The wind howled across the cliffs of Ardent Reach, scattering dust and light in a storm of silver haze. Below us stretched an ocean of clouds, glowing faintly under the Riftlight. Somewhere beyond that horizon drifted the city of Aurin, suspended among the winds like a forgotten jewel.
For days we had followed Soren's guidance through the shifting plains, crossing lands twisted by Riftlight storms. The farther we went, the stranger the world became. Mountains floated in slow motion above valleys. Trees grew upside down from the sky. Rivers flowed with liquid light instead of water. It was as if reality itself had lost its balance.
Ren trudged ahead, goggles around his neck and his tone half playful, half weary. "You know, if anyone told me last month I'd be climbing invisible stairs toward a floating city with three half legends and a woman who might have created the universe's biggest problem, I'd have stayed in bed."
Kael gave him a sidelong glance. "You talk too much when you're nervous."
"I talk too much when I'm alive," Ren replied with a grin.
Lyra followed behind, her robe trailing softly across the glowing ground. She seemed almost ethereal under the light, like she belonged to the air itself. "The path to Aurin is guarded by illusions," she warned. "Keep your thoughts clear. The Rift feeds on confusion."
I glanced down at my device. Its readings flickered erratically, the signal twisting like smoke. "The Riftlight is denser here. My readings are almost useless. If it grows any stronger, I won't be able to stabilize the field around us."
Soren's calm voice cut through the rising wind. "Then trust your instincts instead of your instruments, Akiya. The Skyforge will reveal itself only to those who listen, not to those who calculate."
I frowned slightly. "That sounds like something my professor used to say before breaking the lab."
He smiled faintly. "Then perhaps your professor was wiser than you thought."
We continued upward along a narrow ridge that faded into the mist. Lightning flashed within the clouds below, but it wasn't natural lightning it glowed blue and moved in spirals, as though alive. The hum in the air grew stronger.
When the mist finally parted, we saw it.
Aurin.
The floating city hung above the clouds like a dream turned solid. Spires of glass and metal twisted toward the heavens, connected by glowing bridges. Waterfalls of light poured from its edges, vanishing into the mist below. Even from this distance, I could feel the pulse of energy radiating from its core the unmistakable signature of the Skyforge.
"It's magnificent," Lyra whispered. "The last forge that still breathes."
But before awe could fully settle, Soren's expression darkened. "Something is wrong. The air currents… they're unstable."
Then we saw them.
Shapes moving within the mist pale, translucent figures crawling through the air, their bodies flickering like broken reflections. The Riftborn.
Kael drew his blade in a single motion. "Positions!"
Ren powered up his pulse gauntlet, a low hum filling the air. "I was hoping for sightseeing, not ghost hunting."
Lyra raised her pendant, its glow brightening. "They are drawn to the Skyforge's energy. They smell its awakening."
The creatures screamed, a sound like shattering glass. They dove toward us in waves.
Kael met the first with a clean strike, his sword slicing through one of them in a burst of light. I focused my energy, activating my device's field generator. The pulse expanded outward, forming a thin barrier around our group. It shimmered blue for a moment before stabilizing.
"Barrier up!" I shouted.
Ren fired bursts of concentrated plasma, his movements quick and fluid. "You know, this would be easier if your monsters didn't ignore physics!"
"They're not bound by physics!" I called back. "They're fragments of the Rift's consciousness!"
He rolled his eyes. "Great, sentient nightmares. Just what I needed."
Lyra's voice rose in chant, ancient and melodic. "Sora no hikari, mamotte kudasai!" Sky's light, protect us. A circle of white energy spiraled out from her, forcing several Riftborn back into the mist.
Soren stepped forward, extending his hand. Light gathered around his palm, forming a spear of pure crystal. He hurled it into the heart of the swarm, and the air exploded with brilliance.
For a brief moment, everything fell silent.
Then, the Skyforge answered.
A low, resonant hum echoed across the sky, vibrating through my bones. Aurin's spires flared with light, one by one, as if waking from centuries of sleep. Streams of energy arced across the sky, and the Riftborn shrieked as their bodies dissolved into mist.
When the last one vanished, the world grew quiet again. The wind softened. The clouds began to part, revealing the full majesty of the floating city above.
Ren exhaled shakily. "So… does anyone else feel like we just rang a very big, very dangerous bell?"
Lyra lowered her hand slowly. "You are correct. The Skyforge is awake."
Kael turned to me. "What happens now?"
I stared at the glowing city, heart pounding. "Now we find out if it remembers me."
Soren nodded gravely. "Then we must reach the Core before the Rift does. If it senses the Forge's activation, it will send something stronger than shadows."
We began the ascent toward the luminous bridges leading into Aurin. The air itself shimmered with residual energy, and every step we took felt heavy with destiny.
Inside the city, streets of glass wound between massive pillars. The structures were half ruined yet still alive, glowing softly under the Riftlight. In the distance, the Core tower rose above all others a spiral of pure light surrounded by arcs of energy.
Ren whistled softly. "I'm starting to see why they called this the Skyforge. The whole place looks like it's built from a storm."
As we walked, Soren spoke quietly beside me. "Do you feel it, Akiya? The resonance between your energy and the Forge?"
I nodded. "It's like a heartbeat. It matches mine."
"Then the Forge recognizes you."
Before I could respond, Lyra suddenly stopped. "Wait." Her voice trembled slightly. "Do you hear that?"
I listened. Faintly, beneath the hum of energy, came a sound like breathing. Deep, slow, rhythmic.
Ren frowned. "Tell me that's the wind."
Soren's expression turned grim. "No. That's the Guardian."
The air split open with a flash.
From the center of the bridge rose a colossal figure made of light and crystal, its body shifting between forms / human, dragon, machine. Its voice thundered like a storm.
"Who dares awaken the Skyforge?"
Kael stepped forward, sword ready. "We seek passage to the Core!"
The Guardian's eyes flared. "Only the one bound to the Gate may pass."
Its gaze turned toward me. The light around it dimmed for a moment. "You… are not the first."
The words froze me. "You know me?"
"I have known every Gateborn," the Guardian said. "And I have watched them fall."
Before I could answer, its massive hand raised, forming a sphere of blinding energy. The bridge shook beneath us.
Ren cursed. "I think it's time for Plan Run!"
Kael glanced at me. "Akiya, what do we do?"
I took a step forward, my hands trembling. The pulse within my chest synchronized with the Forge's rhythm. The air shimmered around me.
"Let me try," I whispered.
The Guardian paused, the light flickering uncertainly.
I reached out with my thoughts, not just to speak but to connect to synchronize my energy with the Forge. The world around me blurred, and for a heartbeat, I saw flashes of other times, other lives every Gateborn who had come before me, each trying and failing to save their worlds.
Their voices echoed in my mind. Do not repeat our mistake.
Then something shifted.
The Guardian lowered its arm slowly. "Your resonance is true. The Forge remembers you."
The light around it dimmed to a calm glow. "Pass, Gateborn. But know this once the Core is awakened, the Rift will awaken too. Your worlds will become one, or neither will survive."
The bridge solidified beneath our feet again.
Kael stepped beside me. "That was either the bravest thing I've ever seen or the craziest."
"Maybe both," Ren said. "Mostly crazy."
Soren smiled faintly. "It seems destiny has accepted your call, Akiya."
I looked up at the towering Core beyond the bridge, its light pulsing like a living star. "Then let's finish what we started."
As we entered the city's heart, the wind carried the whisper of unseen voices. The Skyforge had awakened and somewhere, deep within the Rift, something else had too.
..."to be continued...."