Chapter 4: The Whispering Rift

"We name the storms. But what if one of them remembered us first?"

The wind was too still. That was the first sign.

Aarav stood at the edge of the breach — Rift Sector Delta-9, Class 5, unstable. The perimeter suppression pylons hissed and blinked in odd intervals, struggling to contain the tear's growing hunger. Before him, a dome of warped reality shimmered, colors folding in and out like breathing glass.

He was alone.

Instructor Mira Veil's voice echoed in his headset, crisp as always.

"You'll proceed alone. No contact unless critical. Objective: Observe, sync, and withdraw. Do not engage."

Simple orders. Simple logic.

But the Rift never followed logic.

Earlier – Training Bay Alpha, six hours before deployment

Aarav had been too quiet. Even for him.

Reyan stood at the edge of the sparring circle, watching as Aarav moved through simulation drills. Every slash of his temporal blade left ghost trails — not from power, but inconsistency. Emotion.

Kairav leaned in from beside the console. "He's drifting again. Sync levels fluctuating between 43 and 70. That's… unstable."

"Unfocused," Reyan corrected flatly.

Mira, arms crossed, nodded. "He's still hearing them."

No one had to ask what them meant.

Echoes. Memories. Rifts that spoke.

Kairav sighed. "You know, for once, I wish the voices he heard would say something helpful like 'Duck!' or 'Behind you!' instead of cryptic dream riddles."

No one laughed.

Now – Delta-9

Aarav exhaled and stepped forward.

The breach didn't welcome him. It recognized him.

The instant his boots crossed the threshold, time bent. Reality slid sideways. The sky—if it could be called that—fractured into ribbons of pulsing blue and ultraviolet. Monuments of forgotten civilizations floated overhead, dissolving slowly in reverse.

Aarav had entered many Rifts before.

But none ever whispered his name.

"Aarav…"

The voice wasn't from outside. It was within the Rift's heartbeat, within the static. It sounded like his mother. No—like someone who remembered being her.

He gripped his blade tighter.

"Focus. Objective: Observe, sync, withdraw…"

But the Rift had its own plans.

Something stirred in the distance. A shape — not large, but old. It limped forward, dragging shadow-matter behind it like a cloak. One eye socket glowed with a light that pulsed in sync with his heartbeat.

The Echo-being didn't attack.

It bowed.

"You've returned."

Aarav blinked. The world flickered.

Now he stood in a memory.

A destroyed hallway. Cadet insignias burnt into the walls. Familiar faces frozen mid-scream. Kairav, blood on his forehead. Mira—eyes wide, hand outstretched—calling his name.

Except… this never happened.

"This is your future," the Rift whispered.

The hallucination shattered like glass. The bowing Echo was gone. In its place — three more. Larger. Their limbs bent wrong. Faces half-formed from multiple species.

He raised his blade.

But before he could strike, his foot slipped — the terrain rewrote itself mid-step. A memory of a battlefield overlayed the Rift zone. Suddenly he was surrounded by cadet corpses — none he recognized — all of them whispering the same thing:

"Why didn't you save us, Aarav?"

His blade dropped.

A wave of pain, not physical, but personal, surged into his chest. For a moment, he felt like he wasn't inside the Rift, but part of it.

Outside — Rift Monitoring Post

Kairav stared at the fluctuating data streams. "Sync spike just hit 89%. That's not possible."

Mira's eyes narrowed. "He's deep-linked. Not just syncing with the Rift's environment — he's syncing with its echo memory."

Reyan clenched his jaw. "He won't last five more minutes in that state. Pull him."

"No," Mira said. "We wait."

Reyan turned to her, angry now. "You'd risk his mind for what? Another variable?"

"He needs to remember."

It was the first time Mira's voice had cracked.

Inside – Delta-9

Time cracked.

The three Echo-beings lunged.

Aarav's blade reformed itself mid-air — flickering with unknown energy, not the usual silver glow, but iridescent blue. His body moved without conscious thought — striking faster, sharper, like memory guiding muscle.

One slash.

The first Echo dissolved — unhappened.

Another block — reversed a limb into nonexistence.

But the last Echo touched his shoulder.

And everything fell silent.

In a rush of broken images, he saw—

• A child, burning.

• Mira screaming beneath a collapsing sky.

• A Commander's insignia buried in red sand.

• Kairav… not dying… but smiling while pulling a trigger.

Aarav dropped to his knees.

Extraction Zone

"Signal's back," Kairav called out. "He's falling."

"Open the portal," Mira ordered.

Reyan stood ready, but said nothing.

The breach pulsed—and spat Aarav out like spoiled blood. He collapsed on the ground, coughing, eyes wide and wet with something between awe and terror.

Mira knelt beside him.

"Report."

Aarav looked at her, voice hoarse.

"It knew me… before I knew myself."

Later – Observation Deck

The med-drones had stabilized him. His vitals were erratic but holding.

Reyan stood apart, arms folded.

"He's changing," he said quietly.

Kairav replied, equally low, "Or maybe... remembering."

Mira watched from the shadows, her father's pin in her hand. Her eyes remained fixed on the Rift horizon.

The loop has begun again, she thought.

But this time… we remember more.

END OF CHAPTER 4