The world around Roni was gone.
He gasped, eyes darting in every direction, but there was nothing—no sky, no ground, no air. Just a vast, swirling void of light and shadow. Fragments of shattered symbols floated in the distance like glowing glass, each humming with energy.
"What… where am I?" Roni muttered, holding his head. The pain from before had faded, replaced by a strange warmth flowing through his veins.
The silence was deafening—until a deep, calm voice echoed through the void.
"So… you finally arrived."
Roni jerked and turned sharply.
"Who's there!?"
From the swirling mist ahead, a faint figure began to take shape—a man cloaked in flowing robes of blue and gold, his eyes glowing like lightning under a storm. His presence radiated power.
"Do not be afraid," the voice said again, this time clearer. "I am Halzora."
Roni froze.
"Halzora? As in the Halzora—the Mage of Lightning and Fire? "Ahh" ....he cleaned his eyes probably it was an illusion, but the figure still appear before him.
how.....are you here? Roni stammered..you're supposed to be dead!"
"I am," Halzora said softly. "At least… what remains of me. When I used the Talchi Protocol to destroy Drogo, my body was shattered. But fragments of my soul were pulled into the Rift. My consciousness lingered here, trapped between worlds."
Roni looked around—the flickering symbols, the endless glow, the pulsing hum—it all made sense now.
"So this place… this is the Rift?"
"Yes. The heart of what your people call the Rift Realm," Halzora replied. "A space born from imbalance—half light, half shadow. It connects all dimensions. And you, boy… your system is tied to it."
Roni frowned. "Tied to it? How? I don't even understand what this thing inside me is."
Halzora took a step closer, his form flickering like static.
"Your system is forbidden because it holds a part of my energy signature—the same power that caused the Rifts. It feeds on energy—light and dark alike. That is why you absorb power… and why darkness tries to consume you in return."
Roni remembered the surge at school, the way he almost drained Mobu's life away. His heart clenched.
"So that's what's happening to me? I'm turning into a monster?"
"No," Halzora said firmly. "You're not a monster. But you will become one if you don't learn to control it. The dark energy within your system hungers for balance. Resist it too long, and it will take control. Yield too easily… and you'll lose yourself."
Roni clenched his fists. "Then how do I stop it?"
"You must learn to channel both forces—light and dark. To do that, you'll need strength, discipline… and most importantly you'll learn the Dalka technique, that helped me when I was lost just like you. Your system is not your enemy, Roni. It's a fragment of me—a power once used to save humanity."
Halzora's form began to flicker more violently, his voice fading slightly.
"There isn't much time. The Rift is unstable. Learn to control and save Eldoria form it impending doom.
Roni tried to step closer, shouting, "Wait! How do I find it?!"
"Follow the light when darkness rises. The system will guide you."
A surge of lightning burst from Halzora's body, engulfing Roni in blinding energy.
The world spun. His ears rang.
Then—darkness.
Roni groaned softly, his vision slowly clearing. Damp grass brushed against his palms as he pushed himself up. The scent of wet earth filled his nose — this wasn't some strange place; it was Eldoria's forest, familiar yet eerily quiet under the silver glow of the moon.
Then he heard it — a faint humming sound, low and pulsing, vibrating through the air.
He turned toward the source and froze.
Floating between two moss-covered rocks was a rift, swirling faintly with blue and violet energy. Somehow, this one was hidden — unguarded, probably unknown to anyone that it even existed here.
Roni's thoughts raced. This could only mean one thing…
Before he could finish that thought, his system flickered back to life.
[Dark energy detected…]
He stiffened, scanning his surroundings. Through the thick grass, red eyes glimmered faintly in the dark.
"Demons…" he whispered.
Roni began stepping backward cautiously, his heart pounding. The system chimed again:
[Analyzing threat…]
Species: Cypher Demons
Abilities: Telepathic link
Eliminate each target to gain 50 HP.
He blinked. "Fifty HP per kill? That's the upgrade I need!" He rubbed his temple, unsure. "But how do I use this system? I've never used it consciously before"Roni muttered.
Another prompt appeared:
[Power Available: Lightning Bolt.]
Roni smirked faintly. "Lightning bolt, huh? Let's see what you've got."
Immediately, the brown glove appeared on his right hand, blue lightning crackling from its seams.
The bushes rustled. Two Cypher demons leapt at him — grotesque, shadowy figures with claws like obsidian blades. Roni reacted instinctively. Bolts of lightning surged from his hand, striking both creatures mid-air. Their screeches echoed through the forest as their bodies hit the ground, Roni kept channeling lightening to ensure they were fully dead.
He took a satisfying breath, the glove fading as smoke rose from the corpses. "That… actually worked," he muttered, taking a step back to steady himself.
But then the ground trembled.
From deeper within the forest, a chorus of screeches answered — hundreds of them. The thunderclap from his attack had drawn attention. Through the trees, faint red lights multiplied — eyes upon eyes — emerging from a stone circle, a crude Stonehenge-like nest the demons had built.
The sound grew louder, shriller, closer.
"Unbelievable…" Roni whispered, his confidence faltering as he saw the sheer number of demons flooding toward him.
Then another message appeared:
[100 HP gained.]
[New level unlocked – HP: 130/200.]
[Strength +10.]
[Power unlocked: Godspeed.]
Roni stared in awe. "Woah… strength plus ten?" He flexed slightly, checking if his muscles had double in size, but nothing was still the same.
But before he could marvel further, his system flashed red again:
[Alert: Dark energy in use — Telepathic force detected.]
[Decoding telepathic waves… Translating…]
"We must find the Queen Mother. Show us where you humans hold her!"
Roni's blood ran cold. His system could translate their thoughts — but what he heard was worse than he imagined.
"Queen Mother…" he whispered, eyes wide.
The demons were closing in fast, surrounding him.
"Power unlocked — Godspeed," Roni said, exhaling sharply. "Yeah… now's a good time to use that."
A surge of energy raced through his veins. The world blurred — and then he was gone, tearing through the forest like lightning itself.
Behind him, the screeches faded into the distance, swallowed by the storm.