The morning came pale and smoky, filtered through rift-cracks that hummed like broken glass. The trio stood before a shimmering tear in reality, a vertical wound of swirling crimson and silver light.
Isaac adjusted the straps of his cracked backpack.
Isaac: "So… no plan. No destination. Just jump in?"
Helena: "We don't have leads. The hunters will return. And staying here isn't safe."
Kael cracked his knuckles proudly.
Kael: "And rifts are fun! They either spit you into treasure, or spit you into certain doom! Very unpredictable! Very spicy!"
Isaac stared at him.
Isaac: "That's not reassuring."
Kael: "Relax. Worst case, we die horribly! Best case, we don't!"
Helena pinched the bridge of her nose.
Helena: "This is the worst motivational speech I've ever heard."
But they stepped forward anyway.
Isaac's chest tightened. A pulse ran through the rift…like a heartbeat. For a moment he felt Irithel's presence ripple under his skin, urging him forward.
Irithel's Echo (whispering):
Push forward, Isaac… destiny lies where worlds bleed.
And with that, the trio entered the rift.
⸻⸻⸻
THE DEMONIC REALM - KAEL'S UNWANTED HOME
The world snapped back with a suffocating heatwave.
Isaac landed face-first in volcanic ash.
Isaac: "HOT!!! HOT!!! HOT!!! OH GOD!!!HOT!"
He scrambled up, coughing. Helena emerged next, brushing soot off her cloak. Kael stumbled out last…
…and immediately shrieked.
Kael: "NO. NO. NOT HERE. ANYWHERE BUT HERE!"
The landscape stretched into a hellish expanse of crimson cliffs, boiling rivers, and sky filled with drifting fire cinders. Gigantic obsidian spires pierced the horizon.
Helena looked around, sweating instantly.
Helena: "Kael… is this—?"
Kael: "My home, the demon realm. The Infernal Barrens. The worst place imaginable. The climate is 'boiling death.' The air smells like angry lava. And everything here wants to bite you, burn you, or steal your shoes."
Isaac blinked.
Isaac: "Steal your… shoes?"
Kael kicked a small fire-imp that had scuttled up trying to tug his boot.
Kael: "SEE? They're relentless!"
Helena wiped her forehead, already pink from the heat.
Helena: "How do demons even live here…?"
Kael groaned dramatically.
Kael: "We don't live here. We survive until we can run away. That's why I left!"
Isaac tried to open his water bottle and immediately hissed as the plastic warped from the ambient heat.
Isaac: "Are you kidding me?! How is it this hot?!"
Kael dusted himself proudly.
Kael: "Welcome to the birthplace of demons. Our suffering is traditional."
Kael's Panic Suddenly Stops. Kael sniffed the air.
Then his expression twisted into pure horror.
Kael: "No. No, no, no, no—WE NEED TO LEAVE."
Isaac: "What now?!"
Kael pointed straight ahead.
A massive horned shadow was approaching, stomping across the lava-laced ground. Each step shook the earth. Flames poured out of cracks beneath its claws.
Isaac's heart froze.
Helena's breath hitched.
Kael whispered, pale despite being fireproof:
Kael: "That's… my mom."
Isaac nearly dropped his knife.
Isaac: "YOUR .....WHAT?!"
Kael: "She's the Second Demon Matriarch of the Barrens… and she thinks I'm still grounded!"
The shadow grew larger, molten eyes narrowing.
Demon Matriarch (booming):
"KAEL. YOU MISCREANT. YOU COME HOME NOW."
Kael whispered:
Kael: "GUYS RUN."
Isaac: "YES. YES WE RUN."
Helena: "Absolutely—RUN!"
They sprinted across the scorched plains as Kael's enormous, terrifying mother roared behind them, molten lava splashing at their heels.
Ahead, a small crack flickered open unstable, sparking with silver and black lightning.
Helena: "A rift! But it's collapsing!"
Kael (screaming): "WE TAKE IT ANYWAY!"
Isaac glanced back at the towering demon matriarch, fire blazing in her hands.
Isaac: "NO ARGUMENTS HERE!"
The three dove into the collapsing rift.
Behind them, Kael's mother roared:
"KAEL! YOU CANNOT ESCAPE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES FOREVER! YOU BETTER COME BACK!!!!!"
And the rift snapped shut.