The creature wore his face as it died.
Twisted. Cracked. A flickering mockery of his own expression—rage, guilt, fear—folded over itself as the ripple collapsed inward like glass crushed from the inside.
It didn't scream.
It simply ceased to exist.
The light vanished. The pressure in the air lifted. Riven stumbled back as the veil dissolved, and the room returned to stillness. Just old brick. Dust. Silence.
He stood for a long moment, heart pounding.
[Thread Collapse Complete.]
[System Sync: 4% → 9%]
[Skill Unlocked – Hollow Flare I (Active)]
Description: Releases compressed anchor energy in a forward burst. Staggers echoforms. Limited use.
[Anchor Disruption Successful.]
[Reward Issued.]
A flicker of light pulsed in his palm, then hardened into something cold and metallic.
A shard.
Small. Angular. Like the broken tip of a weapon that no longer existed.
It hummed in his hand for a moment before fading into his inventory.
He had an inventory now. That was still weird.
Behind him, Elira exhaled. "You survived."
"I wasn't sure I would."
"You weren't meant to."
Riven turned, narrowing his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"That ripple… it was a memory trap. A test the System used before it shattered. Most people who get pulled into one like that don't walk back out."
"Then why did I?"
Elira looked at him like she already knew but didn't want to say it out loud. "Because you've been here before. Even if you don't remember all of it yet."
That unsettled him more than he wanted to admit.
"How much do you know about this world?" he asked.
Elira tilted her head. "Which version of it?"
He blinked. "There's more than one?"
"There were. Most are gone. Failed threads. Burned loops. Broken anchors." Her voice was calm, almost cold. "You and I… we're not from the same one."
"How do you know that?"
"Because I died before this day ever happened."
Riven didn't respond right away. The air between them carried too many unsaid things.
"What are you?"
Elira's silver hair caught the ripplelight as she stood. Her wounds had closed. No bandage should've worked that fast, but nothing in this place felt normal.
"I'm a fragment," she said. "Same as you."
"Except I'm alive."
She smiled faintly. "For now."
[Quest Complete: Collapse Tier I Ripple – Zone 12B]
[New Thread Signature Detected.]
[Location: Civilian Sector – Public Crosswalk, District Hub 3]
[Time to Breach: 02:36:17]
Riven looked at the notification and then back at Elira.
"Another ripple?"
"They're appearing faster now," she said. "The System's trying to restabilize itself by forcing Echo events into high-traffic zones."
"In public?"
She nodded. "The threads aren't hiding anymore. This world is starting to bleed."
He clenched his fists. "I need to stop it before someone gets hurt."
"You can't stop all of them."
"I can try."
She hesitated. "Be careful, Riven."
"I don't have time to be careful."
[New Quest Added: Collapse Tier I Ripple – Hub 3 Crosswalk]
[Optional: Prevent Civilian Causality – Bonus XP + System Favor]
That last line made him pause.
System Favor?
He didn't like how that sounded.
"What happens if I gain favor with the System?" he asked.
Elira looked away. "Nothing good."
Riven stepped toward the exit. "Then I'll try not to."
He didn't look back.
The train ride to Hub 3 was quiet.
Too quiet.
Riven kept to the back of the car, hood pulled low, one foot tapping rhythmically against the floor as he watched the countdown tick in the corner of his vision.
01:51:09.
He still didn't know what exactly happened when a ripple breached.
Would civilians die? Would they turn? Would they see?
He hadn't been around to find out last time. The city had already fallen by the time the System was visible to most. It had happened so fast—one day strange weather, the next buildings vanishing mid-commute.
And then screaming.
Everywhere.
He gripped the rail beside him tighter.
This time would be different.
This time, he was here early.
The train slowed as they approached the main concourse. Lights flickered overhead—just a moment—but enough to make people glance around.
One ripple already?
No.
Just nerves.
He stepped off the train and followed the flow of people toward the street-level crosswalk.
The moment he exited the terminal, the thread came into view.
It hovered just above the plaza. Thin. Quivering. Stretching across the walk like a strand of silk under pressure.
The people couldn't see it.
Not yet.
Not until it tore.
[Time to Breach: 01:12:33]
He scanned the crowd.
Too many civilians.
Kids. Commuters. Old men pushing carts. A woman with a stroller. No one was ready for what was coming.
Neither was he.
But he had to try.
He set up two blocks away in an alley that overlooked the ripple point.
From here, he had line of sight on the entire plaza. Benches. Tram stops. Fountain. Trees. Wide-open space. Not ideal for a fight.
[System Alert: Minor Anomaly Detected – Civilian Interference Likely]
He closed the alert.
Too late to stop it now.
He needed a plan.
He couldn't collapse the ripple until it reached breach state, but once it did, he'd have only seconds before the Echoform manifested and started attacking.
He crouched low and pulled up his skill list.
[Hollow Flare I]
Active – Short-range burst. Damage: Low. Knockback: Moderate. Cooldown: 30s.
Not much to work with.
But it was something.
[System Notice: You Are Being Watched.]
What?
He blinked.
The notification faded, but the chill it left behind didn't.
Watched by who?
Another fragment? A Warden? The System itself?
He didn't know.
But he felt it now.
The same weight that had lingered in the air right before he died on that rooftop.
Like something enormous had turned its gaze.
[Time to Breach: 00:01:03]
It began with a flicker.
Just a shimmer in the air.
Then the thread snapped.
Reality warped—light bent in on itself. Screams echoed as people stumbled, clutched their heads, or froze in place.
The ripple collapsed inward and then burst outward like a popped blister.
A thing emerged.
Tall. Thin. Half-formed.
Its torso was human. Its legs were not.
Its face—he knew that face.
His old instructor.
Dead for years now.
Except not.
Not here.
Not yet.
The creature shrieked and lunged toward the closest civilian—a child standing frozen on the crosswalk.
Riven moved.
He sprinted down the stairs, across the plaza, shoving past two tourists and vaulted a planter box.
[Hollow Flare I – ACTIVATED]
A pulse of light burst from his palm and struck the Echoform center mass.
It staggered, howling.
The child fell backward. Riven caught him, shoved him toward the panicking crowd. "Run. Don't stop. Just run."
The creature refocused.
On him now.
Good.
Riven stood his ground.
No weapon.
Just will.
And that would be enough.