The cold dawn crept over London as the Vanguard prepared for their first joint mission—an investigation of a newly opened rift in the city's underground tunnels.
Kai stood at the entrance, his fingers twitching with anticipation. His Voidwalker domain hummed quietly, the memories of the Time Training Room still fresh.
"We'll need to be sharp," Mina said, loading her flaming bat. "These tunnels breed monsters unlike anything above ground."
Lucien nodded, his calm gaze steady. "Our goal: close the rift before it grows unstable."
Inside the tunnels
Shadows twisted and flickered. The faint glow of the rift pulsed like a heartbeat ahead.
Suddenly, the air exploded with monstrous shrieks.
From the darkness surged a pack of Rift Hounds—level 5, fast, vicious, and coordinated.
Kai blinked forward, his movements a blur.
[Voidwalker Ability: Time Rift Activated]
The tunnel slowed as Kai unleashed his new skill. The Rift Hounds snarled, their motions dragging through thick syrup-like air.
He sent out a Void Echo shadow clone that leapt between the beasts, distracting them.
"Go!" Kai shouted.
Lucien summoned a shimmering spear of light, piercing through one creature.
Mina swung her bat, flames whipping in a deadly arc, incinerating another.
Kai focused, analyzing the enemy's attack patterns with uncanny precision. His Time Training Room drills paid off—he dodged and countered flawlessly.
[Skill Upgrade: Time Rift Cooldown Reduced]
One by one, the Rift Hounds fell.
The rift pulsed violently, trying to expand. Lucien stepped forward, chanting an ancient spell that sealed its edges.
[Mission Complete: Rift Closed]
[Experience Gained: +800 XP]
[Kai Level Up → Lv.4]
Kai breathed hard, the adrenaline still rushing.
Meanwhile, far away—Chicago
In a high-rise overlooking the city, Elias Crowe sat before multiple screens displaying code and system metrics.
His eyes glinted with cold calculation.
[System Admin Access: 25%]
[Override Protocol: Active]
He tapped a few keys, injecting new lines of code into the world's system framework—modifying monster spawn points, manipulating rift behavior.
His goal was clear:
Control the chaos. Control the power. Control the future.
Elias smiled, fingers hovering above a red button labeled:
[Execute: Global Rift Surge – Phase One]
The world was shifting, but only he knew how far the pieces would fall—and how high he would rise.