The air trembled. A sound like a thousand glass panes shattering at once echoed down the ruined street. Jack could barely hear his own heartbeat over the screaming, the rumbling, and the metallic whine of something inhuman stalking closer.
It stepped into view at last — not a beast, not a soldier, but something between the two. Seven feet tall, skin like pale obsidian streaked with glowing veins, and eyes that burned a bright electric blue. Its face was almost human — almost — but too symmetrical, too perfect, like an AI sculpted it from a memory of a god.
"Holy…shit," Jack whispered, his voice cracking as the thing's gaze pinned him. It cocked its head like a predator curious about its prey.
Behind him, Lila whimpered. "Jack…what is that—"
He put an arm out, shielding her automatically even though his hands were shaking. "I…don't know."
The creature took another step, the cracked pavement sagging under its weight. It didn't run. It didn't roar. It just…stalked forward, as if testing how far it could push him before he bolted.
A cold voice hummed in his skull. [Warning: Hostile Entity Detected.]
Eve.
He swallowed. "Great. Now you wanna talk?"
[Analyzing target.]
"I don't need analysis, I need a way out!" Jack hissed under his breath.
The thing lunged. One second it was ten meters away, the next it was directly in front of him, an arm like forged steel swinging toward his chest. Jack barely rolled aside; the shockwave from the strike blew dust and shards of asphalt into the air.
Lila screamed. Jack grabbed her hand, yanking her backward. "Move!"
[Recommendation: Evade.] Eve's tone was flat, clinical. No warmth. No empathy.
"No kidding!" Jack snapped.
They sprinted down the street, darting past overturned cars and shattered glass storefronts. The humanoid moved after them, not running but simply appearing closer with each step, like space itself was bending to its will.
Jack's lungs burned. His legs felt like lead. But when he glanced at Lila — face pale, hair matted with ash — something hot and protective flared in his chest.
"I'm not letting it touch you," he muttered.
[User's vitals: 172 bpm. Cortisol spike. Neural pathways…unstable.]
"English, Eve!"
[You're about to break.]
The street dead-ended at a collapsed overpass. No way forward. Jack spun, putting Lila behind him as the humanoid closed in. It tilted its head again, almost curious.
"Guess this is it…" Jack whispered. He clenched his fists. "Not today."
[Analyzing battlefield…calculating survivability: 0.07%.]
"Gee, thanks for the pep talk."
For the first time, Eve's voice glitched — like a radio picking up static. [Override…initiating. Hidden Function: Temporal Rift – Prototype.]
Jack blinked. "What—"
Pain lanced through his skull like molten wire. His vision flickered white. And then the world…slowed.
He could see every grain of dust hanging in the air. The humanoid's arm was halfway raised, moving like it was trapped in syrup. Even Lila's tears floated slowly from her eyes.
"What the…" Jack whispered. His voice sounded like thunder in a cave.
A faint HUD appeared over his vision: [Temporal Rift: 4.9…4.8…4.7 seconds remaining.]
No time to think. He lunged forward, adrenaline pumping, his body feeling both heavy and impossibly light. He snatched Lila's arm and yanked her sideways, slipping past the creature's strike in what felt like eternity compressed into seconds.
His mind screamed with effort. Every movement burned, like he was pushing through wet cement.
He saw a chunk of rebar jutting from the wreckage and grabbed it, spinning just as the timer hit 1.2 seconds.
Time snapped back.
The humanoid's arm slammed down, but Jack was already behind it, driving the rebar into its glowing veins. Sparks of blue light erupted. The thing hissed, jerking backward with something like surprise.
Jack staggered, clutching his head. His nose was bleeding. His ears rang.
[Temporal Rift cooldown: 12 hours.]
"Holy…shit…" he gasped.
The creature turned, slower now but even angrier, its glowing veins pulsing like a heartbeat.
Lila stared at him, wide-eyed. "Jack…what…what did you just do?"
He wiped the blood from his upper lip, forcing a grin he didn't feel. "Bought us time."
Another voice whispered in his head — not Eve, but something deeper, older. A message in text only he could see:
[Hidden Quest: Survive the Ascendant.]
Jack's smile faded. "Oh no…"
The ground shook. Far above, the sky cracked — just for a second — and through that hairline fracture he saw something impossible: a vast shadow moving between stars, a shape with wings like cities and a tail that glimmered like a blade.
His heart skipped a beat.
The system pinged again.
[Warning: Entity Nyxion stirring.]
Jack's stomach dropped. "Yeah…we're so screwed."
The humanoid roared — the sound of a hurricane ripping through steel — and lunged again.
Eve's voice was sharper now. [User must retreat. Your vitals—]
"Shut up and help me!" Jack shouted, ducking under a swing. He felt his ribs bruise as a glancing blow caught him, sending him sprawling into a wrecked taxi.
Lila screamed his name.
He forced himself up, coughing blood. "Lila…run…"
"No!" she yelled, but her voice cracked.
[Activating Emergency Shield.] Eve's tone was still cold, but faster, like she'd stopped pretending she didn't care. A faint barrier flickered around Jack's body — it wasn't much, just enough to take the edge off the next hit.
The humanoid's eyes flared brighter. It crouched like a predator about to pounce.
Jack's vision blurred. The HUD blinked a new message:
[New Skill Unlocked: Reflex Surge.]
"What the hell is that?"
[Combine with Temporal Rift for increased effect.]
He had no time to ask how. He moved.
Time bent again — not as slow as before, but just enough to let him sidestep the killing blow and ram the rebar deeper into the humanoid's glowing chest. Blue light erupted like liquid fire. The creature staggered, then threw him aside like a rag doll.
Jack hit the ground hard, seeing stars.
The system chimed again.
[Quest Progress: 17%. Survive.]
He rolled onto his back, chest heaving. "You've…gotta be kidding me…"
Lila crawled to him, tears streaking her face. "Jack, please—"
He grinned weakly, blood on his teeth. "Told you…I'm not letting it touch you."
Above them, the sky cracked a second time, wider now. Through it, a single glowing eye peered down — too big, too ancient to belong to anything mortal.
The system whispered:
[The Abomination watches.]
Jack's smile faded completely. "Yeah…we're definitely screwed."