The aftermath was quiet. Too quiet.
Kai sat alone in the Time Training Room, reviewing the battle frame-by-frame. His movements had improved—but Elias had still outmatched him.
> [Voidwalker Domain: Memory Sync Completed]
[New Skill Acquired: Temporal Echo – Replay last 3 seconds of combat to predict or change outcome.]
"Too slow," he muttered.
Nyx entered, silent as always. "You hurt him."
"I missed."
"No. You reached him. No one else has."
Kai looked up, and for once, she removed her mask.
Her eyes glowed faint violet—marked by Rift energy, but human.
"I need to tell you the truth," she said. "Elias and I… we built the first Rift Core. We thought we could stabilize the system, protect the world."
"But it corrupted him," Kai said.
She nodded. "And I walked away. But the Core remained. Now he's rebuilding it—with system access I helped him create."
A long silence passed between them.
"I won't let him finish it," Kai finally said.
"And I won't let you fall like he did," Nyx replied.
> [Kai Gained Passive: Nyx's Insight – +10% Rift Resistance when near Nyx.]
---
The world stands on the brink.
One Rift at a time, Kai must stop a collapse not just of dimensions—but of the soul of the man who once trained him.