"A-a Rift break?"
Kael stumbled back, his younger self barely able to stand as dread overtook him. His sister clutched his shirt tightly now, burying her face in his back. She was shaking.
"Big brother?" She called out in a voice obviously laced with fear.
"H-hey, it's fine, we'll be fine," he tried calming her down, even though he was shaking himself.
That was a lie, and he knew it.
Their neighborhood looked like one straight out of a horror movie. Shattered streets, houses torn open like paper, and corpses, lots and lots of incomplete human parts.
Riftborn prowled the blood-soaked streets, stepping over the broken bodies of those who had tried, and failed, to flee.
A bloodcurdling howl echoed from somewhere nearby.
Kael flinched, instinctively pulling his sister closer. He turned to bolt down the opposite direction, but froze again.
A Riftborn—one that looked almost humanoid—was crawling out of the neighbor's second-story window.
Its limbs were too long, its head crooked sideways as if it hadn't learned how to wear a human face yet, and it was looking right at them.
Kael's breath caught in his throat as the creature leapt towards them, its mouth wide open with an intent to gobble up the two in one bite.
Bang!
The creature's body jerked mid-air before slamming into the pavement, its black blood spraying across the cracked concrete.
Nailing it into the ground was a spear made of light, burning the Rift born to ashes.
Kael turned—his mom stood on the porch, golden armor cracked and stained with blood from the Riftborns she had been previously fighting.
Her wings were also tattered, but they still held their glow.
"Kael!" she shouted, her voice raspy now. "Run—run to the edge of the block. Evac will be there!"
He didn't hesitate this time.
Grabbing his sister's hand, Kael sprinted. He ran with everything he had, gripping his sister's hand like a lifeline.
"Almost there," he whispered. "Almost there, we just have to make it to the end of the block."
His sister said nothing—she was just trying to keep up, her smaller legs struggling against the pavement.
Behind them came the screams of people and occasional roars of Riftborns, but nothing could get them to look back even for a moment.
Ahead, he could see it—the end of the block. A shimmering barrier of golden light in the distance, Evac. A shielded zone.
A zone in which Riftborns couldn't enter even if they tried. In other words, this was safety, and all they had to do was reach it.
"Just a little more—!"
That's when he heard it.
A wet, sickening sound, like flesh being pierced.
He stopped cold in his tracks as his sister's hand slipped from his.
Kael turned in horror. His older self was forced to watch every moment of what was about to happen.
And he saw her, impaled. Her small frame lifted off the ground by a jagged black spike that had come from the shadows. His world slowed to a stop, his pupils shrinking at the sight before him.
The Rift-born that had struck, a black 10-foot-long serpent covered in jagged scales, slithered out of the shadows. Its blade-like tail that had skewered her mid-run lifted her effortlessly as if she weighed nothing at all.
Her eyes met Kael's—wide, confused, and full of pain.
Then, as if uninterested in her, its tail whipped and flung her backwards, straight toward a Rift that suddenly opened midair behind it.
"NO!!" Kael screamed, his legs moving too slow and too late as she vanished into the Rift.
Gone.
Just like that.
He didn't even have time to cry before the next blow came instantly from another Riftborn, this one burrowing up from beneath him.
With a spear-like claw, it erupted from the ground, impaling him through the stomach.
Kael gasped, his feet lifted off the ground as blood poured from his mouth. The world began to fade, growing darker by the second.
"I'm.... sorry.....Mom.... Rina," was the last thing he said before the world turned completely black.
___________
Kael
His eyes shot open, his breathing ragged as sweat dripped down his face. But his nightmare was soon forgotten due to the sight before him.
The first thing he noticed was that, instead of the bright blue morning sky he expected, he was greeted by the most beautiful night he had ever seen.
The stars above shimmered like diamonds scattered across the night sky, like it was a canvas, and the moon cast a soft silver glow that made the world feel strangely serene.
For a moment, he forgot where he was.
Then, a sudden chill ran down his spine, snapping him back to reality...or whatever this was.
His eyes snapped away from the bus's window and onto the interior of the bus.
Once filled with rows and rows of teenagers no older than him, Kael found that he was completely alone in the bus...well, almost.
Standing in the middle of the aisle was a girl, or at least, Kael thought she was a girl. She had hair as dark as the night and skin so pale it almost reminded Kael of his own, only a bit more paler.
But what truly drew his attention were her eyes. They weren't normal—not by any stretch of the word.
It was as if they held the night skies themselves, pitch black as the void itself, with twinkling dots within that seemed like stars.
But despite her looks, fear was the last thing he felt.
Instead, he felt completely calm, almost as if he was back in his mother's presence.
You cry in your sleep, Kael.
She was the first to break the silence. Her voice hadn't come from her lips; It echoed directly in his mind in a soft and melodic tone.
Kael's mouth parted, breath caught in his throat. He finally managed, "Who… who are you?"
She just smiled in response before saying,
Don't worry, we'll be meeting soon, child.
Before he could ask what she meant, the girl's body began to dissolve, fading into strands of starlight.
Kael reached out instinctively. "Wait—what do you mean? Who are you?"
But she only gave him a soft smile before completely vanishing and the stars completely disappeared.
A large black portal suddenly opened beneath him, immediately pulling him downwards, and with a violent jolt, Kael was yanked out of the dream.
---
"Noire!"
His eyes flew open with a gasp.
A rough hand shook his shoulder again, this time with a bit more force. Kael found himself slumped against the window of the bus, his breath fogging up the glass.
A tall man in black fatigues stood beside him, his visor was down, and there was a rifle slung across his chest.
"We're here. Out," the soldier barked before turning to wake the next recruit who had also managed to fall asleep.
Kael sat up, heart still hammering in his chest.
The bus was full again, packed with quiet and tense teenagers like him.
Everyone sleeping had woken up, with most looking pale and disoriented and some hiding their fear better than others.
Standing up, Kael followed the line leading out of the bus and was immediately greeted by the rising sun as soon as he stepped out, but that didn't bother him because he was soon faced with it.....the Abyss