Chapter 2: Into the Rift
Kaito stumbled down a narrow back alley, Aya leading the way with fluid grace. The sounds of Skyguard sirens echoed above them, growing distant as they vanished into the tangled maze of forgotten streets.
"Who the hell are you?" Kaito demanded, heart hammering in his chest.
Aya slowed, glancing back. Her neon-blue eyes flickered like a glitch in the Matrix.
"I'm Aya. Aya Vesper. You're Riftborn, just like me. They would have captured you. Dissected you. Turned you into a weapon."
Kaito stopped dead in his tracks. "Riftborn? I don't even know what that means!"
Aya studied him for a second. "It means you're not just human anymore. You're something... more. Something the corporations fear."
She tapped the side of her head.
"You can see the Riftlines, right? The cracks?"
Kaito nodded slowly, his throat dry.
Aya offered a small, rare smile. "Then you're one of us."
A sudden burst of static from her wrist-comm made her stiffen.
"They're deploying Phasehunters," she hissed. "We need to move—now."
Without another word, she led him through a hidden access panel behind a dumpster, down into a forgotten part of the city—an ancient maintenance system, untouched by the glittering upgrades above.
The walls here pulsed with old tech—analog circuits and magnetic doors—the kind the corporations couldn't control easily.
As they descended deeper, Kaito's Shadowseed began to vibrate against his chest.
He pulled it out. A faint map flickered across its surface: tunnels, hidden rooms... and at the very center, a pulsing mark labeled Sanctuary.
Aya noticed. "Your device... it's Riftborn tech too?"
"I built it myself," Kaito said, confused.
Aya looked at him with something close to awe. "Or maybe it built you."
They reached a wide underground chamber filled with old server towers, their screens flickering with ghostly data. Strange symbols floated above them, visible only to Kaito and Aya — ancient code from the Rift.
Aya knelt before one of the servers, placing her hand against its cracked shell. The server responded, humming to life. A doorway formed from pure light.
Beyond it, Kaito saw shadows moving.
Not human.
Not machine.
Something in between.
Aya stood, facing him.
"This is the entrance to the Rift itself," she said. "Once you step through... there's no turning back."
Kaito hesitated, feeling the weight of his entire life pressing down on him.
He thought of the lies the city fed its people.
He thought of the truth hiding beneath their neon skies.
He thought of freedom.
He stepped forward.
"I'm in."
Together, they disappeared into the light.