DESYREBOUND

The merged Rift terrain twisted ahead like a broken city folded into itself — fractured streets, steel skeletons, floating debris frozen in mid-collapse. Squad Three had already dropped in. Squad Two's last checkpoint sealed behind them with a hiss.

The simulation field stretched wide now — no more tight corridors. No more rules.

"Eyes up," Levi muttered, gravity pulsing around his boots as he walked sideways across a broken wall. "This place ain't stitched right."

"It's warped," Min-ji agreed, visor flickering. "Like something halfway rendered and left unfinished."

From another section of the map, Kael's voice crackled through comms. "We're heading east. Julienne's tracking residual surge lines. Regroup at the power station ruins."

"Copy," Charlotte replied.

Then silence.

Except for the shifting sound of metal groaning. Of static humming through the air like breath.

A Riftspawn dropped from the ceiling just as Vin turned.

It screeched — all angles and bone, claws longer than its limbs — and lunged.

Vin moved without thought. His eyes glowed amber as his body snapped into a crouch, arms flexing with lupine muscle. When the thing hit him, he didn't fall. He roared back, wrestling it mid-air before smashing it into a rusted pillar. The beast burst in a flick of static.

"Alright," he said, shaking off sparks. "Now I'm awake."

Three more Riftspawn darted into view — fast, panther-like, each trailing glitching trails of purple flame.

Levi slammed his boot down. A gravity pulse launched him skyward, then crushed the ground where the creatures had been. The space warped, steel folding like paper under pressure.

Charlotte stepped between him and the Riftspawn that remained. Her eyes flashed, her body shimmered — for a heartbeat, her aura echoed Levi's. A mirrored blast of downward force crumpled the last monster like it had been flattened by an invisible god.

Min-ji stepped forward slowly. Her hand glowed as she pointed at Charlotte.

"Copying your copy," she muttered. "Let's see what I can get."

The air shimmered again. Another wave of false-gravity warped the field. Min-ji's imitation was only 60% strength, but enough to keep the enemy pinned.

They didn't stop moving.

Squad Three carved a path, pushing east through broken scaffolds and echoing tunnels until at last—

A violet flare in the distance.

Julienne's pistol.

Kael.

The teams met at the edge of a burned-out plaza.

Julienne was crouched by Cyrhelle, who looked pale but conscious. Kael stood beside them, whip half-drawn and bloodless — but his eyes were sharp. Focused.

"Took your time," he said.

"Had to clean up after your fireworks," Levi shot back.

Vin rolled his neck. "Where's the boss?"

Julienne pointed toward a warped street split by a collapsed tower. "Residual Core surge is strongest ahead. Could be shielding. Could be bait."

Charlotte stepped closer to Cyrhelle, concerned. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," she said — too quickly.

Kael noticed but didn't push. "We move. Stay close."

The squads merged.

Twelve legs moved across shattered pavement toward the ruins of a collapsed metro station. The air changed again — thicker. Hungrier.

Julienne adjusted her scanner.

"Something's close. Wyrm-class or something pretending to be one."

Suddenly — the control room above flickered red.

> ALERT. INTEGRITY WARNING: UNSTABLE CORE SIGNATURE DETECTED.

The instructors shifted behind the glass.

A Coregen analyst frowned. "That's not a Riftspawn flare."

The Veil officer didn't blink. "Keep watching."

One of the WAA Ascenders monitoring nearby — a tall, scarred man in black armor — stepped forward.

"You're going to let them walk into a collapse zone?" he asked sharply.

"They're still in parameters," the Veil instructor replied coolly.

"Bullshit," he snapped. "You said the same thing last time. You watched Squad One nearly die. You ordered us not to intervene."

Her tone didn't change. "And you obeyed."

"That was a mistake."

"Then don't make another."

The Ascender took a step forward. "Say that again when one of those kids burns alive."

-----------

Below, Squad Two and Three slowed as the wind howled through the broken station.

Kael's voice was the first to cut the tension.

"...We're close."

His hand twitched near his blade.

From deep inside the station — a pulse.

Not a monster's roar.

Not a Rift's scream.

But something deeper.

Something about to wake up.

The projection screen glitched once. The core signature spiked.