward answers no one else dared to hear.
And in the sky, far above, another tear began to open.
Part V: Beneath the Rift's Breath
The crypt smelled of old blood and silverroot sap. Bioluminescent tendrils curled along the ceiling like veins, pulsing with life. The creature waited where they had left it—still bound, still watching.
But this time, as Artemis and Elara entered, its expression changed.
"You came back," it rasped. "Good. Most don't."
Artemis crouched, eye-level with it. "You said something saw you—when the portal opened."
The creature's jaw tightened. "It did more than see. It… noticed. It understood I was trying to shape the Rift, not just walk through it."
"What is it?" Elara asked. "The thing on the other side."
The mutant's eyes glazed slightly—like remembering burned.
"It's not a being. Not in the way you think. It's more like… a wound in reality. A scar across dimensions. Every time someone reaches through, it reaches back. And when it finds minds it likes—pliable minds—it binds to them. Merges. Warps."
Artemis felt the words settle into her chest like ice.
"The bonding," she whispered. "It's not just energy—it's… sentient."
"Yes," the creature said quietly. "And it chooses."
"But I didn't ask for this," Artemis snapped. "I didn't choose it either."
"That's why you're dangerous," the creature replied. "You resisted. That means it's still afraid of you."
Elara stepped forward. "You said some can be brought back. How?"
The creature's chains rattled as it shifted.
"There's an ancient pulse buried beneath the forest. A sealed rift core. One of the first. Before the collapse. It still holds the original pattern—the unaltered signal."
Artemis leaned in. "A signal?"
"If we can reach it, we can broadcast through it. Remind the corrupted who they were. Pull them back."
Elara frowned. "And what's stopping us?"
The creature smiled bitterly.
"The Hunters sealed it. Long ago. Said it was 'too dangerous.' And they posted something there to make sure no one ever reached it."
"What kind of something?" Artemis asked.
The creature's voice went low.
"One of us. One who embraced the Rift completely. No mind. No voice. Just hunger."
A long silence passed between them.
Then Artemis stood.
"Tell us where it is."
The creature looked at her with something close to reverence. "North. Beyond the drowned valley. Beneath the ash cliffs. Look for the shattered tree that bleeds light."
"Let's go," Elara said, turning toward the exit.
But just as Artemis stepped away, the creature spoke again—softly.
"Artemis."
She paused.
"When you find it… the Rift will whisper. It always does. Do not listen too long. Or you'll never come back."
Part VI: Into the Drowned Valley
The air grew heavy as Artemis, Elara, Nova, and Kira made their way northward, leaving the Hollowheart Enclave behind. The forest twisted darker here, branches dripping with ash, the ground soft and soaked beneath their boots. The Beacon pulsed faintly, like a distant heartbeat beneath the earth.
"This place feels… wrong," Nova muttered, scanning the shadows.
Kira nodded, her eyes sharp. "It's the remnants of the old rifts. The land is still sick."
Artemis clenched her fists, feeling the familiar hum inside her veins. Her claws retracted beneath her sleeves, but the energy lingered—a constant reminder of the bond.
Ahead, the trees thinned, revealing a vast valley swallowed by stagnant water and thick fog. The drowned valley.
"It looks like a graveyard," Elara whispered, eyes narrowing.
They crossed the soggy ground carefully, stepping over twisted roots and shattered stones. Faint glimmers of phosphorescent light flickered beneath the water's surface, like restless spirits.
Suddenly, a shriek shattered the silence.
From the murky depths, long, sinuous limbs burst forth—mutated and glistening. Dark eyes locked onto the group. The water churned as grotesque shapes emerged—twisted creatures part-fish, part-human, their mouths full of jagged teeth.
"Monsters," Kira hissed, drawing her blade.
Artemis felt a surge—instincts sharp, heart pounding.
"They won't let us pass without a fight."
The battle erupted.
Elara fired her energy rifle, bolts zipping through the fog and striking beasts. Nova moved like a shadow, claws flashing. Artemis joined the fray, her claws extending, slicing through scales and sinew with fierce precision.
One creature lunged at Elara, jaws snapping. Artemis dove forward, slashing the monster's throat before it could strike.
"Thanks," Elara gasped, barely dodging another attack.
But more came—waves of mutants flooding from every direction, screeching and snapping.
Breathing hard, Artemis shouted, "Fall back! We need higher ground!"
They sprinted toward a shattered watchtower, leaping over fallen beams and rotten planks. Climbing swiftly, they took vantage, weapons ready.
From the tower, the valley stretched before them—a sprawling wasteland of decay, shadows, and something ancient lurking beneath.
The Beacon in Artemis's hand flared bright.
"It's close," she said, voice steady. "The shattered tree… the bleeding light."
In the distance, a colossal tree stood, its bark cracked and glowing with an eerie silver light—like veins of molten metal running through ancient wood.
Elara scanned her devices. "The sealed rift core is beneath that tree. But look…"
A massive shape slithered from behind the tree's roots—dark, towering, and grotesque.
The Hunter.
Part VI (continued): The Hunter Awakens
The monstrous figure towered like a twisted colossus, limbs dripping with blackened sludge. Its eyes, burning coals of malice, locked onto the group with cold intelligence.
Artemis's heart hammered. The Hunter—the nightmare she'd only heard about in whispers—was real. And it was here.
Nova growled low, claws scraping the wood beneath her. "It's hunting us."
Kira readied her blade, eyes steely. "We can't let it reach the rift core."
Elara's fingers danced across her control panel. "I'm trying to hack the beacon. If I can overload the rift's field, maybe we can seal it from here."
The Hunter's guttural roar shook the ground. It surged forward, shaking roots and splintering branches as it advanced.
"Hold it off!" Artemis commanded, claws flashing like silver lightning.
They leapt from the tower, scattering into the foggy battlefield.
Artemis met the Hunter head-on, sidestepping its massive claw swipe. She slashed at its leg, feeling thick, scaled skin resist the strike.
It roared, swinging again. She ducked beneath the blow, slashing upward along its exposed neck. The beast staggered but didn't fall.
Behind her, Elara's device emitted a high-pitched whine, lights flashing erratically.
"Almost there!" she shouted.
The Hunter charged, fury unleashed.
Artemis dodged, barely avoiding a fatal strike. She bit back a grunt of pain as the air whooshed past her cheek.
"Kira! Nova! Help me corner it!" Artemis yelled.
Together, they worked in tandem—Nova distracting the Hunter with agile strikes, Kira slicing at its limbs to slow it down, and Artemis aiming for weak spots revealed by their attacks.
Elara's countdown began.
"Five seconds!"
The Hunter roared, throwing debris and smashing the ground.
"Three… two…"
Artemis lunged at the Hunter's chest, claws glowing bright red—energy pulsing through her veins. She drove her blades deep into the beast's core.
The creature howled in agony, shaking violently.
"Now, Elara!" Artemis shouted.
Elara pressed the final command.
A blinding pulse erupted from the device, rippling through the air like a shockwave. The glowing tree shuddered, its veins flickering as the rift's energy waned.
The Hunter screamed—a horrid, echoing sound—and collapsed into the swamp with a final shudder.
The eerie light around the tree dimmed, the rift core's glow fading into darkness.
Breathing heavily, Artemis looked at her companions. "Did we… stop it?"
Elara nodded, wiping sweat from her brow. "For now. But the rift's not gone. Just sleeping."
Nova spat on the ground. "We've only bought time."
Kira gazed at the ruined valley. "What's next?"
Artemis clenched her fists. "We find the next beacon. We find the source—and we end this."
The Drowned Valley fell silent once more.
But the war was far from over.