Chapter 8: Riftborn Trials
The air inside the Riftborn's main hall was heavy with tension.
Kaito stood under the harsh glare of spotlights, sweat beading on his brow. Around him, Riftborn veterans lined the scaffolding and catwalks, leaning over to watch. Murmurs echoed — low, doubtful, hungry for blood.
Aya stood before him, arms crossed. Beside her, Mira wore a slight smirk, while Jax cracked his knuckles loudly. Dr. Shiro adjusted his glasses, looking more nervous than anyone else.
"This isn't a charity," Aya said, voice cutting the air like a blade. "If you want to stay with us, you have to earn it."
Kaito nodded stiffly. He expected nothing less.
Aya raised three fingers. "Three trials. Pass them, and you're one of us. Fail... and you find your own way."
Jax laughed, a low rumble. "Or you don't find anything at all."
Kaito ignored him. His heart thudded in his chest, but his mind locked in, sharp and focused.
He had come too far to turn back now.
Aya dropped her first finger. "Trial One — survive the Riftbeast simulation."
A heavy door slammed open behind Kaito. From the darkness emerged a shimmering construct — a Riftbeast, its form unstable, snapping between beast and machine. Red eyes burned in its twisted skull.
A hologram.
But deadly enough.
The creature lunged.
Kaito dodged instinctively, rolling under its sweeping claws. Sparks exploded where the Riftbeast struck the metal floor. He fired his pistol — once, twice — the holographic rounds disrupting its form slightly but not enough.
The Shadowseed buzzed at his side.
Without thinking, Kaito pulled at it — and a surge of raw data erupted from his palm, spearing the Riftbeast through the core.
The construct shattered into a storm of neon shards.
The crowd murmured louder now. Aya smiled slightly. One down.
She raised a second finger. "Trial Two — unlock the Sealed Gate."
Kaito was led to a massive, ancient Riftgate — a circular structure covered in old glyphs and heavy locking mechanisms. It thrummed with dormant energy.
He reached out.
The Shadowseed pulsed once — and for a moment, he could see through the machine, tracing the circuits, understanding the language of its locks.
Moving with sudden confidence, he tapped a sequence of points. The gate shimmered, hissed — then unlocked with a deep boom.
Cheers erupted above. Even Mira's smirk faltered.
Aya raised her last finger. "Final Trial — beat me."
She drew two training blades, tossing one to Kaito.
They clashed immediately — Aya was fast, precise, deadly. Kaito was sloppy but unpredictable, diving and flipping like he had nothing to lose.
For minutes they danced, steel flashing, feet pounding.
Finally, Kaito used the move he barely understood:
He Glitchstepped — blinking through space a meter to Aya's blind side — and disarmed her with a clumsy but desperate strike.
Silence fell.
Then, laughter.
Real, genuine.
Aya offered her hand.
"You're one of us now, Kaito."
And for the first time since this nightmare started, Kaito smiled.
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[End of Chapter 8]