The Rift Beast emerged like a nightmare dragging itself out of the sky.
Huge. Hunched. Wrong.
Its body writhed with shifting geometry—violet plates sliding over exposed sinew, bone structures rearranging themselves with every breath. Joints bent in angles that argued with physics. Every step it took warped the air around it, bending light like desert heat, distorting the world as if reality itself was trying not to look directly at it.
Riley whispered, voice trembling,
"Bro… I think my soul just logged out."
The agent didn't flinch. "Stay behind me."
Quinn didn't move at all.
Because the moment the beast's molten-amethyst eyes locked onto him, his system exploded to life.
---
[HOSTILE LOCKED]
[Threat Level: B-Class — HIGH]
[Recommended Action: Flee]
[Override Option Available]
---
Quinn swallowed hard. "It wants us."
"No," the agent corrected, visor pulsing. "It wants you. You're resonating with the Rift. You're a beacon."
Riley shot Quinn a betrayed look.
"Bro. Why are you a mystical Wi-Fi router for demons?"
Quinn didn't get to respond.
Because the beast roared
The sound wasn't just noise — it was impact.
It punched the air. Shook the road. Rattled teeth.
Glass cracked in the windows around them. Birds scattered mid-flight.
Then the ground split beneath the monster's feet.
Before Quinn could even blink, the agent lifted his rifle.
A surge of condensed blue energy tore through the street. The bolt slammed into the creature's chest, detonating in a blast that lit the entire block—
BOOM.
The creature staggered… then stopped.
Its head turned slowly, far too slowly.
Riley stared. "Uh… shouldn't it, like… die?"
"No," the agent said flatly. "That wasn't to kill it. It was to distract it. Now run."
-
Quinn didn't move.
Something in him—fear, instinct, responsibility—crystallized into a decision he didn't fully understand yet.
He stepped forward.
Riley hissed, "Quinn, are you mad? You can't main-character your way out of—"
But Quinn wasn't listening.
Because his system pulsed like a living heartbeat.
---
[COMBAT INSTINCT DETECTED]
[Skill Ready for Evolution]
[KINETIC BURST → KINETIC SURGE (Lv. 1)?]
---
He didn't know what it meant.
He only knew he needed more power—
to protect Riley,
to survive,
to reach Grandma.
"Do it," he whispered.
A cold, electric chime filled his mind.
---
[Skill Evolved]
KINETIC SURGE (Lv. 1) — Activated on Intent
Capabilities: Amplified Force / Partial Direction Control
Warning: Extreme bodily strain.
---
Too late to reconsider.
The beast charged.
It moved like a glitching frame — one moment distant, the next exploding forward, the pavement cracking under its weight.
The agent dove aside with a curse.
Riley ducked, screaming,
"QUINN—!"
And Quinn…
stepped into the charge.
Time peeled open again — slow, thick, elastic. Sound thinned. The world dimmed at the edges.
Energy danced onto Quinn's palm.
Blue. Luminous. Hungry.
"Kinetic… Surge."
He thrust forward.
--
A shockwave detonated, cannon-loud, ripping through the air.
The pressure shook nearby buildings, shattered loose glass, and threw dust into a spiraling storm.
BOOOOOM.
The Rift Beast was flung across the street — smashing into a parked bus with such violence that the metal folded inward like foil. The entire bus slid several meters from the force.
Riley's jaw dropped.
"BRO. BROOOOOOO. YOU JUST SUPERPOWERED THAT THING INTO A MARWA BUS!"
Even the agent paused mid-reload, visor whirring.
"…You're syncing faster than predicted."
But Quinn barely heard him—
because pain seared through his arm.
Hot. Sharp. Blinding.
---
[Warning: Strain Level 82%]
[Risk: Permanent limb damage]
---
Quinn staggered.
The agent grabbed him. "Don't use it again. Your body isn't made for this."
"I don't care," Quinn panted. "I can still fight."
"No," the agent said. "You'll die."
Riley grabbed Quinn's shirt.
"If you die, I'm beating your ghost."
A rumble rolled through the street.
All three of them turned.
The Rift Beast — cracked plates, broken bones — was already rising.
Its flesh shifted like living tar.
Its exoskeletal armor shivered, re-knitting itself.
With a sickening crack, it finished realigning.
And it was furious.
Purple energy bled from its skin like smoke on fire, sizzling against the air.
The agent swore. "I need backup. Now."
He tapped his communicator.
Static.
A garbled voice.
Then—
"…all units… overrun… fallback—"
Signal dead.
The agent lowered the communicator slowly.
"They're gone."
Riley: "Gone where?!"
The agent's voice dropped.
"Dead. Or worse."
Quinn shook with fear… then steadied.
"Then we fight. Together."
The beast dug its claws into the ground, muscles rippling.
Another charge was coming.
If they messed up once — they died.
Riley whispered, "Quinn, don't freeze. Please."
Quinn breathed deep.
He didn't feel brave.
He felt determined.
The agent raised his rifle. "Listen — when it charges you dive left, Riley dives right, I'll—"
He stopped speaking.
Because the creature wasn't looking at them.
It was backing away.
Slowly.
Fearfully.
Like prey.
Quinn blinked. "Why… is it scared?"
Riley whispered, "Bro… what's behind us?"
The agent stepped back half a pace.
The sky dimmed, as if pulled into shadow.
The air thickened like syrup.
Footsteps echoed — soft, measured, but wrong.
Reality rippled with each step, like the creature was walking through overlapping worlds and choosing pieces of each.
Something stepped around the corner.
Tall. Humanoid.
Skin shifting like distorted pixels.
A skull-like head…
and one glowing, ghost-pale white eye that burned with intelligence.
Quinn's system screamed.
---
[WARNING: ENTITY CLASS — S+]
[Probability of Survival in Combat: 0%]
[Recommendation: RUN]
[Override: LOCKED]
---
Quinn felt ice drip through his veins.
Riley couldn't breathe.
Even the Rift Beast — a monster born of the other side — backed away and crouched low like a terrified animal.
The agent whispered a word Quinn had never heard before.
A word that tasted like dread.
"…Wraith."
The Wraith turned.
Its single eye flared—
and locked directly onto Quinn.
The air folded inward.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
And Quinn realized with absolute certainty:
This thing wasn't here by chance.
It came for him.