The victory celebrations didn't last long.
After Lucien's fall, the Heartguard had barely an hour to regroup before the notifications came flooding in. Rift signatures weren't isolated. They were spreading—unstoppable, malignant tears in the fabric of the realm, growing in size and number.
The war had merely paused to catch its breath.
Hikaru lay on a stone bench inside what remained of Blackflood's ancient sanctuary. The fire from Lucien's cataclysm had scorched the forest down to ash and melted half the mountain's edge. Yet the sanctuary remained, shielded by old, lingering magic.
Illya leaned over him, wrapping fresh bandages across his torso.
"Three broken ribs, a fractured forearm, and internal burns. You really like flirting with death, huh?"
He chuckled, wincing. "It's mutual, I think."
Illya didn't smile. "You know this wasn't just another boss. Lucien was part of something... bigger."
"I know." Hikaru's expression darkened. "The System pinged me right before I blacked out."
He pulled up his interface.
[System Directive Unlocked]
Title Earned: Breaker of Rituals
Trait Gained: Rift-Touched
You have interfered with a world-altering ritual. The eyes beyond now know your name.
Tracking Status: Active. You will be hunted.
Illya's breath caught in her throat. "You're marked."
"And not just me," he muttered. "This whole region is on a list now."
Outside the sanctuary, Heartguard survivors erected makeshift tents. The ground was unstable. The air still carried cinders. Brant directed a group to dig proper latrines, while Kaela organized the food stores.
They were no longer just adventurers.
They were pioneers.
By noon, scouts returned with alarming news. The eastern path to Veilspire had collapsed into a canyon. The river Blackflood once nourished had dried to a trickle, rerouted by the volcanic upheaval of Lucien's defeat.
Worse, several zones previously marked as "Safe" now shimmered with yellow threat indicators.
System Alert:
Blackflood Basin downgraded from Tier-3 Zone → Contested Rift Zone
Recommended Player Level: 50+
Brant slammed his fist into a rock. "We kill the boss and the land punishes us?"
Kaela shook her head. "Lucien wasn't the disease. He was the fever. We're dealing with something far worse now."
"Something's trying to rewrite the rules," Illya said softly.
Hikaru nodded. "And it's using us to do it."
Just then, a communication flare soared overhead—brilliant blue against the smoke-gray sky. The flare meant only one thing: an incoming message from another player settlement.
Illya read the message aloud to the gathered team:
From: Player ID – Kaizen13 (Governor of Dreadmoor Bastion)
Urgent: Rift eruption destabilizing entire western defense line.
Wards failing. Casualties mounting.
Request immediate assistance.
Dozens of players fleeing toward Veilspire.
Warning: Unknown entity breaching command channels. Suspected corruption in System.
"We see the one who broke the flame's spine. He shall burn next."
A chill passed through the camp.
"They know your name," Illya whispered. "This… this message was intercepted mid-send. That's not just ambient magic anymore. The System is being touched."
"Corrupted," Kaela corrected. "Like Lucien was, only now it's the environment, the UI, and maybe more."
System Prompt:
New World Event Activated – Phase II Begins
Title: Shattered Chains: The Age of Riftlords
Objectives:
– Secure player settlements (Dreadmoor, Veilspire, Echo's Hollow)
– Neutralize corrupted System nodes
– Defend against Rift incursions
Time Remaining: 7 Days (Server-Time)
"So we're not done with world bosses," Brant muttered.
"No," Hikaru said. "Now they're just... organized."
Scouting Party
Hours later, Hikaru formed a team of five for reconnaissance.
Hikaru (Duelist/Rift-Touched)Illya (Elementalist/Arcane Seer)Brant (Vanguard/Warden's Crest)Kaela (Support Cleric/Healer of the Wilds)HelixJump (Scout Rogue/Acrobatics Specialist)
The mission: investigate a nearby spire of obsidian growing unnaturally fast from the ruins of Blackflood's edge. Several players who went to examine it earlier hadn't returned.
The journey was grueling. The earth steamed with residual mana, and corrupted creatures prowled the once-familiar paths. Even basic mobs like flame wolves had mutated—growing extra limbs, spitting black fire, or warping unpredictably.
The group approached the spire at dusk. It pulsed with black and red light, like a heartbeat made visible.
Kaela murmured, "This isn't natural. This is System-grown."
[System Ping: Anomalous Rift Node Detected]
Class: Beta-Tier Rift Core
Status: Semi-Stable
Hostile Entity Nearby
They didn't have to wait long.
From the shadows emerged a knight. Or what once had been one.
Its armor was rusted and etched with ancient runes. A tattered cloak fluttered behind it, made of woven mist. Where its face should have been, a mass of red smoke swirled, whispering unintelligible chants.
[Enemy Identified: Riftspawn Champion – Mourning Sentinel]
Level: 58
Threat Type: Elite – Corrupted Defender
Abilities: Memory Reap, Mirror Shatter, Shield of Forgotten Oaths
Brant stepped forward, raising his shield. "Boss-level defense type. My kind of fight."
"Not alone," Hikaru said, unsheathing his blade. "This one's personal."
The Sentinel struck first. It teleported without warning, appearing behind Kaela in a whisper of wind. Its massive glaive swept down, sparking as it collided with Brant's emergency shield.
Illya raised her staff.
[Skill: Gravity Surge – Zone Collapse]
The battlefield warped, increasing pressure around the Sentinel. It staggered—but didn't fall.
"Focus on its mask!" Hikaru shouted. "The whispers are powering it!"
HelixJump dashed through its legs, stabbing at the runes on its shin. One rune cracked. The Sentinel roared, fire bursting from its wounds.
Kaela channeled healing faster than the group could take damage. "Keep the rhythm!"
[Hikaru – 87% HP → 56% → 72% (Heal)]
They fought in a brutal dance—steel, fire, shadow, and resolve clashing beneath the dying sky. Finally, Hikaru activated his new trait:
[Skill: Riftlash – Tether to Target / Channel Rift Energy / Disrupt Core Stability]
A glowing line of code lashed from his blade into the Sentinel. The knight's whispers became screams, and the red smoke tore from its mask like it had been sucked into a vacuum.
[Enemy Defeated: Mourning Sentinel]
As its body crumbled, the obsidian spire stopped pulsing.
And in its place…
A doorway opened.
A perfectly carved stone arch, inscribed with glowing System runes.
[System Notification: Hidden Instance Unlocked – Rift Origin: Echoes of the First War]
Illya stepped forward, her hand trembling. "What is this?"
"Not just a dungeon," Hikaru said. "It's a memory. One the System buried."
Brant grunted. "Do we go in now?"
"No." Hikaru's gaze was cold. "We prep the others first. We don't go in blind again."
Behind them, Blackflood's corrupted land rumbled. The rift hadn't closed. It had grown—waiting.
But for now, they had time.
Time to breathe.
Time to prepare.
Because war was coming again.
And next time, it wouldn't be Lucien.
It would be something far worse.