Ezra stood still, listening.
The Forsaken Realm was no longer silent.
The three entities had emerged—the Seeker, the Devourer, and the Observer. Each carried its own force, its own existence, yet Ezra could feel something else.
Something deeper.
Far beyond where his golden eyes could see, a presence stirred.
The land trembled. The wind, once aimless, shifted, drawn toward a point beyond the horizon. The Forsaken Realm, despite its chaotic birth, had already begun to create its own laws. And yet, something did not belong.
Ezra's smirk faded.
[System Alert: Unknown Variable Detected]
[Classification Fails: Unable to Define Presence]
The anomaly turned its gaze toward the distant fracture in reality.
Ezra let out a slow breath. "Looks like we have an outlier."
The Forsaken Realm had created three balanced forces.
But now, the fourth presence threatened to shatter that balance before it even took root.
A low resonance spread through the air, vibrating through the bones of the Forsaken Realm. It was different from before—less like a creation taking its first breath and more like something being pulled into existence against its will.
Ezra's sharp gaze followed the pull of the wind. The Seeker, the Devourer, and the Observer turned as well, their attention drawn toward the distant source. They had accepted their places in this world, defined themselves within its forming laws, but this fourth presence… it did not belong.
The crack in the distance widened, the very fabric of the Forsaken Realm groaning as the presence forced its way in.
[System Alert: Reality Distortion Increasing]
[Fourth Entity Struggling to Stabilize]
Ezra narrowed his eyes. "You weren't supposed to be here, were you?"
Unlike the others, this one was not shaping itself. It did not claim its existence nor define its purpose. It was being made.
Or perhaps, it was being dragged here.
The anomaly tilted its head slightly. "It does not resonate with the Forsaken Realm. It is foreign."
Ezra felt it too. Where the first three entities had emerged from the world itself, this one did not. It carried the scent of something older, something familiar yet impossibly distant. A memory that did not belong to him, a presence that did not fit within the rules of this place.
The sky cracked above them.
A shape fell.
The impact sent a shockwave through the land, fracturing the ground where it landed. Dust and debris scattered as Ezra stepped forward, peering through the dissipating veil of distortion.
[System Alert: Fourth Entity Confirmed]
[Classification Pending…]
[System Cannot Establish Origin]
Ezra exhaled sharply. "This is different."
The dust settled, revealing a form—not like the others. Where the first three had been raw forces taking shape, this one already had form.
And it was human.
A figure lay motionless amidst the cracks in the ground, its body foreign to this world, as if it had been taken from somewhere else.
Ezra took another step forward. He did not need the system's alerts to know something was wrong. This presence—this being—was not meant to be part of the Forsaken Realm's creation.
And yet, here it was.
The figure stirred, its body trembling, its breathing uneven. It was alive.
The anomaly finally spoke. "This one… did not come from here."
Ezra's gaze darkened. "No. It was sent."
The Devourer took a single step forward, its form rippling like liquid shadow. It did not hesitate in its desire—it recognized that this thing did not belong, and in that recognition, it sought to erase it.
Ezra raised a hand, stopping it.
The Devourer hesitated, shifting slightly but obeying the silent command.
Ezra turned back toward the figure on the ground. He could see it now, the subtle differences, the way its existence did not conform to the Forsaken Realm's rules. Something—or someone—had thrown it into this world.
And whatever had done so had left it incomplete.
[System Alert: Fourth Entity Status—Unstable]
[Existence Not Fully Recognized]
[Potential External Influence Detected]
Ezra crouched slightly, his golden eyes scanning the figure closely. "You shouldn't be here. But now that you are… what will you do?"
The figure coughed, gasping for air as it finally moved. Its eyes—deep, hollow, filled with confusion—met Ezra's.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then, the figure shuddered, its voice barely a whisper.
"I… don't know where I am."
Ezra let out a slow breath. "Then you better figure it out quickly."
The Forsaken Realm was watching.
And it did not tolerate uncertainty for long.
The wind stirred again, carrying something Ezra hadn't noticed before.
A second fracture.
Ezra's smirk returned, but there was something colder behind it now. He turned his gaze toward the distant horizon, where the edges of the Forsaken Realm were no longer still.
Another ripple in reality. Another distortion waiting to take form.
Something else was coming.
And this time, it would not come alone.
The second fracture deepened, tearing further into the Forsaken Realm's fabric. Unlike the first, which had deposited an incomplete existence, this one was deliberate. It was not an accident, not an anomaly forced into being—it was an intrusion.
Ezra turned toward the disturbance, his golden eyes narrowing. The Seeker, the Devourer, and the Observer remained still, yet their presence vibrated with something unfamiliar—anticipation.
The first fallen entity still lay in the shattered ground, barely breathing. But Ezra knew instinctively that whatever was coming now…
It was not like the first.
The sky above them darkened, not in the way of nightfall, but in a way that suggested absence—a void where something essential had been stolen. The Forsaken Realm shuddered, its landscapes twisting in rejection, as if attempting to reject the intruder before it could fully arrive.
And then, a voice—a whisper that did not belong to this world—slipped through the fracture.
"So this is where you've hidden it."
Ezra's smirk returned, colder than before. "Now that's interesting."
The fracture widened into an abyssal wound, and from its depths, a figure emerged.
This one did not stumble, did not falter. It was not pulled into the Forsaken Realm like the first entity had been—it stepped forward with purpose. Its form was obscured, wrapped in shifting layers of reality that did not align, its edges refusing to settle into a single existence.
[System Alert: Foreign Presence Recognized]
[Entity Possesses Pre-Existing Knowledge]
[Caution Advised]
Ezra's gaze sharpened. "Pre-existing knowledge, huh? That means you came here for a reason."
The figure's form wavered, flickering between something humanoid and something else entirely—something impossible. It did not belong to the Forsaken Realm, nor did it try to conform to its rules. Instead, it brought its own.
The anomaly finally spoke, its voice calm yet deliberate. "This one… is not like the others."
Ezra could feel it, too. The first three entities had been born of the Forsaken Realm, shaping themselves within its laws. Even the first fallen entity, though foreign, had been incomplete—something abandoned, or thrown away.
But this new arrival?
It carried intent.
And then, for the first time, the figure's gaze locked onto Ezra.
Eyes that were not eyes but shifting voids of perception regarded him, unreadable and impossibly vast. The moment stretched, the weight of its presence pressing against the Forsaken Realm like an invading tide.
Then, in a voice that should not have existed here, it spoke again.
"We have found you at last."
Ezra's smirk widened. "Oh? And who, exactly, is 'we'?"
The air around them cracked, fracturing in response to the sheer presence of the intruder. Unlike the other entities, this one did not wait for the Forsaken Realm to accept it. Instead, it bent the world around it, forcing its own reality into existence.
The sky above split further, revealing glimpses of something outside this world. Beyond the fracture, shadows writhed, figures shifting in the distance, their forms indistinct yet present.
Ezra's fingers twitched, his mind analyzing every detail. He had seen many things—the corruption of fate, the rewriting of time—but this? This was something else.
[System Alert: Additional Anomalies Detected Beyond the Fracture]
[Potential Hostile Forces Approaching]
[Immediate Action Recommended]
The anomaly stepped forward, its presence flickering, as if reacting to the shift in balance. "This is an invasion."
Ezra chuckled, though his amusement did not reach his eyes. "It seems we've attracted some attention."
The figure in the fracture did not move, but Ezra could feel its gaze drilling into him, searching, assessing. It did not belong to the Forsaken Realm, but it knew him.
The first fallen entity, still weak and trembling, reacted. A pulse of instability surged through it, as though its very existence resonated with the new arrival. Its body convulsed, its form struggling to stabilize under the weight of the growing distortion.
Ezra observed carefully. "You weren't just thrown here, were you?"
The first fallen entity gasped, its voice barely above a whisper. "They… sent me… first."
Ezra's golden eyes narrowed. "A scout, then. A failed attempt to breach the Forsaken Realm."
The figure at the fracture did not deny it.
Instead, it smiled.
A slow, deliberate motion, as though it had all the time in the world.
"Your world is unfinished, Ezra Nacht. That makes it… vulnerable."
The Seeker, the Devourer, and the Observer reacted. Their presence pulsed in defiance, an unspoken response to the invading force. The Forsaken Realm was still young, but it was not defenseless.
Ezra's smirk did not fade. "And yet, you came personally. That tells me one thing—you need something here. You want something."
The fracture pulsed, widening ever so slightly. The figures in the distance moved closer, their outlines still obscured, but their intent clear.
The invader's voice was calm, but there was something ancient behind it, something dangerous.
"You are not the only one who wishes to rewrite fate."
Ezra's smirk finally vanished. For the first time, his amusement was replaced with something colder, sharper.
The Forsaken Realm had just begun.
And already, there were those who sought to claim it.