Everyone, except Gregk, paused almost instinctively as the aftereffects settled in.
It wasn't a rush. No flash of power or sudden surge that knocked the wind from their lungs. Instead, it came like a deep exhale they hadn't realized they were holding. Something permanent eased into their bodies, smoothing over the sharp edges of exhaustion, reinforcing muscle, steadying their breath. Strength didn't arrive loudly, instead it rooted itself within them.
Aryn felt it immediately, and then he felt more.
Where Jaxon and Kaia seemed steadier, lighter on their feet, Aryn felt pressure gathering beneath his skin, coiling tighter with every heartbeat. It wasn't painful. It was… patient. As if something inside him was filling, expanding, testing its boundaries.
He looked down at his left arm.
The tribal band circling it pulsed faintly, almost too subtle to notice. Then, before his eyes, a new notch etched itself along the band, dark and precise, as if it had always been meant to be there.
The pressure stopped.
'That's new,' he thought, flexing his fingers. He rolled his shoulders, expecting soreness, expecting pain, but found none. Bruises faded, cuts were sealed. Even the lingering ache in his ribs was gone.
'So this is what it meant by reward.'
Sirens echoed somewhere across the city. A distant explosion rolled through the streets, dull and far away. Atlanta was still tearing itself apart, but for a moment, the four of them simply stood there, alive and breathing.
They gathered near the wreckage, each finding a place to sit or lean as the adrenaline drained. No one rushed to speak.
Aryn turned the dark crystal over in his fingers, watching how it caught the light. It felt heavier than it should have been, not in weight, but in presence.
"Gregk," he asked finally, "what exactly does this rock do?"
The scout answered without hesitation. "They empower those who endure a rift. Only strong opponents will drop these 'crystals'. You may absorb it but not while threatened. Interruption can damage the Spirit. Done properly, it strengthens you permanently."
Kaia's eyes widened. "That's what that feeling was? When we came out?"
Gregk nodded. "The rift also acknowledges survival. With every kill, you grow, and when you leave after completion you will grow. The portal will deny the creatures from entering into our plane, but we will still be able to access the rift after some time has passed. Every rift is different."
Jaxon grinned, bouncing slightly on his heels. "Yeah, I feel good~. Like I could keep going. Like that lightning bunny from the TV commercials!"
Aryn said nothing, his thumb brushing over the crystal's surface and shaking his head at the same time from Jaxon's comment.
Gregk straightened, wincing faintly as he did. "There is more you must learn and other things to be remembered. Death is final, for all of us. Even summons. You must refine your abilities, shape them into something stable. Even I am still growing. I am not as mighty as our Generals in the Inner-Earth . In time, each of you will grow into a role that suits you. As we all do, that gain power."
He paused, then added, "I will return home now. I require rest."
Aryn nodded. "Thanks, Gregk."
At Gregk's will, light traced a circle beneath the scout's feet. A wolf headed totem rose briefly, solid and solemn, before Gregk vanished.
Silence followed and mist.
"Well," Jaxon said, glancing around, "we should get home and check on our parents. And, so… You can like, summon those things, Aryn?"
Aryn nodded in reply.
"Come with us," Kaia added quietly, looking at Aryn.
Aryn didn't hesitate. "Yeah. I will."
They moved carefully through the streets, alert but encouraged by how their bodies responded. When they broke into a jog, none of them were tired the way they should have. Even Kaia noticed, her breathing steady, legs light despite never being much of a runner.
The high rise stood untouched when they reached it, sleek and quiet amid chaos. The sounds of very distant screams could still be heard, and this added to the worry of Jaxon and Kaia.
Inside the condo, Kaia called out for their parents but there was no answer. They searched every room but they were all empty.
Jaxon hugged her when fear finally broke through. "They're okay," he said softly. "We'll find them." This was a side of Jaxon that Aryn, wasn't used to. But he knew that Jaxon cared deeply for his family, and the few he called friend.
Aryn stepped into the bathroom, washed his face, and stared at his reflection. He still looked human but not entirely. Something else lingered in his features, orcish features.
'Once we're ready,' he thought. 'We'll find them. I only have them, so what's important to my friends is important to me..'
He made his way back to the living room where his friends were.
Back in the living room, Kaia flexed her fingers. A faint glow gathered around her palm, illuminating the glass wall overlooking the city. "Maybe should practice," she said quietly but loud enough to hear. "Figure out what we can actually do before we go back out there. If we lost Gregk in the Portal, or Rift… I'm afraid to know what would of happened to us…"
She was right and they split up naturally.
Jaxon retreated to his room, sitting against the bed with a dumbbell in hand, energy pulsing in controlled bursts. Kaia remained by the window, experimenting carefully, barriers, healing light, density of the light, and its range. Barriers could be seen forming outside the window in different shapes, like a bubble, squares, and circles.
Aryn settled near the small library nook, the crystal still resting in his palm.
He sat cross legged and closed his eyes.
'Alright,' he thought. 'Let's see what happens.'
He didn't speak. He didn't force anything. He simply willed it.
The crystal dissolved.
Not shattered. Not burned. It flowed like liquid warmth sinking into his skin, threading through his veins before converging sharply in his left arm. The tattoo flared, dark lines glowing briefly as the energy was drawn inward.
Aryn gasped.
Strength surged, but not explosively, deeply. Like adding weight to a foundation that was already set. His heartbeat slowed, his senses sharpened and when he opened his eyes, the room felt… clearer.
'So this is it,' he realized. 'I didn't get stronger for a moment. I got stronger, period. Like what Gregk was telling us. We need to get more of these Crystals. Who knows what might happen in the city, or the world. What if some rifts are worse than others. What if some places couldn't close them and monsters kept coming through?'
He stood slowly, testing himself and still thinking of what other scenarios could happen. He concentrated on trying to figure out more about his new powers. The floor creaked beneath his weight, not because he'd grown larger, but because something about him carried more presence now. He let out a look of embarrassment for making such a huge mess in his friends house.
The warmth finished threading itself into his arm, pressure easing as the tattoo dimmed back to its usual shade.
[Spirit]: You carry more.
Aryn exhaled slowly, already feeling the difference in how his weight settled, how the room seemed to press back just a little less than before.
'I understand what you're saying, but it's hard to really, 'GET' what you're saying at times…. Whatever you are…'
Later, during further testing, he pushed his Pulse too far once, forcing growth that left him unconscious for minutes. When he woke, he understood the limit clearly.
This power wasn't infinite, it was earned.
When they regrouped, tired but clearer, plans formed more naturally.
They would find Kaia and Jaxon's parents. They would prepare and next time, they would not walk in blind.
Aryn lifted his shield, settling its weight against his arm. It was battered and dented, basically on the verge of breaking. But right now, he didn't know if he would need it for protection from just one violent swing.
He was slowly inching forward on his new path. Inching toward more.