Arin woke before the sun rose
He did not remember falling asleep
His mind had been full of the sphere of blue light the strange tearing sky and the weight of the System that flashed inside his eyes
Even now as he sat up on the edge of his bed he felt the faint whisper of its presence like something watching quietly from the corner of thought
He rubbed his face and breathed deep
The room looked the same
Yet the world felt changed
Different
Thinner somehow
As if something pressed from the other side of reality trying to seep through cracks he could not see
He stood and looked toward the window
Outside the city was wrapped in early morning haze tinted with a blue shimmer that did not belong to dawn
Cars moved normally
People walked normally
The world acted normal
But the air carried a strange weight
A pressure that only he seemed to feel
A soft flicker brushed his vision
Then the HUD opened again
Calm precise lettering glowing with faint light
[System Initiation Sequence Ongoing]
[Calibration Level 34 percent]
[Next Rift Proximity Trigger Pending]
Arin closed his eyes as if that would dismiss it
But the text stayed
Waiting
Breathing with him
He dressed quickly and stepped into the corridor of his building
The hallway lights flickered slightly
Not broken
Just reacting to the same unseen pressure he felt outside his window
He knew it
He did not know how he knew
But he knew
When he reached the street he found Rhea waiting
She stood with her arms close to her chest her eyes searching him the moment he stepped out the gate
She did not smile
She simply nodded and walked beside him as if she had been waiting for this hour for years
Kael joined them at the corner near the small food stall still rubbing sleep from his face
He looked less excited than yesterday but more aware
More cautious
As if the events had finally settled in him
Arin looked at both of them and saw the same tension
The same unspoken fear
The same unspoken decision
They were in this with him now
Whether they understood it or not
Rhea was the first to speak
Her voice low and steady though she kept her eyes on the distant shimmer of the skyline
The air feels wrong again Arin
It feels like yesterday
Arin nodded slowly
It is not going away
It is changing
Growing
I feel it everywhere
Kael walked around a stray dog that slept near the pavement then stepped closer to Arin
Does the system say anything
Anything at all
Arin hesitated before answering
He did not like that he was the only one who could see the HUD
He did not like that something had chosen him
But lies would help no one now
It says something is coming
Something close
Something waiting to open
Kael exhaled and pushed his hands into his pockets
Then we better be ready for whatever comes through
They walked like that for several minutes letting the city unfold around them
Shops opened shutters
Vendors arranged baskets of fruit
Students in uniforms hurried toward buses
Everything felt normal
Everything looked normal
But beneath that normalcy something pulsed
Soft
Blue
Alive
Then Arin saw it
A shimmer near the highway bridge
At first faint
Barely visible
Then stretching into a thin line of bending air
A ripple like heated metal
Blue like the sphere that had burst above the school
But smaller
Younger
A forming wound in reality
Arin stopped walking
The others took two steps past him before turning back
Rhea followed his fixed stare and her breath caught
Kael squinted leaning forward as if that would help him see the impossible
Arin stepped closer to the shimmer
He did not feel fear at first
He felt recognition
As if this distortion belonged to him
As if it waited for him
The HUD opened sharply
Almost like a command
[Warning Dimensional Instability Detected]
[Distance 540 meters]
[Severity Minor Rift Forming]
[Quest Stabilize Rift]
[Reward System Calibration]
[Failure Unknown]
Arin exhaled slowly
It is happening again
Rhea took a step closer
Her voice firm even if her shoulders trembled
Then we should not stand and stare
We should act before something pushes through
Kael nodded with more resolve than Arin expected
If the System gave you a quest that means you can do something
Maybe only you can
Arin began walking toward the bridge
His steps firm despite the weight coiling in his chest
Every pulse of the rift grew stronger the closer he got
It was as if the distortion recognized him and reacted to him
Brightening
Strengthening
Trembling with unpredictable life
Rhea and Kael stayed on either side of him
Close enough to grab him
Close enough to pull him back
But they did not suggest retreat
Not this time
When they reached the base of the bridge the shimmer stretched high like a vertical thread of blue light
Cars passed beneath it
People walked through it
No one reacted
The distortion did not touch normal senses
It touched only him
Rhea whispered
It feels like the world is holding its breath
Arin reached his hand toward the rift
The air felt thick
Heavy
Then the world snapped into blinding blue the moment his fingertips crossed the shimmering line
A surge of awareness flooded him
Not sight
Not sound
A presence
A quiet ancient pressure that slid through his skin and bones
As if something on the other side of the rift recognized him the way a locked door recognizes a key
The HUD burst open again
[System Link Confirmed]
[Synchronizing]
[Calibration Incomplete]
[Energy Surge Level Low]
Arin tried pulling his hand back but the rift tugged gently
Like water holding onto skin
Like gravity remembering its purpose
A sound vibrated through his skull
Not a voice
Not a word
More like a feeling shaped into intent
Not yet
But soon
Arin staggered back
Rhea grabbed his arm
Kael stepped in front of him ready to fight something he could not even see
Arin steadied himself
It was not a message
It was a warning
Or maybe a promise
Rhea searched his face
What did it tell you
Arin shook his head
Trying to find words that did not exist
Not now
But soon
That is all I understood
Kael stared at the rippling air
Then we stop it before soon arrives
Arin stepped forward again
This time he did not hesitate
He lifted his hand toward the rift and felt a soft hum vibrate through his veins and fingers
Something deep inside him resonated with the distortion
A connection
A bond he did not understand
The HUD flickered
[Skill Unlocked Rift Sense]
[Rank F]
[Function Detect and influence unstable dimensional tears]
Kael looked impressed
Of course you get a skill
Of course
Rhea elbowed him lightly to stay quiet
Arin focused on the swirling blue pattern that pulsed before him
A faint circular motion pressed into his vision through the HUD
A guide
A map
A method
He slowly matched the motion with his hand
The rift responded
Folding inward gently like cloth touched by careful fingers
The shimmer dimmed
The pressure thinned
He felt himself breathing deeper without realizing it
Rhea leaned closer
You are closing it Arin
Do not stop
Keep going
Arin steadied his hand and pushed his will through the motion again
The swirling tightened
Reality pulled together
The distortion shrank like a wound stitching closed
Kael smiled
You are doing it
You are actually
The world snapped like a wire stretched too tight
A sharp sound cracked across the air
Something inside the rift pushed outward
Not a creature
Not a shape
Only compressed force
A wave of heavy air rushing outward with sudden pressure
Arin staggered
The HUD blinked violently
[Warning Energy Surge Moderate]
[Stabilization Interrupted]
Rhea shouted his name and grabbed his shirt
Kael grabbed his shoulder
But Arin did not pull away
He forced his hand back toward the rift
Felt the circular pattern fight against the surge
Felt resistance press against him like a storm wind
He inhaled slowly
Fought the pressure
Moved his hand
Aligned the swirling pattern
Again
Again
Until the resistance cracked and folded inward
The rift collapsed with a soft pop
Like a bubble bursting
The blue shimmer faded
The air cleared
The world settled
Kael released his breath
That was real Arin
That was something real
Rhea held Arin steady
You look pale
Sit if you need to
Arin shook his head
I am fine
I am just
Overwhelmed
The HUD opened again
[Calibration 42 percent]
[Next Rift Pending]
Rhea looked at both of them
Then this will keep happening
Kael scratched the back of his head
Then we need to be ready too
We cannot let Arin handle this alone
Arin stared at the empty air where the rift had been
The silence felt heavier than the distortion
The city moved as if nothing had happened
Only the three of them knew reality had bent then sealed again
Arin breathed slowly
This is only the beginning
Rhea nodded
Then we learn
We train
We prepare
Kael grinned despite the tension
We build a team
A real one
Because if the world is shifting we shift with it
Arin looked at them
His friends
His only support
His only anchors
And he felt something inside him settle
Not peace
Not safety
But resolve
He whispered more to himself than to them
Whatever is coming
It is coming for me
And I will be ready
The HUD blinked one last time
[Rift Cycle Initiated]
[Time Until Next Distortion Unknown]
Arin exhaled as the city wind moved past them
The world had shifted
And there was no going back.
The city noise slowly returned to Arin's ears as the last trace of the rift faded. Cars rolled past. People talked. A child cried somewhere near the bus stop. Life continued exactly as before, untouched by the warping air that had nearly torn itself open.
But Arin felt none of that normality. Something inside him vibrated like a tightening wire, as if the closing of the rift had awakened more than it had sealed.
Kael was the first to break the silence.
"Arin… that wasn't just closing a tear." He swallowed. "It listened to you. The damn thing reacted like it knew your touch."
Arin didn't answer. He stared at his hand, still faintly warm from the energy he had forced back into the distortion. The scene replayed in his mind — the resistance, the pressure, the strange whisper-like presence.
Rhea stepped closer. "You heard something, didn't you?"
Arin's breath caught, but he nodded. "A feeling… a message… Something on the other side recognized me. And it wasn't confused. It was waiting."
Rhea and Kael exchanged a look that said everything: worry, disbelief, fear, and reluctantly growing acceptance.
The HUD blinked again, softer this time:
[Calibration 45%]
[User Neural Stability — Moderate]
[New Passive Detected: Rift Affinity]
Arin blinked. "Rift affinity…?"
Kael leaned forward. "Sounds like a cool upgrade—"
"It means," Arin said slowly, "that the system wants me near rifts. It wants me interacting with them."
Rhea's eyes sharpened. "Or it means something else wants you interacting."
The words hit harder than Arin expected because they fit too well. The presence he had felt in the distortion hadn't been random energy. It had been aware.
He turned away from the spot where the rift had collapsed and started walking. The other two followed without question.
The Walk Back
As they walked toward the central district, the world looked sharper than before. Colors held a faint glow. Air currents seemed to whisper through the gaps of buildings. Even distant sounds carried a strange echo, as if the world was made of threads he could finally see.
Rhea spoke without looking at him. "Your senses—are they changing?"
Arin nodded. "Everything feels… clearer. Even things I don't want to notice."
Kael pushed his hands into his pockets. "Like what?"
Arin hesitated before pointing at a wall across the street. "There… behind the concrete. Something is moving. Three floors up. Probably a rat, but I can feel its footsteps."
Kael stopped walking. "You're telling me you can sense rats now?"
Rhea swatted Kael's arm. "Focus."
Arin exhaled. "It's not just rats. It's like the world is… layered. And I can feel pieces shifting that I couldn't before."
Rhea swallowed. "You're syncing with the System faster than we thought."
Kael looked up at the sky. "Or the System is syncing with you."
Arin didn't know which idea scared him more.
At the Abandoned Construction Yard
They reached the old construction yard — a dusty, half-completed building project that had been abandoned after the early rift incidents last year. Iron beams stuck out like ribs. Concrete walls cracked under weather. Broken machinery lay forgotten.
Arin stopped. His body told him the truth before the HUD did.
Another ripple.
A faint one, but real.
The HUD confirmed:
[Minor Distortion Detected]
[Stability 96% — Harmless]
[Observation Recommended]
Rhea looked around. "Here too?"
Arin nodded. "Tiny. Almost asleep."
Kael kicked a rock. "So rifts are multiplying. Great."
Arin stepped closer to the empty half-built room, feeling the quiet vibration in the air. It was like a heartbeat under concrete.
"It's not active," he said. "Not dangerous. More like… a leftover." He touched the uneven surface of the wall. "The world is thinning here."
Rhea frowned. "How many more places like this do you think exist?"
Arin didn't want to imagine the answer.
Kael pointed at Arin's eyes. "They're flickering again. The HUD?"
"Yeah," Arin murmured. "It's mapping the distortion lines."
"And?" Rhea pressed.
Arin turned to face them fully. "The world is worse than the officials say. These rifts… they're not random. They're forming at specific stress points. Like something is testing the foundation."
Kael's face went pale. "Testing? Like… scouting?"
"Or searching," Arin whispered.
The thought dug into him like a blade.
Searching for what?
No — searching for who.
The System Shifts
The HUD flashed more urgently.
[User Sync 51%]
[Neural Overload Threshold Approaching]
[Initiating Stabilization Protocol]
Arin staggered.
Rhea caught his arm instantly. "What's happening?"
Arin clenched his teeth as a sharp pain hit the back of his skull. "The System… It's forcing a stabilization. Too many rift contacts in one day."
Kael grabbed him from the other side. "Sit him down!"
They lowered him onto a broken crate. Arin felt something rewiring inside his mind — a slow, burning pressure.
The HUD flickered violently.
[Installing Adaptive Filter…]
The world around him blurred. Sounds warped. Colors melted. For a moment, he felt weightless.
Then it snapped back.
Everything returned to normal — clearer, sharper, and terrifyingly quiet.
Rhea searched his face. "Arin? Say something."
He blinked twice, then breathed. "I'm okay. I think… the System just upgraded the way I process energy."
Kael exhaled. "You scared the hell out of us."
Arin looked at his hands. They no longer trembled. His mind felt lighter.
But his chest… heavier.
The HUD pulsed again.
[Passive Acquired: Dimensional Perception I]
[Effect: User perceives distortions earlier than standard detection range]
Arin whispered, "I can sense rifts… even before they appear."
Rhea traded another look with Kael. "That's not an ability. That's a responsibility."
Kael shrugged with a grin he clearly didn't feel. "Well… at least he's becoming a superhero with cool powers."
Rhea glared. "Kael."
"What? It's true." He shrugged again. "But seriously, Arin. If the rifts respond to you… does that mean they're attracted to you?"
Arin froze.
Rhea turned sharply toward him. "Are they?"
The wind rustled through the construction yard, carrying dust and the faint metallic rattle of loose wires.
Arin didn't answer.
He didn't need to.
The HUD answered for him.
[Proximity Alert — User Beacon Detected]
Rhea stepped back. "Beacon? Arin… what beacon?"
Arin's voice dropped to a whisper. "I think… I think the System is marking me. Like a signal."
Kael's expression hollowed. "So the rifts aren't random at all."
Arin nodded slowly. "They're coming to me."
Rhea gripped his shoulder, voice trembling but steady. "Then we stay close. Whatever comes… we face it together."
Arin looked at his two closest friends — the only people who believed him, the only ones who saw the world begin to unravel at the edges.
He felt something stir deep within him, not fear this time, but resolve.
"Then let's prepare," he said. "Because the next rift won't be small."
The HUD flickered like a heartbeat.
[Next Event Imminent]
[Timeframe — Unknown]
[Prepare]
Arin stood slowly.
And the world around him held its breath.
The air in the construction yard settled, but Arin's heartbeat didn't. Every instinct in his body whispered that the world had turned a page, that something had crossed an unseen threshold the moment the HUD declared him a beacon.
Kael paced in slow circles around him, hands moving as if he were trying to arrange invisible puzzle pieces. "Let me get this straight. Every time a rift forms, the System pings you. And now it's basically saying you're a walking signal for them."
Arin nodded. "That's what it looks like."
Rhea folded her arms, her eyes sharp. "The question is… why you? What makes you the point of attraction?"
Arin opened his mouth to answer, but the truth was he didn't know. Nothing in his life up to yesterday had been special. He had been ordinary… painfully ordinary.
But when he had touched that first sphere at the school — the moment before the entire world changed — something had chosen him. Or claimed him.
Kael stopped pacing. "So what's next? You wait around until something nasty pops out again?"
Arin shook his head. "No. I have to understand the System before something overwhelms me."
Rhea gestured to the abandoned rebar and concrete around them. "Then we start now."
Arin blinked. "Right here?"
"Yes," Rhea said firmly. "If the rifts will chase you, then we need to be ahead of them. You need control."
Kael cracked his knuckles. "Alright then. Training arc begins."
Arin almost laughed — almost. But the tension in the air swallowed humor fast.
Training Begins
Arin closed his eyes and steadied his breath. He knew he had no physical strength or martial advantage. He wasn't a fighter. He wasn't even athletic. But the System pulsed inside him like a second heartbeat.
The HUD expanded in front of him.
[User Status]
[Sync Rate: 52%]
[Energy Capacity: Very Low]
[Skill: Rift Sense — Active]
[Passive: Dimensional Perception I]
[Beacon Signature: Weak]
Arin focused on the faint hum inside his skull. It felt like tuning into a distant frequency he had never realized existed. The air around him thickened with subtle static.
Rhea stepped closer. "What are you feeling?"
"Pressure," Arin murmured. "Like the world is full of strings. Thin ones. They stretch from place to place. When the rifts form, those strings tremble."
Kael whistled. "You're basically half detector."
Arin nodded slowly. "Exactly."
He raised his hand. The faint vibration in the yard pulled toward him, like dust lifting into sunlight. It wasn't visible — not yet — but he could feel the unseen shape of the distortion, even dormant.
Then, unexpectedly, the HUD flickered.
[Energy Thread Detected]
Arin's heart skipped. "Wait… I can see it."
"What?" Rhea asked, stepping closer.
"A thread. A thin one. It's like…" Arin moved slowly, his hand following something no one else could see. "Like a crack that didn't finish forming."
He walked toward the unfinished wall. The thread pulsed once — soft and blue. The same color as the rift.
Kael squinted. "Are you sure you're not hallucinating?"
Arin reached out and touched the air right above a jagged line of concrete.
The world shifted.
For a moment, everything went still, like the world inhaled sharply.
Then the HUD flashed bright.
[Micro Rift Engaged]
[Danger Level — None]
[Dimensional Residue Detected]
Arin stepped back quickly. "I didn't open it. It was already there. Dormant."
Rhea exhaled slowly. "You're sensing leftovers the world hasn't cleaned up."
Arin nodded. "Exactly. Like after a storm — puddles remain. These are dimensional puddles."
Kael grinned. "Well, congratulations. You're officially the world's weirdest mop."
Rhea elbowed him again, but she didn't deny the point.
Arin studied the micro rift again. "If small ones like this exist everywhere, then the big ones are only part of the threat."
Rhea's face hardened. "Then we need to understand the pattern."
The Pattern
They climbed to the second floor of the half-finished building, where wind passed freely through open gaps. Dust swirled in sunlight. The city below looked peaceful.
It felt wrong.
Kael hopped onto a concrete block. "If rifts are appearing in clusters, maybe they're forming a network."
Rhea nodded. "A grid. Or a route."
Arin felt a chill. "Or a path leading toward something."
The HUD beeped again.
[Mapping Distortion Points]
[Calculating Pattern]
[Output: Incomplete — Data Insufficient]
"We need more data," Arin murmured.
Kael shrugged. "Then we look for more."
Rhea turned toward Arin. "Can you track the next one?"
Arin closed his eyes again, breathing through the new sensitivity the System had fused into him.
The world faded into layers — faint ripples, pulses, vibrations.
Static in the northeast.
A trembling line in the south.
A distant echo far west.
And something else — faint but distinct — like a heartbeat in the distance.
"There's another… not too far," Arin said slowly. "But it's not active yet."
"How far?" Rhea asked.
"Two districts maybe."
Kael hopped down. "Then we go."
"Wait," Arin said, holding up a hand. "It's not dangerous yet. If we go there now, we might trigger it."
Rhea frowned. "So what do we do?"
Arin looked at the horizon where the faint pulse originated. "We watch. We learn. And I train more so I don't collapse next time something opens."
Kael raised a brow. "Train how? You don't exactly have elemental powers yet."
Arin looked at his hands. "No… but I can manipulate rift energy."
Rhea blinked. "How do you know?"
"The rift moved when I moved. It reacted to motion I didn't understand until now."
He walked into a patch of open sunlight. "I want to try something."
Kael immediately backed up. "Try gently, please. I like the world unbroken."
Arin laughed lightly — the first real one since the rift formed. Then he closed his eyes and reached inward.
He drew the faint energy thread from earlier toward his palm. The air shimmered faintly, bending like a mirage.
Rhea gasped. "Arin, that's—"
Arin felt a surge of dizziness and dropped it. The shimmer disappeared instantly.
Kael caught his arm. "Hey, don't pass out."
Arin forced himself upright. "I'm fine. Just… not used to manipulating it."
Rhea stepped closer. "That was real. You actually pulled dimensional residue."
Arin nodded. "It means I can do more."
Kael raised his brows. "Eventually. Once your brain stops frying every time you do something cool."
Arin smirked, but the HUD interrupted the moment.
[Warning: Rift Tension Rising]
[Location — Unknown]
[Range — Expanding]
Arin looked around sharply. "Something changed."
Rhea stiffened. "You felt that?"
"Yes." Arin pointed toward the city skyline. "A ripple. A big one. But not forming here. Somewhere farther."
Kael frowned. "Like a tremor before a quake?"
Arin nodded. "That's exactly what it feels like."
The HUD flashed again.
[System Notice]
[Rift Network Active]
[Dimensional Pressure Increase — 19%]
Rhea's breath hitched. "Increase? That fast?"
Arin swallowed. "Something is forcing the rifts open faster."
Kael's joking tone vanished. "We need to warn someone."
"Who?" Arin asked quietly. "No one will believe us."
Rhea stepped forward. "Then we gather proof. We track the patterns, follow the distortions, and when the next rift opens—"
Kael completed the sentence grimly. "We show them something they can't deny."
Arin nodded. "Then let's start."
He turned away from the decaying construction zone, feeling the world shift again — subtly, silently, like something huge stretching awake beneath the skin of the city.
For a moment, he imagined the pulse from earlier. The faint, distant heartbeat.
It hadn't felt random.
It hadn't felt blind.
It had felt aware.
The HUD pulsed once more, like confirmation.
[Next Rift Approaching]
[Sync Required]
Arin pressed his hand over his chest, right where the cold tremor had started.
"I can feel it," he whispered. "It's coming."
Rhea stepped beside him. "Then we'll be ready."
Kael cracked his knuckles again. "Yeah. Bring it."
Arin's eyes hardened with quiet resolve as the three of them stepped out of the construction yard and into the restless city.
The air tasted brighter. Thinner. Alive.
The next rift wasn't just coming.
It was coming for him.