The Visitor

Kade stood on the rooftop, staring at the empty space where Zeke had vanished. The air still crackled with the remnants of an unearthly power, its intensity hanging like a suffocating veil. Everything in him wanted to scream, to lash out at the gods who had torn Zeke away. But the raw anguish in his chest stifled every sound.

And then, the ripples began.

At first, it was subtle, a barely perceptible hum in the atmosphere. Then it hit like a tidal wave—an eruption of energy that radiated outward from where the Ascendant had stood. Kade's body convulsed, his muscles locking as the resonance energy coursed through him. His senses exploded with conflicting sensations: a fiery pain that ripped through every nerve, yet underneath it, an intoxicating exhilaration that left him gasping.

He collapsed, clutching at the rooftop, as though anchoring himself to the world might keep him from disintegrating under the weight of it all. For a moment, he swore he could taste the energy—raw and metallic, but addictive. It filled him with a hollow, aching yearning, as though a piece of himself had been touched by something infinite and was now forever incomplete.

The euphoria was short-lived. A guttural, bone-chilling screech shattered the moment, dragging Kade back to grim reality.

He whipped his head toward the sound and froze. Shapes emerged from the darkness, climbing the scaffolding and fire escape with animalistic fervor. Twisted, sinewy forms scrambled over one another, their glowing eyes fixed on the spot where the resonance energy had exploded.

Wretches.

Kade stumbled back, his heart hammering against his ribs. Of course they would come. That energy—pure and unfiltered—was a beacon to these abominations. He searched the rooftop desperately for anything that could serve as a weapon. His gaze landed on a battered AC unit, its pipes jutting out like skeletal limbs.

"Okay," he muttered to himself, gripping one of the pipes. "Not dying here."

The first wretch lunged, its claws swiping inches from his face. Kade yanked the pipe free with a metallic snap and swung it, the blunt end catching the creature's skull with a sickening crack. It dropped instantly, but another was already on him.

Kade swung again, slamming the pipe into its chest. The creature staggered backward, hissing, its claws raking the air. With a surge of adrenaline, Kade drove his shoulder into it, forcing it toward the edge of the rooftop. Its feet scrambled for purchase on the gravel before Kade gave it one last shove, sending it screaming into the abyss below.

But they kept coming.

More swarmed the rooftop, spilling over the edges like a wave of nightmares. Kade gripped the pipe tighter, his knuckles white, as he braced for the onslaught.

And then a flash of light split the darkness.

One of the wretches shrieked as its head was cleaved from its body, falling in a heap at Kade's feet. A figure stepped into view, his silhouette framed by the faint glow of the rift's fading light.

The man was tall and lean, clad in battered armor that seemed to hum faintly with resonance energy. His presence was overwhelming—there was an undeniable strength about him, a sense of power that felt almost infinite. Yet his face betrayed none of it. His features were somber, etched with a quiet grief that seemed to age him beyond his years.

"Rough night?" he said, his voice low and calm, as though he hadn't just carved through a horde of monsters.

Westler's eyes lingered on Kade, his somber face etched with the weight of countless battles and losses. The sheer intensity of his presence was overwhelming, radiating power that felt infinite, yet there was something hollow beneath it—a man who had paid dearly for what he'd become.

"I didn't come here by chance," Westler began, his voice steady but burdened with a deep sadness. "When the Ascendants set their sights on a world, they don't do so randomly. They're deliberate. They choose one soul—one being—whose resonance surpasses all others in potential. That choice sets their test into motion, a cruel game to see who survives, who evolves."

He paused, his gaze distant, as though revisiting memories he would rather forget. "I can't always predict where they'll strike. But I've learned to sense where the world break will happen. When they prepare to tear through reality, the air itself ripples with resonance, and the strongest individuals leave echoes in the energy. That's how I found you two."

Kade stared at him, disbelief warring with unease. "So you tracked us?"

"I scanned the epicenter," Westler corrected, his tone sharp, though not unkind. "I sensed the resonance feedback—two signatures stronger than any others in the region. You and the other... the one they took. You were both bright enough to blind me, potential radiating off you like stars about to collapse. I came to get you out before they could make their choice."

Kade's breath hitched, the weight of the words hitting him like a blow. "You were too late."

Westler nodded grimly, his face tightening. "Yes. I was delayed—fighting one of their Rift Walkers. By the time I arrived, the decision had already been made." He gestured toward the rift above, where the last traces of its ethereal glow still hung in the sky. "Once they choose, there's no undoing it. The one they take is marked, pulled into their design, leaving the rest to fight over scraps of power. That's their game."

Suddenly, Westler's piercing eyes locked onto Kade's, and for a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath. Kade felt the weight of that gaze like a physical pressure, as if every secret he'd ever buried, every decision he regretted, every scar etched onto his soul was being laid bare. He couldn't move, couldn't look away, the scrutiny leaving him raw and exposed.

"What are you doing?" Kade managed to force out, his voice tight with discomfort.

Westler didn't answer right away. Instead, his expression shifted, a faint flicker of something—pity, perhaps, or reluctant admiration—crossing his face before he broke eye contact. "You carry more than you realize," he said quietly. "But even burdens can become strengths, in the right hands."

Kade shivered, unsure if he felt reassured or violated, the aftereffects of that moment still prickling along his spine.

Kade's voice hardened, his chest tightening with a mix of anger and bitterness. "But why them? Why not me too? If we were equal, why leave me behind?"

For the first time, Westler hesitated. His gaze dropped, shadows deepening in his expression. The question seemed to strike something raw within him, a wound that hadn't fully healed.

"I don't know," he admitted at last, his voice quieter now, burdened with regret. "I've seen this before, and I still don't understand it. Perhaps the Ascendants see something no one else can. Or perhaps they simply don't care." He shook his head, his eyes clouded with sorrow. "But know this: being left behind isn't a curse. It's an opportunity."

"Opportunity?" Kade spat, his fists clenching. "To do what? Die slower?"

"To fight," Westler said, his voice hardening. "To prove them wrong. To survive."

The intensity of his words lingered in the air like a challenge, but then Westler straightened abruptly, his movements sharp and decisive. He glanced toward the horizon, his expression darkening.

"I've stayed too long," he muttered, his tone shifting to one of urgency. "The Rift Walker I fought tracked me here. It's only a matter of time before it arrives. I can't let it remain unchecked—it would devastate this world even more than it already has."

Kade took a step forward, his frustration boiling over. "Wait! What the hell am I supposed to do now? How do I even begin to survive in all this?"

Westler turned to him one last time, the steel in his gaze softened by an undercurrent of sympathy. "Start with the book." He gestured to the leather-bound tome, as if on queue, a book was summoned from thin air leaving a faint glow of resonance energy in its wake. Westler tossed it towards Kade, its worn cover marked with intricate patterns that seemed to hum faintly with power. "It holds the basics—breathing techniques, focus, ways to refine resonance energy. But knowledge alone won't save you. Survival is about resolve, Kade. Willpower. The ability to endure, no matter how hopeless things seem." These words struck a chord with Kade. He knew well, if there was one thing he knew to do, it was survive.

As he finished, the air around Westler began to shimmer, rippling with the faint but rich purple energy distortion of a portal opening. He glanced back at Kade, his voice softening.

"Good luck," he said simply. "You're going to need it."

With that, he stepped through the void, his figure disappearing into a cascade of swirling energy. The world fell silent once more, leaving Kade alone on the rooftop, clutching the heavy weight of the book—and the heavier burden of what lay ahead.