Chapter 20 – Rift Hunters: The Gate of Echoes
The morning bells tolled across Azure Sky Academy, their sound echoing through every courtyard and tower. Students poured into the grand square, faces bright with excitement, fear, and hunger for glory.
The banners of the five divisions rippled under the sunlight, their colors reflecting across the shimmering Rift Gate being stabilized at the platform's center.
Today marked the birth of a new rank among them — Rift Hunters.
---
Elder Xu Liang stood atop the marble dais, his robe embroidered with glowing runes that shifted like stars.
> "From this day forth," he declared, voice resonant, "those who enter the Rift shall be known as Hunters of the Unknown. You will bring back its power, or be devoured by it."
A low murmur spread through the students. The air buzzed with both awe and dread.
Baifang leaned toward Yin Jin, grinning.
> "Sounds like fun, doesn't it?"
Yin Jin didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on the gate — a swirling storm of black and silver light that pulsed like a living heart. Inside it, he could feel something breathing. Watching. Whispering.
> "It's calling again," he murmured under his breath.
Chaein's frost-blue gaze turned to him. "Your flame is reacting."
The faint black-gold glow flickered over his hand before he clenched it into a fist, snuffing it out.
> "I can control it," he said softly.
> "Let's hope so," Baifang muttered. "Last time you 'controlled it,' we nearly burned half a forest."
---
Meanwhile — within the Hall of Stars
Behind closed doors, three elders watched from afar through a crystal mirror reflecting the ceremony.
> "That boy's energy… it resonates with the Rift itself," one elder said, his voice sharp with unease.
"A bloodline that devours void energy. He's not just dangerous — he's a key."
Xu Liang's reflection flickered within the mirror.
> "Which is why he must go. The Rift reacts to him — we'll use that reaction to map its true nature. Send the shadow monitors to follow. If he loses control, seal him."
The others nodded grimly.
---
Back at the Gate
The Rift pulsed brighter, casting everyone in ethereal light.
Elder Xu raised his staff.
> "Teams of three. When your name is called, step forward and face the unknown."
Lightning crackled from Baifang's spear as he grinned wide.
> "Looks like it's our turn, brother."
Yin Jin stepped forward beside him, Chaein following silently — her aura chilling the air, frost glinting at her feet.
Together, they entered the swirling gate.
---
Inside the Rift
The world beyond was… wrong.
Gravity shifted, light twisted. The air shimmered with colors that didn't belong in any realm. Ruins floated above seas of stars, and broken temples drifted through clouds of glowing mist.
Yin Jin's body shivered as the black-gold fire within him stirred — like a beast waking.
> "It's… beautiful," Chaein whispered.
"Beautiful and deadly," Baifang replied, spinning his spear. "Stay sharp."
They stepped onto what seemed like ground — though it rippled like water beneath their boots. Echoes of voices whispered through the fog.
> "Return what was stolen… Flame of the Rift… Flame of the Dawn…"
Yin Jin froze. His pulse quickened.
> "You hear that?" he whispered.
> "Hear what?" Baifang frowned.
Only Yin Jin could hear the whispers — calling his name, his blood, his fire.
Then, the ground split open.
A surge of void energy erupted, twisting the mist into a massive shape — a Rift Beast, its form half-shadow, half-stone, with runes burning across its skin.
Baifang swore. "You've got to be kidding me!"
Yin Jin's eyes blazed gold and black. His sword ignited.
> "Stay behind me. I'll draw it away."
> "Not this time," Chaein said coldly, frost blooming under her feet. "We fight together."
Lightning, frost, and black flame collided — the explosion lighting up the Rift like a newborn star.
---
But amid the chaos, Yin Jin's body trembled. The flame inside him roared, consuming his qi faster than he could control.
> "No… not now—"
The world flickered — and then everything froze.
The beast stopped mid-lunge. The air turned silent. And from the heart of the Rift, a deep, echoing voice rumbled:
> "My heir… you've finally returned."
Yin Jin's eyes widened — his body glowing as his fire changed color, deeper, darker, alive.
The last thing he heard before collapsing was Baifang's shout —
> "Yin Jin!"
Then, the Rift itself pulsed… and the chapter cut to black