The Rift stretched like a wound in reality. The sky was ripped open, and the ground sparkled with warped energy. The squad walked in with their usual noise: boots crunching over jagged stones, voices bouncing off the silent void like they owned the place.
But Kaizen was quiet....too quiet.
His hands buried deep in his pocket and his eyes glanced through every shadow. His mind was half-drifting towards the flickering blue interface that hovered above his vision. His XP counter mocked him like unpaid debt.
Meanwhile, behind him, his friends, well let's say they argued as usual, but this argument wasn't about anyone ditching anyone, it was about the supposed weakest and undesired in the group.
"Hey... don't tell me I'm the only one who noticed it." Jin said unsure of what his friends' response would be.
"Noticed what? That Kaizen suddenly walks like he owns this whole Rift?" Daichi asked responding to the statement.
"Exactly that. Dude, the guy's aura changed. It's like thicker, heavier. I even felt it suppress mine when we stepped in. I mean how is that possible? I am D rank and he is fucking F rank, an F??" Jin responded almost annoyed.
"Tch. I felt it too. My skin crawled. The hell happened to him between yesterday and today? Did he eat a demon for breakfast?" Daichi asked snorting.
"…Honestly? I don't know why, but the second we entered, I suddenly wanted to… hug him. Like… wrap myself around him and never let go." Yui said, hugging her arms together, her cheeks were faintly pink.
"Same here, but mine wasn't a 'hug', it was rather a feeling that ran through my stomach, like I literally wanted to tell Kaizen 'Take me and do to me whatever you fucking want', It's insane and I don't even know where that came from." Mika said leaning in, her voice low.
"WHAT kind of fucking confessions are these?" Daichi asked almost enraged.
""Don't act innocent, Daichi. I bet you felt it too. His presence is… different. Dangerous. It pulls you in." Yui said smirking and rolling her eyes.
"I bet you dreamed of being Kaizen's dog" Mika mock-whispered.
"Shut up! The only thing I felt was his aura pressing mine down like a boot. And yeah… maybe I liked it a little. So what?" Daichi scowled shoving her shoulder.
The group then entered into half-laughter, and half-awkward silence moment. All except Ren.
"Focus, idiots. This isn't pillow talk. We're in the Rift. Nulls show up at random. One slip, and we're corpses." Ren said sharply as his tone cut sharply through their noise.
"…Nulls or not, if you guys keep thirsting over me out loud, I'm gonna start charging rent." Kaizen said finally turning his head but he wore a deadpan expression.
"Fine by me. I'll pay in body heat." Yui smirked then winked.
"I'll pay in tongue." Mika added.
"You two are disgusting" said Daichi.
"…Actually, disgusting sounds like good rent." Kaizen thought mockingly and smirking.
Ren groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose like a single dad trying to dispute five drunk toddlers.
"Kaizen, can you not fuel the madness for five minutes? Please?" Ren asked.
"Why? Watching them squirm is the only entertainment in this hellhole." Kaizen shrugged, sass dripping.
Kaizen slowed his pace, his voice dropping to a murmur only he and Sinna could hear.
Kaizen (thinking): "You hearing this? I'm apparently every girl's walking wet dream and Daichi's guilty pleasure. What the fuck kind of aura buff did you sneak into me?"
Sinna (purring in his ear, voice like velvet over razors): "Mmm… maybe I tweaked your presence a little. Gave it some… bite. You're welcome. Now they can't decide if they want to fight you or fuck you.... or in this case, want you to fuck them, either way works actually."
Kaizen (gritting teeth, whispering harshly): "That's not a buff, that's a lawsuit waiting to happen. I didn't ask to be the Rift's fucking sex magnet."
Sinna (mocking, playful): "Please. You're enjoying it. Don't lie. You love the way their eyes linger. Their pulses quicken when you breathe. You could tell Yui to drop to her knees and she'd ask how wide to open her mouth, you could tell Mika to lie flat and she'd ask how wide to spread her legs."
Kaizen nearly choked on air, eyes snapping forward as Yui glanced at him like she heard.
Kaizen (muttering, face heating): "You're fucking evil."
Sinna (teasing, low laugh): "Correct. That's in my job description."
Meanwhile the squad kept squabbling.
"No but seriously… his back muscles? One flex and I'd probably bark for him." Mika half-whispered, biting her lip.
"Back off. If anyone's getting collared by Kaizen, it's me." Yui snapped back.
"Oh my god. We're supposed to be hunting, not competing for who gets nailed first." Daichi groaned.
"...Relax Daichi. You're not my type." Kaizen looked back with a deadpan expression.
That made the group erupt in laughter. His face burnt like it was turning scarlet.
"Enough! Do you people hear yourselves? We're not in a damn strip club. Keep it together before—" Ren's voice was sharp running through the chaos.
The ground under their boots pulsed. A low, deep vibration echoed through the Rift, like a growl in the bones of the world.
Ren's eyes snapped wide. He raised his hand. Silence dropped like a hammer.
"…Too late. They're here." Ren whispered, his aw tightening due to tension.
The Rift air thickened, it was sour and metallic, like someone had cracked open a corpse and let it rot under the stars. Shadows twisted between jagged stone pillars, bleeding out in unusual waves.
Kaizen stopped mid-step, tilting his head. His lips curled into that half-mad grin his friends hated.
"…Smells like dogshit and bad decisions. Perfect place for a fight." Kaizen said.
"Bro, how the fuck are you smiling right now? My nuts just dried-up up into my stomach." Daichi asked frowning while his weapon was already out.
"That's 'cause you've got shrimp-balls. Can't blame the Rift for what genetics already ruined I guess." Kaizen replied.
Mika snorted so hard she nearly dropped her dagger. Yui slapped her arm, stifling a laugh.
"No, but wait… if Kaizen dies first, do we just divvy up his loot? Or do we fight over him like horny vultures?" Yui asked mock-serious.
"…Yui, if you strip me before I'm cold, I swear I'll fucking haunt you." Kaizen said almost like it was an order of some sort.
"Oh please. You'd love haunting me." Yui smirked leaning on her spear.
Ren cut in, pinching the bridge of his nose. His voice was tense, brittle with nerves.
"Shut the fuck up, all of you. This Rift isn't a playground. Keep the dicks-in-hands commentary for after we're alive." Ren pouted.
"…Ren, you sound like a virgin lecturing at a sex ed class. Relax. We've been in worse." Kaizen side-eyed him with a wicked grin.
"When?! When the hell were we in worse than this?" Ren snapped.
"…Every time I trusted you." Kaizen shrugged rolling his shoulders as the shadows pulsed closer and heavier.
The Rift growled. A deep, gnashing growl that vibrated their ribs. Pebbles rattled across the ground.
Sinna's voice coiled around Kaizen's skull, velvet over knives.
"Get ready, reckless asshole. Nulls don't wait for foreplay." Sinna said.
And then—out of the darkness—two jagged eyes ignited. Pale green, feral, hungry.
The Rift Beast stepped forward. Its claws dragged sparks on the stone. Its body sparkled, shifting between wolf and shadow, its teeth dripping with black ooze that hissed when it hit the ground.
Kaizen gripped his blade tighter, a slow, dangerous smirk carving across his face.
"…Showtime." Kaizen said, low and defiant.
The Rift Beast moved first.
No warning, no breath, just a blur of claws and shadow. It tore across the stone like a living nightmare, fast enough to split the air. The ground cracked under the weight of its lunge.
Kaizen barely had time to curse.
Kaizen (snapping his blade up): "…Fuck—!"
Metal skreiched as claw met steel, sparks raining down. The impact tossed him back three steps, boots scraping fire against the stone.
"Holy shit! It's faster than my ex running from child support!" Daichi confessed.
Mika twisted, her dagger flashing as she was trying to get around its flank. The beast's tail whipped like a wrecking ball—she ducked by inches and hair flying.
"I'm not dying here! Especially not before I lose my virginity!" Mika exclaimed.
"Girl, shut up and stab the damn thing!" Yui shot back.
The Rift Beast roared, a sound that thickened spirit. Black saliva hissed and burned into the stone.
Kaizen steadied his grip, grin razor-sharp, pupils blown wide.
Kaizen (to Sinna, in his head): "…What's the plan, princess? Or do I just keep swinging until I'm straw?"
Sinna hummed, her voice dripping venom and velvet.
Sinna: "You're mine, reckless fool. Bleed for me, and I'll give you the strength to carve this bitch open."
Kaizen: "…That sounded like a BDSM contract, not advice."
Sinna: "Then sign in blood, Kaizen. Or die."
The Rift Beast's eyes widened, and it attacked again, jaws wide enough to swallow him whole. Time stretched, heartbeat by heartbeat.
Ren screamed across the chaos:
Ren: "KAIZEN! MOVE!"
But Kaizen didn't move, instead he braced. Sinna's power twisted hot through his veins, a burning pulse behind his eyes. His smirk widened as he raised his blade.
Kaizen (whisper, feral): "…Let's dance, mutt."
The beast's jaws snapped down.
The Rift pulsed beneath their feet, stones jagged and uneven, shadows dancing like they had teeth. Sparks of energy soared through the air, crackling and smelling of ozone and blood, thick enough to taste. Kaizen's hand gripped his blade, muscles tense, heart beating. Sinna's pulse roared in his head, hot and electric, slicing through his focus, sharpening reflexes, twisting perception. He barely had a second to breathe before the first Rift Beast charged, teeth bared like a buzzsaw, claws swinging like wrecking balls.
"What the actual fuck?" Daichi shouted, leaping aside, almost eating a shard of rock. "This motherfucker moves like my drunk ex dodging responsibility!"
"I swear to God, If I die before getting f*cked properly or even having a decent kiss, I'm hunting all your asses!" Mika yelled and her dagger flashed.
She rolled under a swipe of shadow, eyes wild, hair sticking to her sweat-slicked face.
"Motherfucking hell! Can somebody—literally anybody—stop this oversized freak before it tears my tits apart?!" Yui shrieked, flipping backward as claws scraped the stone where her head had been.
Kaizen smirked, instincts roaring to life. Okay, princess. What's the next plan? Or am I just cannon fodder for your amusement?
Play, Kaizen. But bleed well, or I'll fuck you into next week before you even taste victory, Sinna hummed in his head.
"That sounded like a goddamn BDSM contract again, not battle advice," Kaizen muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.
Then sign it in blood, reckless asshole. Or die like the pathetic brat you are, Sinna replied, pulse buzzing.
"Lovely. Elegant bleeding," he whispered back, letting himself bait the Rift Beast. Sparks flew as he slashed, barely avoiding a cracking jaw.
"Move, Kaizen! I'm not babysitting your dumb ass today!" Ren shouted from the back, ducking a swipe that would have decapitated him in any normal universe.
Kaizen grinned, twisting with Sinna's guidance. "Come on, motherfucker. Let's dance."
Daichi stumbled, shouting. "Holy FUCK! That tail almost turned my ass into hamburger meat!"
"I literally feel like I'm starring in a porn gone horribly wrong!" Mika shrieked, twisting, dodging, spinning her dagger through air and shadow.
"Shut the fuck up, Mika! Focus! Or we're all meat snacks!" Yui yelled, leaping, stabbing the beast's side.
Kaizen's mind clicked, analyzing, calculating. Yeah, reckless asshole. That's me. But I'm a bloody smart one. Strategy will come later.
Reckless, yes. But don't underestimate yourself. You're mine, and I'll make sure you bleed elegantly, Sinna reminded, voice hot and sharp.
Kaizen smiled. "Lovely. Elegant bleeding." Sparks flew again as the beast attacked, claws slicing air centimeters from his face.
"This thing smells fear like a horny fuck on steroids," Daichi cursed, rolling and stabbing with a shaky grip.
"Oh my god, I feel like I'm in a porn gone wrong, holy FUCK!" Mika screamed again, spinning, twisting, a blur of limbs and steel.
"Shut your mouth, Mika! Focus! Or we're all fucked!" Yui shouted, cutting, glaring, dodging.
Kaizen let Sinna's fire surge through him. Time to fuck these Rift Beasts with precision.
"Playtime. Elegant bleeding. Let's go, motherfuckers," he muttered, dashing forward, shadow trailing like a lover's caress.
The Rift Beast roared, jaws snapping, claws flying. Kaizen rolled, slashed a back leg, sparks of shadow flying. He pushed off a jagged stone, flipped, planted his blade in the side, twisting.
Daichi yelped. "IF THIS FUCKER TOUCHES ME, I'M CURSING ALL OF YOU FOREVER!"
Mika flicked her dagger, teeth exposed, eyes sparkling. "And if it touches me, I swear it's getting a dick in the face. Figuratively. Or literally if it had one!"
"FUCKING FOCUS, IDIOTS!" Yui yelled, rolling behind Kaizen. "Screaming won't save your asses!"
Kaizen's chest burned. I'm the reckless asshole. But this chaos? My playground.
He sprinted between shadow and stone, slashing. Sparks and blood sprayed like fireworks gone wrong. Each Rift Beast that fell spat shadow back into the Rift like it hated him personally.
"Kaizen, are you even breathing?!" Ren yelled, dodging, eyes wide.
"I breathe blood and adrenaline; you scared little hunter!" Kaizen yelled back, slashing, ducking, spinning.
"Scared little hunter my ass! You're the one who's gonna die first if you don't focus!" Ren shot back, breathless, barely avoiding claws.
"You talking shit to me while almost getting devoured? Bold!" Kaizen grinned, ducking another swipe.
"Bold, reckless, or just a complete idiot?!" Ren snapped, diving under a snapping jaw.
"Yeah, all three, and proud of it!" Kaizen laughed, smirk sharp, eyes savage.
Mika yelped mid-spin. "I swear, I feel like this thing's grinding me up like some kinky meat grinder!"
"Focus, Mika! Or I'll shove that dagger up your ass myself!" Yui hissed, slashing a claw away.
Daichi screamed, rolling under a swipe. "IF I DIE, I'M HAUNTING ALL OF YOU FOREVER! ESPECIALLY YOU, KAIZEN!"
Kaizen's grin widened. Perfect. Chaos is art. And I'm the brush.
Sinna hummed inside him. Good. Let's take this up a notch. Medium difficulty. Kill, survive, dominate.
Kaizen took a deep breath. I'm going in.
The Rift Beast charged, claws shattering. Sparks flew. Shadow bit at his boots. Heart beating, he twisted, planted his blade, flipped, slashed.
Ren yelped. "SHIT! TOO CLOSE!"
Kaizen's grin was savage. "Time to fuck this thing up properly."
The Rift Beast roared, recoil spitting shadow, sparks, blood, everything in chaotic harmony.
Kaizen's inner thoughts churned: I'm reckless. I'm fast. I'm the asshole that thrives in chaos. Let's see who bleeds first!!.
"Move, you idiots! Stop screwing around!" Kaizen growled.
"This is some porn-level chaos!" Mika screeched. "I swear if I survive, I'm never complaining about sex again!"
"FOCUS! OR WE ALL DIE!" Yui snapped, twisting, stabbing, sweat glistening in the Rift's pulsing light.
Daichi yelled again. "IF THIS THING TOUCHES ME, IT'S GETTING CURSED BY MY HANDS, AND I'M DEAD SERIOUS!"
Kaizen laughed, chest busy, pulse roaring. Yeah. But we're surviving. And when we do… Sinna and I? Oh, we'll have stories.
The Rift pulsed violently. Shadows screamed. Sparks and blood rained. And then, just as the first Rift Beast fell, more shapes emerged, larger, darker, teeth gnashing, claws snapping, and all four of his friends screamed in unison.
"KAIZEN!!!"
And in that scream, every ounce of chaos, danger, and dark thrill of the Rift froze time just for a heartbeat.