The city had changed.
Smoke rose from the cracks in the skyline. Sirens cried out from every block. Emergency ships hovered low, scanning buildings with red lights. The streets were scattered with broken glass and abandoned gear.
**Arken City** had survived the Rift…
But just barely.
Kael moved through the alleys like a shadow, his hood pulled low over his face. His hands still ached from gripping that pipe. His shirt was torn. Dried blood clung to his arm.
> *I killed a Rift Beast.*
> *I died. Came back. Fought. Won.*
> *But no one saw it.*
Part of him wished someone had.
The other part was glad they hadn't.
Because now, something felt **wrong**.
---
He reached a tall apartment block—old, cracked, with rusted railings. Home.
Kael lived on the 22nd floor. Alone.
He used to live with his older brother, Lucen. But Lucen had joined a mid-tier Rift guild two years ago and never returned from a mission.
Everyone said Lucen was brave.
Kael knew the truth.
Lucen had been **terrified** before he left.
He'd told Kael something strange the night before.
> "If anything happens, don't trust the system. Don't trust the guilds. And if you ever feel time… slipping? Run."
Kael had never understood that. Until now.
---
His apartment was cold.
Small. Grey walls. One bed. A cracked mirror. A broken wall screen. The fridge blinked "EMPTY."
Kael dropped the metal pipe on the floor. Sat down.
Breathed.
> *What even am I now?*
He opened his system screen again.
---
### 🧿 \[STATUS – KAEL ARDYN]
> ▸ LVL: 3
> ▸ Class: \[Unknown]
> ▸ Trait: Singular Point
> ▸ Title: None
> ▸ Skill: \[Second Strike]
> ▸ Rewind Charges: 0
> ▸ Path Progress: \[Voidwalker – 3%]
---
> *No new charges...*
So rewinding had a limit. He couldn't just use it whenever he wanted.
He'd need to earn more somehow.
Or maybe… they'd come on their own.
He wasn't sure.
> *What is a Voidwalker?*
> *Why did that screen ask if I wanted to open a "Thread"?*
He pulled up the screen again. The black one—the one that felt deeper, darker.
---
### 🕳 \[VOIDWALKER PATH – STAGE 1 REACHED]
> Do you wish to open your **First Rift Thread**?
>
> \[Yes] / \[No]
---
Kael hesitated again.
> *Is it a trap? A reward? A test?*
He clicked **\[No]**.
Not yet.
He needed to think.
---
He stood and moved toward the window, wiping dust off the cracked glass.
Far in the distance, across the skyline…
A strange figure stood on a rooftop.
Black cloak.
No face. Just glowing white eyes beneath a hood.
Kael froze.
> *What the hell—?*
The figure tilted its head.
As if it could see him.
As if it was waiting.
Then—
**It vanished.**
Like it was never there.
---
Kael stepped back.
> *Am I being watched...?*
---
He turned around to grab his jacket—
And saw it.
On the wall, scratched into the mirror with a sharp blade:
### ❝You're not supposed to exist.❞
---
His blood turned cold.
> *That wasn't there before.*
He backed away from the mirror, heart pounding.
> *Who wrote that?*
> *How did they get in here?*
The apartment was locked. The hallway cameras didn't work.
And no one knew he had awakened.
No one… except the system.
And maybe…
> *The Void.*
---
Suddenly, the lights in the apartment blinked twice.
And the system glitched.
A new screen forced itself open:
---
### ⚠️ \[FORCED SYSTEM MESSAGE]
> ❖ WARNING: PATH INTERFERENCE DETECTED
>
> Someone is watching you.
>
> The timeline you are walking no longer exists.
>
> "They" will come for you.
---
Kael stared at the message, frozen.
> *Who is "they"?*
Then, the screen disappeared.
---
Outside, the sirens kept screaming.
In the distance, another Rift pulse echoed through the city.
Kael stepped toward the door.
> *I need answers.*
> *And if something's coming for me…*
> *I'm going to be ready.*
**To be continued.**