Chapter 15: When the Rift Remembers

"The Rift doesn't forget. It holds grudges."

The sky above Zone 2-Kappa was an oil slick of green and violet. Rift storms churned on the horizon, lighting arcing bolts that crackled in slow motion. Underfoot, the ground pulsed with low-frequency hums—like a restless heart.

Instructor Mira Veil led her squad through the blasted remains of an old mining facility, its towers bowed by time and Rift gravity. This was the sector where the Rift had spoken through memory, where echoes had become breadcrumbs—and now, they approached its heart.

Reyan Kaul watched the horizon through narrowed eyes. His phase-spear glowed faintly; each strike in the last mission had deepened its sync. Beside him, Saira Myles moved with lethal grace, scanning for phantoms. Aarav Veil gripped his temporal blade, the weapon humming like a living thing. At the back, Kairav Vyne monitored his handheld console, data streams dancing on the screen.

Mira's voice came through the comms, steady:

"Alpha Team, proceed to Point Echo. Expect heavy fluctuations. Keep formation tight."

They advanced over cracked catwalks and twisted rails, past rusted ore carts half-submerged in Riftlight. The air tasted of ozone and ash.

A sudden tremor rattled the bones of the facility. Rift energy surged beneath them, and Kairav cried out:

"Local field spiking—90%! Structural collapse imminent!"

Reyan shouted,

"Fall back!"

They sprinted across the platform as the Rift's pulse slammed into the metal beneath their feet. A colossal wave of crackling light raced toward them, and Saira kicked a small disruption charge. It detonated with a hollow boom, scattering micro-gravity shards that slowed the wave enough for them to dive through an archway.

Point Echo – The Core Chamber

They emerged into a circular chamber lined with spiraling conduits of living Riftstone. At the center hovered a Greater Rift Being—a monstrously scaled entity woven from pure memory. Its head was a pale mannequin's skull; its limbs flickered between flesh and shadow. It turned toward them, and in its empty eye-sockets, they saw reflections of every cadet's past failures.

Mira exhaled. "Hold position."

The Being's voice echoed in their minds, not through sound:

"You thought you could outrun the past. But the Rift remembers you."

Aarav's blade flared. "Then let's remind it of mercy."

He lunged—but the Being vanished, reappearing behind him. Its arm lashed out, catching Aarav across the chest. He cried out as temporal energy fractured around him. Reyan lunged forward, spear extended, but the Being teleported again, leaving an afterimage that shattered like glass.

Saira screamed his name and dove to shield him, blocking another strike. Riftlight seared her armor; she staggered, teeth gritted.

Reyan roared, coach's calm gone. He spun his spear in a wide arc, cutting through the Being's duplicated limbs. Each strike echoed backward in time, slashing phantom echoes that fell like petals.

Kairav abandoned his console. He ran to a side conduit, tapping frantically.

"I can restrain its phase—but only if you hold it still for five seconds!"

Mira sprinted forward, twin blades drawn. She slid beside Aarav and struck upward, pinning the Being's flank. Riftstone cracked underfoot. Vines of energy writhed across its form.

Reyan signaled. Kairav input the override code. Blue light pulsed outward in a concentric wave, binding the Being in strobing bars of energy.

For a heartbeat, it froze.

Aarav lifted his blade high, voice shaking. "Now—together!"

They struck in unison:

Aarav slashed with inverted temporal force, unraveling a limb.

Reyan thrust his spear through the Being's chest, driving a spike of raw Riftstone.

Mira severed its shadow-tendrils at the base, freeing Saira.

Saira delivered the final blow—her blade collapsing the Being's skull into a bloom of starlight.

The Greater Rift Being collapsed in a cascade of echo-shards. The chamber trembled as Riftstone conduits sparked and died. The core's hum faded.

They collapsed to the ground, breathing ragged, armor scorched, spirits shaken.

Aftermath

Mira leaned on her swords, eyes wet with adrenaline and relief. "Status?"

Reyan checked Aarav's vitals. "He's wounded—temporal trauma, major energy feedback. We need evac."

Kairav wiped rivulets of sweat from his brow. "Pulse stabilized. Rift signature collapsing back to dormant state."

Saira hovered beside Aarav, brushing soot from his face. "You saved us all."

Aarav's eyes fluttered. He managed a weak grin. "We saved each other."

Mira activated her comm. "Alpha Team—report home."

Hidden Echo

As they boarded the pod, Kairav paused at the chamber's entrance. Riftstone lay cracked, but one conduit still flickered faintly. He crouched and placed a palm against it. A single image flared in his mind:

A man in old uniform—Commander Ishan—standing before a Rift much like this one, smiling unknown futures into being.

Ishan's voice echoed:

"Remember this, child of the Rift—sometimes to break the cycle, you must become the anomaly."

Kairav jerked his hand back. The vision vanished. No data log. No recording. Just… memory.

He tagged the location in his pad:

Protocol I-01 – Ishan's Echo.

No one saw.

[End of Chapter 15]