The ashes still hung in the air.Adrian stood trembling, staring at his hands — at the faint blue glow pulsing beneath his skin. The monster was gone, dissolved into light, but the hum in his veins wouldn't stop. It was alive, electric, ancient.
> [Synchronization: 9%]
[Warning: Core Instability Rising]
The voice in his head sputtered with static. He barely heard it over the chaos — over the screams, the alarms, the unending thunder of the rift above the city.
New Haven was burning.
And something was coming.
He felt it before he heard it — a vibration under his feet, a deep pulse that rattled the street. He turned. Through the smoke, shapes moved — four-legged, sleek, their bodies flickering like shadow caught between radio signals. Eyes of molten amber cut through the haze.
Dozens of them.
Hunting.
Adrian didn't wait.
He bolted down the street, boots slapping wet asphalt. The air tasted like copper and static. Rain hissed off his skin, evaporating against the faint light bleeding from his veins.
Behind him, the hounds howled — a chorus of broken modems and distant screams.
> [Host Vital Signs: Elevated][Synchronization: Rising — 10%]
He didn't know where to go. Every street was chaos — cars overturned, people frozen in terror, the sky bleeding open. Holo-ads glitched and died overhead, flickering between familiar faces and symbols that made his eyes ache.
He vaulted a fallen sign, ducked through an alley, tried to breathe — and froze.
At the other end stood soldiers in black armor.Masks mirrored, rifles humming with blue energy. Their armor bore a sigil: a broken circle wrapped in flame.
One of them turned.
"Target confirmed. Blue signature — Category Veil!"
Adrian cursed. "You've got to be kidding me—"
Gunfire erupted.
Bolts of light ripped through the rain, searing the walls. Adrian dove behind a dumpster, glass exploding around him. The hounds hit the street behind, shrieking — and turned on the soldiers.
He ran.---
The city blurred around him — rain, neon, blood, and screams blending into one endless nightmare. He ducked through a half-collapsed subway entrance, boots splashing in black water, heart hammering.
The tunnels below were darker. Quieter.He didn't trust the silence.
> [Synchronization: 12%]
[Unauthorized Reality Overlap Detected]
"Yeah, I can tell," he muttered, glancing at the walls.
The concrete wasn't solid anymore. It rippled faintly — and for a heartbeat, he saw something else behind it.
A city of obsidian towers, floating sigils, stars that burned inside oceans of mist.
Then the vision blinked out.
His knees buckled. He pressed a hand to the wall, shaking. His reflection wavered on a puddle below — two faces overlapping for a split second. One human. One made of light.
"What the hell am I…"
The answer came as a whisper — not digital this time, not mechanical.Soft.
Human.> "Still incomplete."
Adrian turned sharply.
At the far end of the tunnel, through the mist, she was standing there.
The woman from before — pale skin streaked with blood, eyes glowing gold. The light around her distorted reality, bending the world slightly wrong.
He took a step forward. "You—"
She raised a hand. "Quiet. They'll hear you."
The air trembled. From above, faint roars echoed — the hounds again, searching.
She moved closer. Her gaze scanned him, and something like disbelief flickered across her face. "It's true," she whispered. "They failed.
""Failed what?" Adrian asked, backing up a step. "What are you talking about?"
Her eyes softened — with pity, maybe fear. "You weren't supposed to exist. You were erased — completely, across both planes.
""I'm right here," he said, voice shaking.
She nodded slowly. "Only half of you."
The words hit harder than gunfire."What—""
They thought they destroyed you," she continued, voice trembling now. "The Divine half of your soul was purged. But something went wrong. The mortal part — the fragment that clung to this world — survived. You've lived twenty years as a ghost of what you were.
"He stared, throat dry. "You're insane.
""Maybe," she said quietly. "But if I'm right… they know now.
""Who's they?
""The ones who erased you." Her voice dropped, nearly a whisper. "The Architects. The Keepers of the Divide. They can sense the imbalance — your energy leaking between worlds. And they're coming to finish what they started.
"Adrian felt the ground vibrate again — faint but growing.
The woman's eyes widened. "They've found you."
> [External Entities Approaching][Synchronization Rising — 13%]
"You need to run," she said, stepping back. "East. Toward the Hollow Spire. It's the only place where their gaze can't reach."
He hesitated. "You know my name. Who are you?"
Her expression softened — almost sad. "A Guardian. I keep the worlds apart. But if they find you… they'll burn both."
The air behind her cracked — golden light spilling through the seams of reality. She flinched, looking up.
"They've breached the veil."
Adrian took a step toward her, but she shook her head. "Go!"
The tunnel erupted with sound — a scream of static and thunder. The light swallowed her whole, ripping her from sight.
Then she was gone.
Adrian stumbled into the open night.Above him, the rift pulsed — brighter now, alive with movement.
Somewhere far to the east, a thin column of golden light pierced the clouds — steady and distant.
[Objective Updated: Reach the Hollow Spire]
[Synchronization Locked at 13% — Awaiting Manual Override]
He stared at the beam for a long moment, then pulled his hood up and started running.
Behind him, the world groaned.The gods were waking up.