Agame didn't sleep that night. Not after what happened. He sat alone in a dark room with only a dull blue light buzzing above. The girl from before—he learned her name was Suri—left him with protein bars, a warm drink, and a warning: "Don't dream too deep."
He tried to ignore it. But every time he closed his eyes, he saw it—the cracked sky, the white field, and the voice. The one that said he was the Rift's Choice. What did that even mean? Why him? He wasn't special. He was just a low-level assistant in a morgue.
Suri returned in the morning. She tossed him a clean jacket and a wrist device that looked like a mini tablet.
"What's this?" Agame asked.
"Scanner. Tracks your Rift levels, heart rate, brainwaves. If you spike, we know you're gonna blow up."
"Comforting," he muttered.
She smirked. "Don't worry. If you go dark again, we'll just throw you into a Rift and hope it eats you."
"…You joke too easily about this."
As they walked through the lower levels of the base, Agame saw more of the operation. Scientists ran simulations on glowing crystals. Soldiers trained with energy rifles. Kids—some younger than him—sparred while sparks flew from their fingertips.
"Are all these people Rift Touched?"
"Not all. Some are born with the affinity. Others get hit like you did. Few survive. Even fewer stay sane."
He stopped walking. "What if I don't stay sane?"
Suri looked at him. For once, she didn't joke. "Then I'm the one who ends you. Quick and painless. I promise."
"Cool. Great. Just what I wanted to hear."
She pulled open a vault door. Inside was a chamber with metal walls covered in glowing symbols.
"This is where we test abilities," she said. "Yours is… different. Void-type Rift Energy. That's rare."
"I didn't ask for it," he said.
She shrugged. "No one does."
As Agame stepped into the chamber, the lights dimmed. The band on his wrist buzzed. A floating orb appeared in the center.
"Target it," Suri said through a speaker.
He focused. Nothing happened. He gritted his teeth. "Come on…"
Still nothing. Then the voice in his head whispered, soft like a breath in his ear: "You fear your gift. That's why it sleeps."
"I don't fear it," Agame whispered.
"You fear yourself."
His hands sparked. Shadows curled from his fingers. The orb pulsed, then shattered in a flash of black light.
Suri's voice crackled. "Yeah, that's not normal. That's… honestly kind of scary."
Agame panted. "I didn't mean to break it."
"You didn't break it," she said. "You erased it."
Before he could ask what that meant, the alarms blared again.
"Rift Breach. Level C. Hallway Nine."
Suri cursed. "They're getting faster. That's two breaches in one day."
She threw him a vest. "You're coming with. Time to see if your power is good for more than just making things vanish."
They ran through metal corridors. This time, the Rift looked different. It was low, near the ground. And something was crawling out—slow, clicking, almost spiderlike. Its body was thin. Bone-like. Its face… was Agame's.
He froze. "What the hell—"
Suri fired her weapon. The shot passed through it like mist.
"It's not real," she shouted. "It's a projection!"
The fake Agame tilted its head. "You are mine," it whispered.
Agame gritted his teeth. The voice came again.
"Accept me. Let me show you the truth."
He screamed and threw his hand forward. A shockwave blasted through the hallway. The illusion shattered into black dust.
Suri tackled him before he collapsed. "Breathe! You overused it!"
"I didn't do it… it did it…" he gasped.
They sat on the floor for minutes.
Then Suri said, "We need to talk to the Archivist."
Agame blinked. "Who's that?"
She looked grim. "The only one who's survived longer than you. And the only one who's seen the inside of a Rift… and came back."
Agame looked toward the distant walls. Another Rift shimmered for a second, like it was laughing.
He knew… he wasn't done.
Not yet.