The Rift’s Next Move

A Heavy Silence

A crushing silence filled the chamber where Ethan stood, pressing against the cracked stone walls of Valtor's keep like a living force. The air shimmered with an unnatural hum, a distortion that rippled through the fabric of reality—a tremor more felt in the soul than in the senses. Beyond the shattered windows, the horizon stretched in a jagged tapestry of broken towers and smoldering ruins, bathed in the dying glow of a fractured sun.

Ethan's golden eyes narrowed as the hum grew louder, more insistent. He clenched his fists, arcs of golden energy crackling around his knuckles. The Rift was shifting.

Mia and Orion entered the chamber behind him, their footsteps muted against the cold stone floor. Their expressions were grim, worn with the weight of a war that should have ended—only to reveal something far worse.

Mia spoke first, her voice slicing through the stillness like a blade.

"It's happening, isn't it?"