It was a neon-lit reverse of a pulse, its primitive thumps in the air taking a jerky impression as shifty skyscrapers stabbed the nighttime sky like fangs. Pushing through the throngs of people lining the streets, hands shoved deep in his jacket pockets, Asher's mind was still replaying Valen's words.
"The creators of the Rift system are watching you."
It sounded ridiculous.
But given what he had seen, could he dismiss it?
Seraphine walked next to him, uncharacteristically quiet.
"You think too much," she finally said.
Asher smirked. "Dangerous habit, I know."
She gave him a sideways glance. "Seriously. You just escaped from a Rift that nearly killed you. But perhaps pause before jumping into another mystery."
"Can't," Asher said easily. "If someone—or something—actually created the Rift system, then I want to know why I'm involved.
Seraphine sighed. "I figured you'd say that."
Asher slowed his steps. "You think I'm making a mistake?
She hesitated. "I think that you're walking into something bigger than you know."
"Then I'll just have to grow larger, I suppose."
She rolled her eyes. — Of course that's your answer.
He just grinned. But underneath, tension curled in his gut.
Because inside he knew Seraphine was right.
This was no longer only about him.
Something was coming.
And he needed to be ready.
If anyone in the city knew things the Guild didn't…
It was Vince.
Vince, a former Guild researcher who became more of an information broker, had an eye for the secrets that no one wanted upstream.
His base of operations? A rundown bar in the backstreets of the city.
The door creaked open and Asher stepped into the dark bar.
It stank of cheap liquor and cigarette smoke.
At the opposite end, hunched over a table piled with holographic screens, was Vince.
He glanced up only when Asher reached him. "I've been waiting for you to arrive."
Asher slid out a chair and sat. "That predictable, huh?"
Vince snorted. "It's as if after you vanish into a Ghost Rift, return in one piece, and suddenly the Guild decides you're a ticking bomb. Yeah, I thought you'd want some answers."
Seraphine sat Marcus's side, still with his arms folded. "Then let's cut the pleasantries. What do you know?"
Vince sat back and looked at them both.
"First, a question." His keen gaze focused in on Asher.
"When you were in that Rift — did you see anything… strange?"
Asher clenched the tabletop with his fingers.
He knows.
For a split second, he considered lying. But there was something in the expression on Vince's face that told him it would not work.
So he sighed. "I saw myself."
Vince's expression darkened.
"Yeah," he muttered. "I was afraid of that."
Vince entered a few commands on his console.
A holographic projection came alive — a swirling mass of data points, linked with thins strands of golden lines.
"The Guild believes Rifts are natural phenomena — unstable fractures in reality," Vince said. "But that's not the whole truth."
He zoomed in and displayed a timeline of Rift sightings.
"Every Rift follows a cycle. They don't just stuff them in a bag. They're placed."
Asher frowned. "Placed? By who?"
Vince gave him a grim look.
"By whatever created them."
A heavy silence followed.
Seraphine's voice was tight. "You're saying someone—or something—is actively creating these Rifts?"
Vince nodded. "And not just that. They're watching us. Testing us."
He looked at Asher.
"And you? You just set off something huge."
Asher exhaled slowly. So my double … it wasn't a hallucination."
Vince shook his head. "No. It was a message."
Seraphine frowned. "A message from who?"
Vince hesitated. Then, finally, he spoke.
"From those who came before."
Asher's stomach dropped.
"What the hell does that mean?
Vince's eyes flickered. "It means the Rift system is not just some new aberration. It's been here a long, long time."
Asher leaned forward. "And you're saying I am linked to it?"
Vince didn't respond right away.
Then, he said, "You're more than connected. You're part of it."
Asher's pulse pounded.
This was no longer just about survival.
This was about what he was.
Why had he been brought back to this world?
Why the Rifts always kept drawing him back.
Seraphine reached for his arm. Vale… what do you want to do?
Asher inhaled deeply.
Then he smirked.
"Simple." His silver eyes gleamed.
"If out there thinks it owns me —"
He lowered his voice to a growl.
"So it's about time I show them otherwise."