The doors behind him hissed open with a quiet glyph-seal release.
"I knew I'd find you here," said a familiar voice.
It was Kaiser Ortega, Ethan's best friend.He was already an awakened but even tho he was busy,he still made time for his best friend Ethan.
Kaiser stepped onto the balcony in sleek, dark sparring armor — half ceremonial, half lethal. The polearm strapped across his back glinted with etched sigils. His hair was a windblown mess as always, and he wore that same half-grin that said 'I could knock you over or hug you, depending on how this morning goes.'
"You're up early," Ethan said, not turning.
"So are you."
Kaiser leaned against the opposite pillar. "Let me guess — dreams again?"
Ethan didn't answer immediately. "Not dreams. Just... pressure. Like something's pressing inside me."
"Maybe it's indigestion," Kaiser said with a smirk.
"Maybe it's a prophecy."
They both chuckled — but only one of them meant it.
They walked through the upper halls of the royal complex — all sapphire-white stone and high archways lit by suspended flame orbs. Attendants bowed as they passed, and armored Sigil Watchers saluted. Despite Ethan's quiet nature, the palace respected him — as one might respect a prince. He was the second son of the great King Kaelor Valtaris. His bloodline has been fighting off the rifts for 2 centuries now,They were a living symbol of peace and justice.But symbols didn't make decisions. Or enemies.
Only power did that,which Kaelor Valtaris had plenty of.
Kaiser broke the silence again. "The Assessors are talking. They're re-running Rift probability threads. Something's coming. You feel it, don't you?"
Ethan nodded. "The wind's wrong. The stars aren't where they should be."
"You sound like Emilia," Kaiser muttered.
"I've learned to listen to her."
"She is smarter than you."
Ethan smirked.
But deep inside, something was wrong.
He did feel it.
Not just coming from the weather alone— but like something was circling him,Watching him.
As they exited the tower onto a skybridge overlooking the merchant district, Ethan paused. Below, the market square buzzed with early activity. Traders moved hover-carts, spellcrafters pitched potions, and children chased flicker-drones.
Then… everything stopped.
Not literally — but for a second, Ethan couldn't hear any sound. No birds. No wind. No footsteps.
Just a ringing — soft, low, distant — like a bell underwater.
He blinked.
Kaiser was speaking beside him, but his mouth made no sound.
Ethan looked down at his hands.
The golden-blue stripe across his wrist had returned, stretching up his forearm, glowing faintly beneath the skin.
Then a shockwave of cold air rushed across the bridge.
It was gone.
Everything was normal again.
Kaiser glanced over. "You okay?"
Ethan exhaled slowly. "Yeah. Just tired."
That night, Ethan stood alone in the bathhouse chamber, watching his reflection in the still water.
The stripes were there now — three of them.
Across his shoulders. His ribs. His chest.
Not painted. Not etched.
They glowed with something like an enchanting golden hew.
He had noticed many people awaken but none of it was like this and it scared him
Was it a gif?was it a blessing? or was it just the start to something terrifying.
And far above the skies of Abhokai, a crack began to form — faint, almost invisible — like the eye of a storm pressed against reality's skin.
The Rift was not just approaching.
It's like it was breathing and with each pulse,it slowly got bigger.
The rift was opening