The glow faded slowly, like embers cooling after a fire. Arjun stood in the middle of Main Street, his hands still trembling, watching the last traces of golden light seep back into his skin. The street was silent except for the distant hum of a car engine and the rustle of wind through the trees.
People were staring. Of course they were staring.
An elderly woman clutched her purse to her chest, backing away slowly. A teenager with his phone out was definitely recording. A man in a flannel shirt had frozen mid-step, his mouth hanging open.
"Shit," Arjun muttered.
He'd been so focused on stopping the creature—the thing that had crawled out of that shimmering tear in reality—that he hadn't thought about what would happen after. The creature itself had dissolved into ash the moment his light touched it, leaving nothing but a faint scorch mark on the pavement. But the light hadn't stopped there. It had poured out of him like water from a broken dam, illuminating the entire street in brilliant gold.
Now everyone knew something was wrong with him.
"Did you see that?" someone whispered.
"What the hell was that thing?"
"Is he one of them? An Emergent?"
Arjun's jaw tightened. He needed to leave. Now. Before someone called the authorities, or worse, before whatever organization tracked Emergents showed up. He'd heard rumors about government agencies that monitored people with abilities, though he'd never paid much attention to the news.
He turned and started walking, keeping his head down and his hands shoved deep in his pockets. His heart was still racing, adrenaline making his thoughts sharp and scattered at the same time.
The dreams had been getting worse. Every night for the past week, he'd seen the same things: battlefields soaked in blood, arrows falling like rain, a chariot burning under a merciless sun. And always, always, that voice whispering in a language he shouldn't understand but somehow did.
*You are more than you know.*
He'd tried to ignore it. Tried to convince himself it was just stress, or maybe some weird side effect of whatever had happened to him three months ago when he'd first noticed the strange warmth in his chest. But tonight had proven that ignoring it wasn't an option anymore.
The creature had been real. The tear in reality had been real. And the power that had destroyed it—that had come from him.
Arjun turned down a side street, heading toward the small apartment he'd been renting since arriving in Millbrook. The town was quiet at this hour, most of the shops closed, the streets empty except for the occasional passing car. It was the kind of place where nothing interesting ever happened, which was exactly why he'd chosen it.
So much for that plan.
He was halfway down the block when he felt it—a presence behind him, moving with deliberate purpose. Not threatening, exactly, but not friendly either. Someone was following him.
Arjun didn't turn around. Instead, he kept walking, his senses suddenly sharp in a way they'd never been before. He could hear the footsteps now, steady and unhurried. Could feel the weight of someone's attention on his back like a physical thing.
"You're not very good at running away," a voice called out.
Arjun stopped. The voice was male, cultured, with a faint accent he couldn't quite place. British, maybe, or something close to it.
He turned slowly.
The man standing twenty feet behind him looked like he'd stepped out of a different era. He wore a long coat that fell to his knees, dark and well-tailored, over a vest and dress shirt. His hair was silver-white, pulled back in a loose ponytail, and his eyes were a striking pale blue that seemed to catch the streetlight. He looked to be in his forties, though something about him suggested he might be older.
"Who are you?" Arjun asked, his voice flat.
The man smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "My name is Elias Thorne. And you, Arjun Sharma, are making quite a mess of things."
Arjun's hand twitched toward his pocket, though he had no weapon there. "How do you know my name?"
"I make it my business to know about Emergents," Elias said, taking a few steps closer. "Especially ones who manifest as dramatically as you just did. Golden light, divine energy signature, complete disintegration of a Phase Two corruption entity—you're not exactly subtle."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Yes, you do." Elias stopped a few feet away, his expression patient. "You've been feeling it for months now. The warmth in your chest. The dreams. The sense that something inside you is waking up. And tonight, when that creature emerged from the phase tear, your power responded instinctively. You didn't even know what you were doing, did you?"
Arjun said nothing. His mind was racing, trying to figure out if this man was a threat or not. Elias didn't seem hostile, but there was something unsettling about the way he spoke, like he knew far more than he was saying.
"What do you want?" Arjun asked finally.
"To talk," Elias said simply. "To explain what's happening to you. And to warn you that if you keep stumbling around in the dark like this, you're going to get yourself killed—or worse, you're going to trigger something that will get a lot of other people killed."
"I'm not interested in—"
"The sun is dying," Elias interrupted, his voice suddenly sharp. "Not metaphorically. Not eventually. Right now, as we speak, the sun that sustains this world is being drained of its energy. In approximately seven years, it will collapse entirely, and when it does, every living thing on this planet will die. Unless someone stops it."
Arjun stared at him. "That's insane."
"Is it?" Elias tilted his head. "More insane than a creature crawling out of thin air? More insane than you manifesting divine light from your bare hands? The world is stranger than you've been taught to believe, Arjun. And you're standing at the center of something much larger than yourself."
The wind picked up, carrying with it the faint scent of ozone. Arjun's instincts were screaming at him to walk away, to ignore this man and his cryptic warnings. But another part of him—the part that had been growing stronger with each passing day—wanted answers.
"Fine," Arjun said. "Talk. But make it quick."
Elias's smile returned, warmer this time. "Walk with me. This isn't a conversation for the middle of the street."
---
They ended up in a small park on the edge of town, sitting on a bench beneath a large oak tree. The park was empty at this hour, the playground equipment casting long shadows in the moonlight. Elias produced a silver flask from his coat and took a sip before offering it to Arjun, who declined with a shake of his head.
"Suit yourself," Elias said, tucking the flask away. "Now, where to begin? I suppose we should start with the basics. Tell me, what do you know about Emergents?"
"Not much," Arjun admitted. "People with powers. They started appearing a few years ago. The government tracks them, tries to register them. Some people think they're dangerous."
"All true, as far as it goes," Elias said. "But incomplete. Emergents aren't random mutations or genetic anomalies, as the official story claims. They're reincarnations."
Arjun frowned. "Reincarnations of what?"
"Of heroes, gods, demons, and legends from humanity's collective past," Elias said. "Every culture has its myths, its stories of great warriors and divine beings. What most people don't realize is that those stories are based on truth. The figures from mythology were real, and when they died, their souls entered a cycle of rebirth. Most of the time, they reincarnate as ordinary humans with no memory of their past lives. But sometimes—especially in times of great crisis—they awaken. Their power returns. They become Emergents."
Arjun processed this slowly. It sounded like something out of a fantasy novel, but after what he'd seen tonight, he couldn't dismiss it outright.
"And you think I'm one of these reincarnations," he said.
"I don't think," Elias said. "I know. The energy signature you displayed tonight is unmistakable. Divine solar energy, channeled with instinctive precision. There are only a handful of figures from mythology who could manifest power like that, and given your background and the specific nature of your abilities, I have a very good idea of who you are."
"Who, then?"
Elias studied him for a long moment. "I could tell you, but I don't think you're ready to hear it yet. These things are better discovered than revealed. What I can tell you is that you're connected to one of the greatest warriors in human mythology. Someone who was both blessed and cursed, who fought with honor even when the world turned against him."
Arjun's chest tightened. The dreams flashed through his mind again—the battlefield, the arrows, the burning chariot. And that voice, always that voice.
"Why is this happening now?" he asked. "Why are Emergents appearing?"
"Because the world is in danger," Elias said. "The phase barriers are weakening. Do you know what phases are?"
Arjun shook his head.
"Think of reality as a layered structure," Elias explained. "The world you know—the physical world—is Phase One. It's the baseline, the foundation. But there are other layers stacked on top of it, each one slightly removed from physical reality. Phase Two is where spiritual energy begins to manifest. Phase Three is where conceptual forces take shape. And so on, up through at least seven distinct phases that we know of, possibly more."
"And these phases are... what, other dimensions?"
"Not quite," Elias said. "They're more like frequencies. Imagine reality as a radio signal. Phase One is the frequency most people are tuned to. But if you adjust the dial, you can access other frequencies—other phases—where different laws of physics apply. Magic, as people call it, is simply the manipulation of energy from higher phases and bringing it into Phase One."
Arjun leaned back against the bench, trying to wrap his mind around this. "And the creature I fought tonight?"
"A corruption entity from Phase Two," Elias said. "When the barriers between phases weaken, things can slip through. Most of them are mindless, driven by instinct to consume energy. But some are more dangerous. And as the barriers continue to deteriorate, we'll see more and more of them."
"Why are the barriers weakening?"
Elias's expression darkened. "That's the question, isn't it? Someone—or something—is deliberately draining energy from the sun. Not the physical sun, but the conceptual sun that exists in the higher phases. It's the source of life and light for this entire reality, and it's being systematically destroyed. When it finally collapses, the phase barriers will shatter completely, and everything will fall into chaos."
"Who would do that?" Arjun asked. "Who could do that?"
"We don't know for certain," Elias admitted. "But there are factions at work, groups with their own agendas. Some want to prevent the collapse. Others want to accelerate it, believing they can seize power in the aftermath. And then there are those who are simply trying to survive."
"Which faction are you part of?"
Elias smiled faintly. "I'm part of a very small group that believes in preserving free will. We don't want to control Emergents or force them into service. We simply want to make sure they have the information they need to make their own choices. What you do with that information is up to you."
Arjun was silent for a moment, staring out at the empty playground. Everything Elias was saying sounded insane, but it also felt true in a way he couldn't explain. Like a puzzle piece clicking into place.
"What do you want from me?" he asked finally.
"Nothing, at the moment," Elias said. "I'm simply offering you a choice. You can continue as you have been, stumbling through this blind, reacting to threats as they appear. Or you can start learning. Understanding what you are, what you're capable of, and what role you might play in what's coming."
"And if I choose to walk away?"
"Then you walk away," Elias said. "But the power inside you won't disappear. The dreams won't stop. And eventually, something will happen that will force you to act, whether you're ready or not. Better to be prepared."
Arjun stood up, shoving his hands back into his pockets. "I need time to think about this."
"Of course," Elias said, rising as well. "But don't take too long. Events are accelerating. The incident tonight wasn't random—phase tears are becoming more frequent, and they're appearing in populated areas. Someone is testing the barriers, probing for weaknesses. And when they find what they're looking for..." He trailed off, leaving the implication hanging.
"How do I contact you?" Arjun asked.
Elias reached into his coat and produced a small card, plain white with nothing but a phone number printed on it. "Call this number when you're ready to talk. Or when you need help. Whichever comes first."
Arjun took the card, tucking it into his pocket. "Why are you helping me?"
"Because I've seen what happens when Emergents are left to figure things out on their own," Elias said quietly. "Some of them go mad. Some of them become monsters. And some of them die before they ever understand what they were meant to be. I'd rather not see that happen to you."
With that, he turned and walked away, his coat billowing behind him. Arjun watched him go, feeling the weight of the card in his pocket like a stone.
---
Arjun didn't sleep that night. He lay in his small apartment, staring at the ceiling, replaying the conversation with Elias over and over in his mind. Reincarnations. Phases. A dying sun. It all sounded like the plot of a bad movie, but he couldn't shake the feeling that it was real.
Around three in the morning, he finally gave up on sleep and made himself coffee. He sat at his small kitchen table, the card Elias had given him lying in front of him, and tried to think through his options.
He could ignore all of this. Pack up, leave Millbrook, find another quiet town where no one knew him. But Elias was right—the power inside him wasn't going away. And if phase tears were becoming more common, running wouldn't solve anything.
Or he could learn. Figure out what he was capable of, understand the rules of this strange new world he'd stumbled into. It was the practical choice, the smart choice.
But it also meant accepting that his life would never be normal again.
Arjun took a sip of his coffee, grimacing at the bitter taste. He'd never been good at accepting things he couldn't control. His whole life, he'd prided himself on being straightforward, on dealing with problems directly. But this... this was beyond anything he'd ever faced.
The dreams came again when he finally dozed off around dawn. This time, they were more vivid than ever.
He stood on a battlefield, the ground beneath his feet soaked with blood. Bodies lay scattered everywhere, warriors in ancient armor, their weapons broken and their eyes staring sightlessly at the sky. The air was thick with smoke and the smell of death.
In the distance, he could see a chariot, its wheels half-buried in mud. A man stood beside it, tall and broad-shouldered, his armor gleaming gold in the fading light. His face was obscured, but Arjun could feel the weight of his presence, the sense of power and tragedy that surrounded him.
The man turned, and for a moment, Arjun thought he would see his face. But instead, the scene shifted, and he was somewhere else—a palace, grand and beautiful, with marble columns and silk banners. A woman stood before him, her eyes filled with tears.
"You were always too generous," she said, her voice breaking. "Too willing to give everything away, even when it cost you everything."
Arjun tried to speak, but no words came out. The woman reached out, her hand passing through him like smoke, and then the dream shattered.
He woke with a gasp, his heart pounding. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting pale light through his window. He sat up slowly, running a hand through his hair.
*Too generous.*
The words echoed in his mind. He'd heard them before, not in dreams but in life. His mother had said something similar once, years ago, when he'd given away most of his savings to help a friend in need. "You have a good heart, Arjun, but you need to learn to protect yourself too."
He'd never been good at that. Never been good at saying no when someone needed help, even when it hurt him. It was one of the reasons he'd ended up alone, drifting from place to place. People took advantage of kindness, and he'd learned that lesson the hard way.
But he'd never stopped being kind. Never stopped helping when he could. It was just who he was.
Arjun stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the quiet street below. Millbrook was waking up, people starting their morning routines, oblivious to the strangeness lurking just beneath the surface of their world.
He made his decision.
He would learn. He would figure out what he was capable of and what role he was supposed to play in all of this. But he would do it on his own terms. He wouldn't let anyone control him or tell him what to do.
And if this power inside him was real, if he really was the reincarnation of some ancient warrior, then he would use it to help people. That was the only thing that made sense to him.
He picked up the card Elias had given him and tucked it into his wallet. Then he got dressed and headed out into the morning.
---
The town was buzzing with rumors by the time Arjun reached the main street. People clustered in small groups, talking in hushed voices about what they'd seen the night before. The teenager with the phone had apparently posted his video online, and it was already spreading.
"Did you see it? That golden light?"
"They're saying it was some kind of Emergent."
"I heard the government's sending people to investigate."
Arjun kept his head down and walked quickly, heading toward the small diner where he usually got breakfast. He needed to eat, needed to think, needed to figure out his next move.
The diner was more crowded than usual, filled with people discussing the previous night's events. Arjun found a seat at the counter and ordered coffee and eggs, trying to ignore the conversations around him.
"Excuse me, is this seat taken?"
He looked up to find a young woman standing beside him. She was in her mid-twenties, with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and sharp, intelligent eyes. She wore jeans and a leather jacket, and there was something about the way she carried herself that suggested she was used to trouble.
"It's all yours," Arjun said, gesturing to the empty stool.
She sat down and ordered coffee, then turned to him with a slight smile. "You're the guy from last night, aren't you? The one who fought that thing on Main Street."
Arjun's hand tightened around his coffee cup. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"Relax," she said. "I'm not here to cause problems. My name's Maya Reyes. I'm an Emergent too."
Arjun studied her carefully. She didn't look threatening, but he'd learned not to trust appearances. "What do you want?"
"To talk," Maya said. "And to warn you. You made a lot of noise last night, and not everyone who noticed is friendly. There are people in this town who don't like Emergents, and there are others who want to recruit them. You're going to have visitors soon, and you need to be ready."
"I can handle myself."
"Can you?" Maya raised an eyebrow. "You manifested for the first time last night. You don't know how to control your power, you don't know the rules, and you definitely don't know who's watching. Trust me, you need help."
Arjun was about to respond when the diner door burst open. Three men walked in, all of them wearing dark suits and sunglasses despite the early hour. They moved with military precision, scanning the room before their eyes locked onto Arjun.
"Arjun Sharma?" the lead man said, his voice flat and professional.
Arjun didn't answer.
"We're with the Department of Emergent Affairs," the man continued, pulling out a badge. "We need you to come with us for questioning regarding the incident last night."
"I don't think so," Arjun said calmly.
The man's expression didn't change. "This isn't a request. You're required by law to register as an Emergent and submit to evaluation. Failure to comply is a federal offense."
Maya leaned closer to Arjun, her voice low. "These guys aren't DEA. Look at their badges—the hologram's wrong. They're private contractors, probably working for one of the factions."
Arjun's eyes narrowed. He looked at the three men again, noting the way they stood, the bulges under their jackets that suggested weapons. Maya was right—something was off.
"I'm not going anywhere with you," Arjun said, his voice firm.
The lead man's hand moved toward his jacket. "Then we'll have to—"
He didn't get to finish. Arjun moved faster than he'd ever moved before, his body responding with instincts he didn't know he had. He grabbed the man's wrist, twisting it sharply, and drove his other hand into the man's solar plexus. The man gasped and stumbled back.
The other two men reached for their weapons, but Maya was already moving. She raised her hand, and the air around her shimmered. Suddenly, the two men were frozen in place, their bodies locked in mid-motion as if time itself had stopped.
"Run!" Maya shouted.
Arjun didn't need to be told twice. He bolted for the back door, Maya right behind him. They burst out into the alley behind the diner, and Maya grabbed his arm, pulling him toward a motorcycle parked nearby.
"Get on!" she said, throwing him a helmet.
Arjun climbed onto the back of the bike, and Maya kicked it into gear. They roared out of the alley just as the diner door burst open behind them, the three men stumbling out, their faces twisted with anger.
Maya drove fast, weaving through the streets of Millbrook with practiced ease. Arjun held on tight, his mind racing. Everything was happening too fast. Less than twelve hours ago, he'd been trying to live a quiet life. Now he was fleeing from armed men on the back of a motorcycle with a woman he'd just met.
They didn't stop until they were well outside of town, pulling off onto a dirt road that led into the woods. Maya killed the engine and pulled off her helmet, breathing hard.
"What the hell was that?" Arjun demanded.
"That," Maya said, "was the Covenant. They're one of the major factions trying to control Emergents. They recruit some, eliminate others, and generally make life difficult for anyone who doesn't want to join them."
"And you?"
"I'm independent," Maya said. "I don't work for any faction. I just try to help newly awakened Emergents survive long enough to figure out what they want to do."
Arjun climbed off the bike, pacing back and forth. "This is insane. Yesterday I was just trying to live my life, and now I've got government agents—or fake government agents—trying to kidnap me."
"Welcome to the world of Emergents," Maya said dryly. "It only gets weirder from here."
"What did you do back there? With those men?"
"Temporal stasis," Maya said. "I can manipulate time in small areas, slow it down or speed it up. It's not much, but it's useful in a pinch."
Arjun stared at her. "You can control time."
"Sort of. It's complicated." Maya leaned against her bike, studying him. "What about you? That golden light last night—that was solar energy, right? Divine class?"
"I don't know what it was," Arjun admitted. "It just... happened."
"You need training," Maya said. "And you need to understand what you're dealing with. The factions, the phase system, the politics—all of it. Otherwise, you're not going to last long."
"Someone else told me the same thing last night," Arjun said, thinking of Elias.
"Smart person," Maya said. "Listen, I know a place where you can lay low for a while. It's safe, neutral ground. You can figure out your next move there."
Arjun hesitated. He didn't know this woman, didn't have any reason to trust her. But she'd helped him escape, and right now, he didn't have many options.
"Fine," he said. "But I'm not joining any faction. I'm not working for anyone."
"Fair enough," Maya said. "I'm not asking you to. I'm just trying to keep you alive."
She kicked the motorcycle back to life, and Arjun climbed on behind her. As they rode deeper into the woods, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was crossing a threshold, stepping into a world he couldn't come back from.
But maybe that was the point. Maybe he'd been heading toward this moment his whole life, and he just hadn't known it.
---
The safe house turned out to be an old cabin deep in the woods, miles from any main road. It was small but well-maintained, with a generator for power and a well for water. Maya explained that it belonged to a network of independent Emergents who used it as a waystation.
"You can stay here as long as you need," she said, unlocking the door. "There's food in the pantry, and the bed's clean. Just don't tell anyone where it is."
"I won't," Arjun said, stepping inside. The cabin was sparse but comfortable, with a small kitchen, a living area with a wood stove, and a bedroom in the back.
Maya set her helmet on the table and pulled out her phone. "I need to make some calls, let people know what happened. The Covenant's going to be looking for you, and we need to figure out how to keep you off their radar."
"Why are you helping me?" Arjun asked.
Maya looked at him, her expression softening slightly. "Because I know what it's like to wake up one day and realize your whole life has changed. I know what it's like to be hunted, to have people try to use you for their own purposes. And I know what it's like to wish someone had been there to help when I needed it."
Arjun nodded slowly. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet," Maya said. "We're not out of the woods—literally or figuratively. The Covenant's persistent, and they have resources. But we'll figure something out."
She stepped outside to make her calls, leaving Arjun alone in the cabin. He walked over to the window, looking out at the dense forest surrounding them. The trees were tall and old, their branches forming a canopy that blocked out most of the sky.
He felt the warmth in his chest again, that strange energy that had been growing stronger over the past few months. It pulsed gently, like a second heartbeat, and for the first time, he tried to focus on it, to understand what it was.
The moment he did, the world shifted.
It was subtle at first—a slight change in the quality of the light, a sense that the air had become thicker. Then he saw them: faint lines of energy running through everything, connecting the trees, the ground, the cabin itself. They glowed softly, like threads of light woven through the fabric of reality.
Arjun blinked, and the vision faded. But he could still feel it, that underlying structure, that sense that the world was more than it appeared.
"Phase Two," he murmured, remembering what Elias had said. The spiritual layer, where energy became visible.
He was starting to see it. Starting to understand.
The door opened, and Maya stepped back inside. "Okay, I've got some people working on—" She stopped, staring at him. "Are you okay? You look different."
"I'm fine," Arjun said. "I was just... experimenting."
Maya's eyes narrowed. "Experimenting how?"
"Trying to see the energy," Arjun said. "The phase structure. I think I'm starting to understand it."
Maya whistled softly. "That's fast. Most Emergents take weeks to develop phase sight, and you're doing it after one day?"
"Is that unusual?"
"Very," Maya said. "It means your connection to your past life is strong. Whoever you were, they were powerful."
Arjun thought of the dreams again, the battlefield and the burning chariot. "Do you know who you were? In your past life?"
Maya shook her head. "No. I've had flashes, glimpses, but nothing concrete. Some Emergents figure it out quickly. Others never do. It depends on how much of your past self is bleeding through."
"And if I figure it out? What then?"
"Then you'll understand your abilities better," Maya said. "You'll know what you're capable of, what your limits are. And you'll have a better sense of what role you're meant to play in all of this."
"I don't believe in destiny," Arjun said flatly.
Maya smiled. "Neither do I. But that doesn't mean we don't have responsibilities. Power comes with consequences, whether we like it or not."
Before Arjun could respond, the cabin shook. It was a subtle tremor at first, like a minor earthquake, but it quickly grew stronger. The windows rattled, and dust fell from the ceiling beams.
"What the hell?" Maya said, rushing to the window.
Arjun joined her, and what he saw made his blood run cold.
The forest was changing. The trees were twisting, their branches writhing like living things. The ground was splitting open, revealing cracks that glowed with sickly green light. And in the distance, rising above the treeline, was a massive tear in reality—a phase tear, just like the one he'd seen in Millbrook, but much, much larger.
"That's not good," Maya said, her voice tight.
"What's causing it?" Arjun asked.
"I don't know, but we need to—"
She was cut off by a sound like breaking glass. The air in front of them shimmered, and suddenly, creatures were pouring through—dozens of them, twisted things with too many limbs and eyes that glowed with unnatural light.
"Corruption entities," Maya said, backing away from the window. "Phase Three, maybe Phase Four. This is bad. This is really bad."
Arjun felt the warmth in his chest flare to life, responding to the threat. His hands began to glow, golden light seeping through his skin.
"Can you fight?" Maya asked.
"I don't know," Arjun said honestly. "But I'm about to find out."
The creatures crashed through the windows, and the cabin erupted into chaos.
---
Arjun moved on instinct. The first creature lunged at him, its claws extended, and he raised his hand. Golden light burst from his palm, striking the creature in the chest. It shrieked and dissolved into ash, just like the one from the night before.
But there were more. So many more.
Maya was beside him, her hands moving in complex patterns. The air around her shimmered, and suddenly, the creatures were moving in slow motion, their attacks sluggish and easy to dodge.
"I can't hold this for long!" Maya shouted. "We need to get out of here!"
Arjun didn't answer. He was too focused on the fight, his body moving with a grace and precision he'd never possessed before. He dodged a swipe from one creature, struck another with a burst of light, and kicked a third back through the broken window.
It felt natural. Like he'd done this a thousand times before.
The warmth in his chest grew hotter, and suddenly, he wasn't just seeing the creatures—he was seeing their energy, the twisted corruption that animated them. And he understood, instinctively, how to unravel it.
He raised both hands, and the light poured out of him in a wave. It washed over the creatures, burning away the corruption, reducing them to nothing. The cabin filled with golden radiance, so bright that Maya had to shield her eyes.
When the light faded, the creatures were gone. The cabin was a wreck, the furniture overturned and the walls scorched, but they were alive.
Maya stared at him, her eyes wide. "What the hell was that?"
"I don't know," Arjun said, breathing hard. The warmth in his chest was fading, leaving him exhausted. "I just... knew what to do."
"That was divine purification," Maya said, her voice filled with awe. "High-level solar energy manipulation. Only a handful of mythological figures could do that."
Arjun didn't respond. He was staring at his hands, watching the last traces of light fade from his skin. He'd felt something in that moment, something beyond just power. A sense of purpose, of rightness, like he was finally doing what he was meant to do.
But he'd also felt something else. A shadow, lurking at the edge of his consciousness. A presence that whispered in a voice he almost recognized.
*You are waking up. Soon, you will remember.*
"We need to go," Maya said, grabbing his arm. "That phase tear is still open, and more creatures will come. We need to find someone who can close it."
"Who?" Arjun asked.
"I know someone," Maya said. "Another Emergent, someone with experience dealing with phase corruption. But we need to move fast."
They stumbled out of the cabin and back to Maya's motorcycle. The forest around them was still twisting, the trees groaning as if in pain. The phase tear loomed in the distance, a gaping wound in reality that pulsed with sickly light.
As they rode away, Arjun looked back at the tear, and for a moment, he thought he saw something moving inside it. Something massive, something ancient, something that watched him with eyes that burned like dying stars.
Then they were gone, racing through the forest, leaving the corruption behind.
But Arjun knew it wasn't over. Whatever was happening, whatever was causing the phase tears and the dying sun, it was accelerating. And he was being pulled into the center of it, whether he wanted to be or not.
---
They rode for hours, following back roads and trails that Maya seemed to know by heart. The sun was setting by the time they reached their destination—a small town called Ashford, nestled in a valley between two mountains.
"This is where your friend lives?" Arjun asked as they pulled into a gas station on the edge of town.
"Not exactly a friend," Maya said, pulling off her helmet. "More like a reluctant ally. His name is Marcus Webb, and he's one of the most powerful Emergents I know. He specializes in phase manipulation—if anyone can close that tear, it's him."
"And he'll help us?"
"For a price," Maya said. "Marcus doesn't do anything for free. But he's reliable, and he knows more about the phase system than almost anyone."
They parked the motorcycle and walked into town. Ashford was larger than Millbrook, with a main street lined with shops and restaurants. But there was something off about it, something Arjun couldn't quite put his finger on. The people moved strangely, their expressions blank, and the air felt heavy, oppressive.
"Do you feel that?" Arjun asked.
Maya nodded. "Phase Two bleed. This whole town is saturated with spiritual energy. It's probably why Marcus chose to live here—easier to work when the barriers are already thin."
They found Marcus's shop at the end of the main street. It was a small bookstore, the windows filled with old volumes and occult paraphernalia. A sign above the door read "Webb's Curiosities."
Maya pushed the door open, and a bell chimed. The interior was cramped and cluttered, shelves packed with books, strange artifacts, and jars filled with things Arjun didn't want to identify. The air smelled of incense and old paper.
"Marcus!" Maya called out. "I know you're here!"
A man emerged from the back room. He was in his thirties, with messy brown hair and glasses perched on his nose. He wore a cardigan over a t-shirt, and he looked more like a college professor than a powerful Emergent.
"Maya," he said, his voice weary. "I told you not to come back here unless it was an emergency."
"It's an emergency," Maya said. "There's a massive phase tear in the woods outside Millbrook. Phase Three or Four corruption entities are pouring through. We need you to close it."
Marcus sighed and rubbed his temples. "Of course you do. And who's this?"
"Arjun Sharma," Maya said. "Newly awakened. Divine solar energy user."
Marcus's eyes sharpened, and he looked at Arjun with new interest. "Solar energy? That's rare. Very rare. Who were you?"
"I don't know," Arjun said.
"But you're starting to figure it out, aren't you?" Marcus said, studying him. "I can see it in your eyes. The memories are bleeding through."
Arjun said nothing.
Marcus turned back to Maya. "Fine. I'll close the tear. But it's going to cost you."
"Name your price," Maya said.
"Information," Marcus said. "I want to know everything you've learned about the Covenant's recent activities. And I want access to any artifacts you've recovered in the past six months."
Maya hesitated, then nodded. "Deal."
"Good," Marcus said. He walked over to a shelf and pulled down a worn leather satchel. "Let's go. The sooner we close that tear, the better. Phase corruption spreads fast, and if it reaches a populated area, we'll have a real problem."
They left the shop and piled into Marcus's car, an old sedan that looked like it had seen better days. As they drove back toward Millbrook, Marcus explained the situation.
"Phase tears are caused by destabilization in the barrier between dimensions," he said. "Usually, they're small and close on their own. But lately, they've been getting bigger and more frequent. Someone is deliberately weakening the barriers, and I have a pretty good idea who."
"Who?" Arjun asked.
"The Architects," Marcus said. "They're a faction that believes the current world order is corrupt and needs to be torn down. They think that by collapsing the phase barriers, they can create a new reality, one where they're in control. They're insane, but they're also powerful and well-organized."
"And they're causing the sun to die?" Arjun asked, remembering what Elias had said.
Marcus glanced at him in the rearview mirror. "You've been talking to someone. Yes, the dying sun is connected. The Architects are draining energy from the conceptual sun in Phase Seven, using it to fuel their rituals. If they succeed, the entire phase structure will collapse, and reality as we know it will cease to exist."
"How do we stop them?" Arjun asked.
"That's the million-dollar question," Marcus said. "The Architects are secretive, and they have agents everywhere. The best we can do right now is contain the damage, close the phase tears, and try to figure out their endgame before it's too late."
They reached the forest as night fell. The phase tear was even larger than before, a gaping wound in the sky that pulsed with sickly green light. Corruption entities swarmed around it, their twisted forms barely visible in the darkness.
Marcus parked the car and got out, pulling a strange device from his satchel. It looked like a compass, but instead of a needle, it had multiple arms that pointed in different directions.
"This will help me locate the tear's anchor point," he explained. "Every phase tear has a source, a point where the barrier was first breached. If I can find it and seal it, the tear will close."
"And the creatures?" Maya asked.
"You two will have to handle them," Marcus said. "I need to focus on the seal."
Arjun and Maya exchanged a glance, then nodded. They moved forward, into the corrupted forest, while Marcus followed behind, his eyes fixed on the device.
The creatures attacked almost immediately. They came from all directions, their claws and teeth gleaming in the dim light. Arjun raised his hands, and golden light burst forth, burning through the corruption. Maya moved beside him, her temporal manipulation slowing the creatures down, making them easy targets.
They fought their way deeper into the forest, following Marcus as he tracked the anchor point. The corruption grew thicker, the air heavy with the stench of decay. Arjun's chest burned with effort, the warmth inside him flaring brighter with each burst of light.
Finally, Marcus stopped. "Here," he said, pointing to a spot on the ground. "This is where it started."
Arjun looked down and saw a symbol carved into the earth, glowing with the same sickly green light as the tear. It was complex, made up of interlocking circles and strange runes.
"This is a ritual mark," Marcus said, kneeling beside it. "Someone deliberately created this tear. This wasn't an accident."
"Can you close it?" Maya asked.
"Yes, but it's going to take time," Marcus said. He pulled out a piece of chalk and began drawing his own symbols around the ritual mark, muttering under his breath.
Arjun and Maya stood guard, fighting off wave after wave of corruption entities. Arjun's power was growing stronger, more refined, as if his body was remembering how to use it. He could feel the energy flowing through him, could sense the structure of the corruption and how to unravel it.
But he could also feel something else. A presence, watching from the other side of the tear. Something vast and malevolent, something that knew he was there.
"Hurry up, Marcus!" Maya shouted, her voice strained.
"Almost there!" Marcus replied.
The ground began to shake. The phase tear pulsed, and suddenly, something massive began to emerge. It was a creature unlike any they'd seen before, easily twenty feet tall, with multiple heads and limbs that seemed to shift and change as it moved.
"Phase Five entity!" Marcus yelled. "I can't seal the tear with that thing here! You have to destroy it!"
Arjun stared at the creature, his heart pounding. It was too big, too powerful. He didn't know if he could fight something like that.
But then he felt it—the warmth in his chest flaring to life, hotter and brighter than ever before. And with it came a voice, clear and strong, speaking in a language he shouldn't understand but did.
*You are the son of the sun. You are the one who never yields. Rise, and show them your light.*
Arjun's body moved on its own. He stepped forward, raising his hands, and the golden light exploded from him in a torrent. It wasn't just light—it was fire, pure and divine, burning with the heat of a thousand suns.
The creature shrieked and recoiled, but Arjun didn't stop. He poured everything he had into the attack, the light growing brighter and brighter until it was blinding. The creature's form began to dissolve, its corruption burning away under the onslaught.
And then, with a final, ear-splitting scream, it was gone.
Arjun collapsed to his knees, gasping for breath. The light faded, leaving him exhausted and trembling.
"Done!" Marcus shouted. The ritual mark on the ground flared once, then went dark. The phase tear began to shrink, collapsing in on itself until it was nothing more than a pinprick, and then it was gone.
The forest fell silent.
Maya rushed over to Arjun, helping him to his feet. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Arjun said, though he didn't feel fine. He felt like he'd just run a marathon while carrying a boulder.
Marcus walked over, his expression grim. "That was a Phase Five entity. You shouldn't have been able to destroy it, not with your level of experience. Whoever you were in your past life, they were incredibly powerful."
Arjun didn't respond. He was too tired to think, too tired to process what had just happened.
"We need to get out of here," Maya said. "The Covenant will have detected that energy surge. They'll be here soon."
They made their way back to the car and drove away, leaving the corrupted forest behind. Arjun stared out the window, watching the trees blur past, and tried to make sense of everything.
He was changing. He could feel it, deep in his bones. The power inside him was growing stronger, and with it, the memories were coming back. Fragments of a life he'd lived thousands of years ago, a life filled with war and honor and tragedy.
He didn't know who he'd been. Not yet. But he was starting to understand.
And he was starting to realize that whatever role he was meant to play in this conflict, it was going to cost him everything.
---
They returned to Ashford, and Marcus let them stay in the apartment above his shop. It was small but comfortable, with two bedrooms and a living area filled with more books and strange artifacts.
"Get some rest," Marcus said. "We'll talk more in the morning."
Arjun collapsed onto the bed in one of the rooms, too exhausted to even take off his shoes. He fell asleep almost immediately, and the dreams came again.
This time, he saw the man from before—the warrior in golden armor. But now, he could see his face. It was his own face, but older, harder, marked by years of battle and suffering.
The warrior stood on a battlefield, surrounded by enemies. Arrows rained down on him, piercing his armor, but he didn't fall. He fought on, his movements graceful and deadly, even as his strength faded.
"You cannot win," a voice said. It was a woman's voice, filled with sorrow. "You know this. Why do you keep fighting?"
"Because it is right," the warrior said. "Because I gave my word. Because I am Karna, and I do not yield."
Arjun woke with a start, the name echoing in his mind.
Karna.
He sat up slowly, his heart pounding. He knew that name. He'd heard it before, in stories his grandmother used to tell him when he was a child. Stories from the Mahabharata, the great Indian epic.
Karna, the son of the sun god. The greatest archer who ever lived. The warrior who fought on the wrong side of a war, who was betrayed by fate and cursed by the gods, but who never abandoned his honor.
Karna, who died alone on a battlefield, pierced by arrows, his chariot wheels stuck in the mud.
"No," Arjun whispered. "That's not possible."
But even as he said it, he knew it was true. The dreams, the power, the instinctive knowledge of combat—it all made sense now.
He was Karna. Or rather, he was Karna's reincarnation.
And if that was true, then everything Elias and Marcus had said was real. The dying sun, the phase tears, the factions fighting for control—all of it was real.
Arjun stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the quiet town below. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting pale light over the buildings.
He thought about Karna's story, about the warrior who had been cursed from birth, who had been denied his rightful place, who had fought for a cause he knew was wrong because he had given his word.
Karna had been generous to a fault, giving away his armor and earrings—his divine protection—to a disguised god who had asked for them. He had been loyal to a king who didn't deserve his loyalty. He had been a hero and a tragedy, all at once.
And now, Arjun was living his life again.
"I'm not going to make the same mistakes," Arjun said quietly. "I'm not going to let anyone use me. I'm not going to fight for the wrong side."
But even as he said it, he wondered if he would have a choice. Fate had not been kind to Karna the first time. Would it be any different now?
He didn't know. But he was going to find out.
And he was going to do it on his own terms.