Kaz felt the warmth of the hug linger on his skin, but comfort never had a chance to settle. He pulled back almost instantly, face flushed, cheeks burning with embarrassment.
Weaver just laughed—soft, amused—and turned back toward his desk at the front of the class, his expression unreadable.
"Prepare for the Rift," he said, that slight smile still on his face. "No more classes. It's almost time."
The words echoed louder than they should have.
Kaz stood there momentarily, still flustered, his mind fogged with too many thoughts and not enough answers. Without thinking, he turned and walked out of the classroom, the chill of the hallway brushing against his face.
Only when the door clicked shut behind him did he realise—
He'd left Sophie sleeping on the table.
But he didn't care.
Whether Sophie could walk back on her own or not—it wasn't his job to look after her. They weren't friends. Not really. And besides, his first entry into Eden was coming soon.
That was all that mattered now.
If Kaz was being honest with himself, he hadn't expected to be paired with Axion and Sophie. It felt like a twisted joke. Axion stood on the opposite side of Ryuma—dangerous, principled, and unpredictable. And Sophie? Sophie was sickly, strange… a girl whose only ability was dreaming.
How the hell am I supposed to survive like this? he thought bitterly.
The Rift didn't care about fairness. And now, Kaz would have to risk his life protecting someone who barely seemed real, while watching his back around someone who might just kill him the moment Ryuma gave the word.
Kaz had only ever considered teaming up with them once—and even then, he hated the idea.
Teaming up meant talking. Sharing. Trusting. It meant revealing your abilities, your Traits, maybe even your True Name if it came to that. And Kaz wasn't a fan of any of it. In the Rift, knowledge was power—and sharing the wrong detail with the wrong person could get you killed.
Even something as small as a Feature could be a death sentence if the wrong eyes noticed.
To Kaz, Eden wouldn't be a structured expedition or some noble path to glory.
It would be a random, bloody mess. A storm of chaos.
So, he left Sophie sleeping in the classroom without a second glance and headed back to the dorms. No guilt. No goodbyes.
He just went to sleep, quietly counting the hours until the next night came.
When Kaz woke, the first thing he noticed was the glow.
His skin shimmered with that same otherworldly light—soft, pulsing, unnatural. The mark of the Rift's choosing. There was no ceremony. No warning. Just light… and the inevitable pull.
Those chosen by the Rift never had a say. One moment you were in your bed, your classroom, your home—and the next, you were somewhere else. A world shaped by madness. A place where everything wanted you dead.
Kaz had already survived his first trial—in the hellish landscape of the Scorching Isles, where the sun burned the ground and Rift Beasts hunted from the shadows of flame. It had been torment. Pure, unending torment.
But this time was different.
He knew where he was going.
Eden.
The central hub. The meeting point of all worlds. A place where Evolved gathered, where Rift Beasts roamed like wild gods, and where only the strong survived. Kaz had only heard scraps—rumors, warnings, Weaver's carefully chosen words.
One thing stood out the most.
Rift Walkers.
Ghost-like beings. Human… but not quite. Not anymore. Weaver had warned that they hunted without reason, that they stalked the lost and the weak. He'd said they only craved one thing:
To kill.
And to take.
They wore the bodies of their victims like twisted masks—hollow skins stretched over their own cursed forms. And when they did… the souls trapped inside would go mad.
Kaz sat up slowly, breath catching in his throat.
The glow was getting brighter.
And Eden was calling.
Kaz knew what the glow meant.If he was already this far gone, then the others had to be close too.
One more day.That's all they had.
Tomorrow, they'd all be in Eden. No more waiting. No more classrooms. Just the call of the Rift—loud and irresistible, like a drumbeat in his bones.
He could feel it pulling at him.
But before he left this world again, there were a few things Kaz needed to take care of.
He stepped out of his dorm room, his mind already racing through the list—only to stop short.
Sophie was standing there, waiting.
She looked pissed.
Her expression was sharp, cold. There was no trace of her usual playfulness. Her posture was rigid, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. But it was her eyes that hit the hardest—those golden irises practically glowing in the hallway light, stark and burning with something between anger and disappointment.
It was a strange contrast. Beautiful, and furious.
Kaz sighed internally.
Here we go.
But suddenly, Sophie exhaled and relaxed her posture.
"Oh well," she said coldly, though something bitter leaked into her tone.
She glanced at Kaz, her golden eyes narrowing slightly before she continued, "You're not joining us right away... so that means we're going that route." She shook her head with a dry laugh, more tired than amused. "Man, I hate this one."
Without waiting for a response, she turned and walked off, muttering under her breath.
"Now I have to deal with him. Great."
Kaz didn't bother to ask what she meant.
He didn't care.
Let her mutter. Let her judge. He'd made his choice. He moved on his terms, walked his path—and no one, not Sophie, not Weaver, not fate itself, was going to stop him.
He'd already survived the Rift once.
And he'd do it again.
With no classes scheduled, Kaz decided to follow the same ritual he did before his first Rift.
He went to the cafeteria.
Most of the students were off training, packing, or panicking—each preparing for Eden in their own frantic way. But not Kaz. He moved with quiet purpose, headed straight to the food line, and grabbed the first sandwich he saw.
Peanut butter and jelly.
He took a bite, chewing slowly as the sweet and salty flavors mixed in his mouth. A small, unexpected smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
Not bad.
Might as well enjoy it. This could be the last decent thing he tasted for a while.
The cafeteria felt hollow now. The hum of conversation was gone. Just him, Sophie somewhere else, and the growing silence of an ending routine.
Most didn't understand his logic. Kaz didn't train the same way. He didn't cram spells or memorize Rift maps. Instead, he slept.
Every night class, every lull between lessons—he'd stockpiled sleep like it was rations for war. Twenty solid hours now, saved and sealed inside his body like a secret reserve.
It wasn't just habit. It was necessity.
His Commandment was Rest—and breaking it would be dangerous.
Stupid, maybe, he thought as he took another bite. But it's kept me alive this far.
And that had to count for something.
Kaz wandered outside and found a quiet patch of grass beneath the pale sky. The air was cool, still. He sat down slowly, legs crossed, arms resting loosely on his knees.
And he started to think.
So much had happened in just a few short months.
From clawing his way out of the Rift—barely alive, half-starved, half-mad—to seeing his sister again after three long years of silence. Three years without a word. Without knowing if she was even alive.
Then came the clans. The politics. The weight of things he didn't understand. He still remembered the shame of making a fool of himself in front of a clan leader—his words clumsy, his confidence thin.
But it hadn't all been failure.
He had learned.
Rift Survival. Crafting. Ancient Text.
Things most would take a year to touch, he'd devoured under Weaver's brutal but careful eye. And now, despite everything, Kaz felt… prepared.
Not perfect.
But ready enough to step forward.
Into Eden. Into the unknown.
Kaz lay back on the grass, eyes half-lidded as the first light of dawn crept over the horizon. The sun rose slowly, its rays brushing over his body—starting at his feet, then crawling up his legs, his chest, his neck. The glow of the Rift dimmed in its presence, as if the world itself was giving him one last moment of peace.
He felt the warmth.Not the terrifying heat of the Scorching Isles.But real warmth. Gentle. Human. Familiar.
And in that final moment, a strange thought passed through his mind.
Who was the government official supposed to protect this place, anyway?
He barely had time to finish the thought.
Light erupted from his body—violent, blinding, incandescent.
Then, just like that...
Kaz vanished.