Falling through a rift feels like getting torn apart and reassembled through a blender made of stars.
So, you know… not great.
But somehow, we landed on our feet.
The sky above was dark blue, full of moving clock faces instead of clouds. Towers stretched upward and bent like twisted spirals. The entire city around us pulsed with golden energy—but everything moved in reverse.
People walked backwards. Birds flew tail-first. A waterfall beside us flowed up.
"Elira…" I said slowly. "Where the hell are we?"
She was already adjusting her gauntlet. "This is Chronessa. The City of Time. One of the oldest Rift Worlds. Time here is… different."
"No kidding."
"Be careful," she warned. "Nothing here is what it seems."
As if to prove her point, a child ran past us—then vanished into a golden mist. A second later, we saw her rewind into a baby and disappear.
I swallowed. "How do we even find the shard in a place like this?"
Elira turned, eyes sharp. "We find the Clockheart. It controls all time in this world. The shard is hidden inside it."
"Great. Just point me to the creepy boss fight."
She cracked a small smile. "You're adapting fast."
"I had a very weird childhood."
"...You have no idea."
---
We explored the city, avoiding guards in mirror armor who spoke in riddles and walked in slow motion.
While walking through a spiral bridge made of ticking gears, we heard shouting ahead.
"Get back!" a voice yelled. "I said back, you shiny trash cans!"
We ran forward—and found a girl surrounded by six armored constructs. She had short black hair, a red jacket, and two daggers glowing with electric fire. She moved like she was dancing, flipping and twisting as if gravity didn't apply.
With a final leap, she landed beside us.
"You two look important. Mind helping a girl out?"
Elira summoned her sword without a word.
I stepped forward beside her. "Let me try something."
The constructs raised their weapons—energy lances that hummed like sirens.
I felt the mark on my wrist burn.
This time, I didn't resist.
I lifted my hand and the air bent around me. Space warped. The world slowed to a crawl. For a second… I was connected to everything.
I whispered, "Stop."
And time froze.
The constructs halted mid-motion. Even the wind paused.
I blinked, trembling. "Did I just... stop time?"
Elira stared at me like I'd grown wings.
The black-haired girl gave a low whistle. "Okay, hotshot. That was insane."
Time resumed. The constructs crumbled into dust.
The girl grinned. "Name's Kaela. Ex-Clockthief. Part-time chaos magnet. And you?"
I hesitated. "I'm Jin. This is Elira."
Kaela looked me up and down. "You're the Riftwalker, huh? The one Seraxion's looking for?"
Elira stepped in. "How do you know that?"
Kaela winked. "I hear things. And I want in."
---
Kaela led us through hidden streets into the Underticks, the city's shadowy underlayer where time ran sideways.
We reached an ancient chamber with a giant cracked clock face embedded in the wall. Golden wires pulsed from it like veins.
"This is the Clockheart," Kaela whispered. "It's dying. Time's breaking. If Seraxion gets this shard... everything unravels."
I stepped closer—and a vision slammed into my head.
---
I saw myself standing in a ruined Earth. Skies burning. Stars falling. A thousand broken Rifts. A voice whispered:
> "You were supposed to be our salvation... or our end."
---
I snapped out of it, heart pounding.
"Elira," I gasped. "This world dies if we fail."
She looked at me, eyes serious. "Then we don't fail."
Kaela pulled a lever, and the chamber lit up. At the center, floating inside glass: the shard. A crystal heart beating with light and memory.
And guarding it... was a shadow in the shape of a man.
---
"Welcome," the figure said. "I am Vyral, Keeper of the Clockheart."
He stepped forward. His body flickered—half-machine, half-ghost. His voice was many at once.
"You are out of time," he said. "You do not belong."
Elira raised her sword. "We need the shard."
Vyral raised his hand—and the entire room twisted into a maze of broken time.
I blinked, and Elira vanished. Kaela flickered in and out beside me.
"Jin!" she shouted. "He's messing with our timelines!"
Vyral laughed. "Let's see if you can face your own past."
Suddenly, I was alone.
And I wasn't seventeen anymore.
I was eight years old, standing in a dark room, surrounded by scientists and machines.
A voice echoed: "Begin the Rift experiment. Activate Subject Zero."
Pain. Fear. Screaming.
I saw myself locked in a chamber, eyes glowing, calling out for someone—anyone.
And then... Elira appeared beside me, young and terrified too.
She held my hand.
Back then... even before the memory was sealed... she was there.
---
I broke free of the vision with a roar, the symbol on my hand blazing.
"Vyral!" I shouted. "I'm not your puppet!"
The world cracked open.
I summoned a blade of pure time-energy, shaped by will alone. The maze shattered. Kaela reappeared, flipping into action.
"You unlocked a weapon?!" she shouted. "Not fair!"
Elira dropped beside me. "You remembered."
I nodded. "Everything."
She reached for my hand, and I took it.
Together, we charged.
---
The fight was chaos. Vyral split into multiple timelines—future, past, shadow. Kaela danced through the duplicates, slicing them apart with wild laughter. Elira and I fought back-to-back, our weapons glowing brighter with each strike.
Finally, with one last surge, we struck Vyral's core together.
Time snapped back to normal.
The shard floated, quiet and perfect, in the center.
Kaela picked it up, tossed it to me. "Looks like you're two for two, Riftwalker."
I caught it. The crystal pulsed warm in my hand.
Another step closer.
---
Later that night, we sat on the clocktower roof, looking out over the city that had stopped forgetting.
Kaela spun a dagger. "So... what's next?"
"Another world," Elira said.
Kaela leaned back, smirking. "Mind if I tag along?"
I looked at Elira. She hesitated… then nodded.
"As long as you don't betray us."
"No promises," Kaela winked.
---
After Kaela walked away, Elira and I were alone under the clock-lit sky.
"You remembered me," she said softly.
"I didn't know it then," I replied, "but… you were always there."
She looked away. "Back then, I was forced to protect you. Now… I choose to."
I reached out and touched her hand.
"Then let's keep choosing each other."
She blushed—Elira Moon, the cold Rift warrior, actually blushed.
"Idiot," she whispered.
But she didn't pull her hand away.
And for a moment, even in a broken world, everything felt whole.
---
Far beyond, in a dying void between worlds, a voice whispered:
> "He's beginning to remember… We must awaken the others."
A dozen shadowy figures turned toward a single glowing map of the multiverse.
The war for the Rift had just begun.