The Voidheart's core thrummed like a dying star, its crimson light casting jagged shadows across the crystalline spire. Kairo Voss stood before it, his team—Lira Hale, Taryn Voss, and Milo Kren—flanking him, their breaths ragged in the rift's heavy air. The glowing orb offered by the Riftborn pulsed, its whispers—"Take it, become one with the Void"—clawing at Kairo's mind, promising power to end the rift threatening Velmire. Above, Elara Vyn's [Astral Blade] clashed with the A-rank Riftborn Lord's claws, her starlight mana flickering. Kairo's body was breaking—blood streamed from his nose, ears, and eyes, his chest tight from Vaultspace's relentless toll—but the choice was his: accept the Riftborn's offer or fight on as the Vaultborn.
[Status Screen]
Name: Kairo Voss
Age: 16
Rank: C
Class: None
Skills:
• [Vaultspace] (Training Dimension, D+)
• [Spatial Awareness] (D, Passive)
• [Combat Reflex] (D, Passive)
• [Blade Echo] (C-)
• [Mana Weave] (C+)
• [Mana Surge] (D)
• [Shadow Sense] (D+)
• [Mana Disrupt] (C-)
• [Void Strike] (D+)
• [Rift Break] (D+)
• [Shadow Bind] (D+)
• [Starlit Counter] (D)
Strength: 11
Agility: 14
Intelligence: 7
Vitality: 3
Mana: 14
Dexterity: 4
Titles: Vaultborn, Ember's Bane, Shadow's Bane, Sentinel's End, Riftbinder
Inventory: Rift Rune (Fragment 1/3), Rift Rune (Fragment 2/3), Rift Rune (Fragment 3/3), Mana Map (Inactive), Stabilizer Device, Starlit Shard
Kairo's C-rank, earned through ChronoEdge Academy's brutal trials, felt insignificant against the Riftborn Lord's overwhelming presence. The mana storm raging outside Velmire fueled the rift, and Elara's weakening fight above drove a spike of urgency through him. Lira's [Minor Healing] (D+) glowed, her hand gripping his arm, her silver hair damp with sweat.
"Kairo, that orb's a lie," she said, her voice steady despite her pale face. "You're stronger than their tricks."
Taryn, her [Flame Lash] (D+) coiled, cracked a grim smile. "Yeah, 'join the Void' sounds like a death wish."
Milo, scanning the shadows with [Trap Sense] (D), hissed, "We've got company. Riftborn are circling—dozens of them."
Kairo's [Spatial Awareness] confirmed it: silhouettes clung to every crevice of the spire, their starlight eyes watching. Elara's mana signature wavered above, her [Mana Veil] barely holding. The stabilizer device in his pack pulsed, its runes syncing with the core. A prompt flashed:
[Quest Updated: Destiny's Choice]
Objective: Activate or reject the Voidheart's core.
Reward: Unknown.
The Riftborn silhouettes chanted, "Claim your destiny, Vaultborn." Kairo's hand hovered over the orb, its warmth tempting—power to save Velmire, to rise above his mocked F-rank past. But Elara's warning—"The Voidheart changes you"—cut through his resolve. He remembered his first day at ChronoEdge, the jeers of "fluke," and his team's unwavering faith. He stepped back, fist clenched.
"No deal," he said, voice hard. "I'm the Vaultborn, not your tool."
The core flared, a shriek ripping from the Riftborn. The spire shook. A rift tore open behind the core, spewing a Riftborn Sentinel—a sleek, armored figure wielding twin starlit blades, its B-rank aura chilling the air.
[Enemy: Riftborn Sentinel]
Rank: B
Skills: [Starlit Dual Strike] (B), [Void Blink] (B), [Rift Pulse] (B)
"Brace!" Kairo shouted, dodging as the Sentinel's [Starlit Dual Strike] slashed the platform, leaving glowing scars. Lira's [Mana Shield] (D) blocked a blade, but the impact staggered her. Taryn's [Ember Burst] (D) flared, but the Sentinel's [Void Blink] let it vanish, reappearing behind Milo.
Milo's [Quickstep] (D+) saved him, but the Sentinel's next [Rift Pulse] sent a shockwave that cracked the platform. Kairo's [Mana Surge] (D) pushed him forward, his sword clashing against the blade, sparks flying.
"Core's the chest!" he yelled, parrying another strike. "We need time!"
Lira nodded, her [Minor Healing] flaring upward. "Kairo, use your training dimension!" Her eyes burned with trust.
Taryn grinned despite her wounds. "We'll hold it."
Kairo closed his eyes, drawing every last breath. "Cover me."
[Activate Vaultspace? Y/N]
"Y," Kairo whispered.
Vaultspace's white expanse swallowed him, but agony followed. Blood gushed from his nose, ears, and eyes; his chest constricted as if crushed by an invisible weight. Around him, everything—the Sentinel's image, the echo of its twin blades—blurred into a stark landscape of blinding light. He conjured the Sentinel's form, its silhouette flickering. In this infinite void, he practiced.
He swung his sword over and over, each swing a blur of mana-infused steel. He drilled [Blade Echo], chaining strikes faster than before, and layered in [Rift Break] to shatter its deflections. He visualized [Starlit Counter] to parry its shards, [Shadow Bind] to lock its Void Blink, and [Void Strike] to disrupt its pulse. Each repetition seared him: nose gushed, eyes bled, lungs constricted with each breath. Time stretched into days, then weeks—until his muscles trembled, his vision swam. But he refused to stop. He had to perfect that final strike.
[Elapsed Vault Time: 30,000 Hours]
[Skill Improved: Void Strike (D+ → C-)]
[New Skill: Rift Surge (D, Boosts speed and power against rift enemies)]
[Strength +1, Agility +2, Mana +1]
Kairo collapsed, breath ragged, blood pooling. He exited Vaultspace, reality snapping back with a jolt.
Seconds had passed in the Voidheart. The Sentinel lunged, its twin blades arcing. But Kairo raised his sword, unleashing [Void Pulse]: a wave of mana that sent the Sentinel stagger-cloaked in darkness. He followed with [Rift Surge]-fast steps, darting in like a whirlwind. His [Blade Echo] unleashed fifteen strikes, each laced with [Mana Weave], [Mana Disrupt], [Rift Break], and [Rift Surge]. Each blow hammered the Sentinel's chest, cracks spiderwebbing over its starlit core as it screeched in agony.
"Together!" Kairo roared, voice echoing through the rift.
Taryn's [Flame Lash] ignited the core, flames dancing across its fractures. Milo's [Quickstep] landed a precise dagger strike, severing a filament of starlight. Lira's [Minor Healing] flared at Kairo's back, binding ripped flesh. Kairo's final [Void Strike]—now C-rank and glowing with starfire—sundered the core completely. The Sentinel dissolved into motes of starlight, its twin blades clattering onto the cracked platform.
[Enemy Defeated]
[Starlit Shard Acquired]
[Experience Gained]
The team panted, battered but victorious. Lira pressed a hand to Kairo's forehead. "You did it… but you nearly killed yourself."
He gazed at her, his vision still blurred with blood. "We did it. For now."
Far above, the Riftborn Lord's roar echoed as Elara stumbled, her cloak torn, blade dim. She glanced down, eyes flickering. "Vaultborn…" she croaked. "The core is unstable—activate it or destroy it!"
Kairo's voice caught. "Destroy? Then it floods…"
Elara shook her head wearily. "If you try to control it, the Voidheart might consume you," she said, lowering her blade. "I've seen it happen."
Lira's eyes widened. "It turned your team?" she whispered.
Elara's shoulders slumped. "My team… once hunters like you. The Voidheart offered them power, they took it—and it consumed them." She hammered a fist to her temple. "Kairo, you're the Vaultborn. Your skill resists its pull. That's why they fear you."
The core's light flickered violently, and a new wave of Riftborn Drones burst forth—dozens of smaller, insectile figures, rank C, their claws gleaming.
[Enemy: Riftborn Drone Swarm]
Rank: C
Skills: [Starlit Claw] (C), [Swarm Rush] (C)
Taryn's eyes narrowed. "Great… bugs next." She snapped her whip, flames roaring. "Milo, flank! Lira, heal!"
The Drones swarmed, their [Starlit Claw] slashing at the platform. Kairo gritted his teeth, sinking into a fighter's stance. "Cover me!" he roared. "I'll get Elara a moment."
He charged the swarm, [Rift Surge] blazing through him. His [Blade Echo] cleaved through drones, each strike timed with [Void Pulse] to send flurries of starlight crashing. When a drone closed for a [Swarm Rush], Kairo's sword glowed, and [Void Strike] shattered its form. He moved as a whirlwind of white and crimson, clearing a path to Elara.
As he reached her, the Riftborn Lord descended, its massive form blotting out starlight. Its [Abyssal Wrath] shockwave fractured the platform. Kairo leapt, catching Elara's arm.
"We have to—we have to go now!" he yelled, dodging a claw that sent a shower of sparks around them. Elara gazed at his anguished, blood-streaked face.
She shook her head, swiping a strand of black hair from her eyes. "If we flee, the core will destabilize. The rift will devour Velmire in minutes." She cough-coughed, blood speckling her lips. "But I… can't finish this crowd alone. Go—get to the core's seal. You can destroy it."
Kairo's heart clenched. "I can't just—"
Elara pressed a hand to his chest, pushing him back. "You're the Vaultborn. My team's gift is in the seal you'll forge. I trust you." She mustered a weak smile. "Just… promise me you won't become what they fear."
He swallowed, voice cracking. "I promise."
Elara's silver eyes narrowed with determination. "Now go. I'll hold him."
With a final nod, she vanished in a shimmer of [Mana Veil]. The Riftborn Lord let out a roar, and Kairo felt gravity shift beneath his feet. He carried Elara's shard in one hand, stabilizer device in the other, racing toward the core as the swarming Riftborn closed in.
Below, the core pulsed again, the Voidheart's crimson light flaring. Kairo slotted all three rune fragments plus Elara's Starlit Shard into the stabilizer device. Runes aligned, crystalline filaments weaving around the core. The platform shook violently, fissures running like lightning down the spire. Riftborn silhouettes pressed against the seal, rending fingernails on crystal.
[Quest Updated: Beyond the Void]
Objective: Secure the Voidheart's core or destroy it.
Reward: Unknown.
Milo and Taryn held the Riftborn at bay, daggers flashing and flames roaring, while Lira's [Mana Shield] barely withstood their [Starlit Claws]. Kairo's heart pounded as he pressed the stabilizer device into the core's center. The runes glowed, crystalline shards orbiting like moons.
He took a breath, recalling Elara's warning: "The Voidheart changes you." Every fiber of his being trembled. The stabilizer device surged, channels of mana connecting to his pulse. The core resisted, flaring so bright it blinded him. For a moment, everything went silent.
[Voidheart Core Partially Sealed]
[Rift Temporarily Stabilized]
[Rank Increased: C+]
[New Title: Core Warden]
The rift's howling wavered, then quieted. The Stabilizer's glow dimmed, and Kairo fell to his knees, chest heaving. But the spire's tremors didn't stop. The core pulsed violently, and a new rift opened at its base—a portal to Velmire itself. Through it, Kairo saw the academy under siege by mana beasts: giant wingedcreatures clawing at the walls, streams of violet energy pouring down the streets. A Riftborn Elder stepped through—its form tall, humanoid, its starlight eyes ancient and unblinking, its presence suffocating.
[Enemy: Riftborn Elder]
Rank: A+
Skills: [Unknown] (???)
Kairo's vision blurred; his body gave way beneath him. He slumped into Lira's arms, blood-soaked hands falling limp.
"Elara…" he whispered, voice faint.
Elara's final words rang in his mind: "Just promise you won't become what they fear."
The Riftborn Elder's voice broke through the haze: "Vaultborn, you delay the inevitable. The Voidheart will claim you."
[New Quest: Elder's Dominion]
Objective: Escape the Riftborn Elder and return to Velmire.
Reward: Unknown.
As the Elder took a step forward, the portal flickered—Velmire's siege growing more desperate. Lira's [Minor Healing] flared fiercely, but Kairo's consciousness slipped, the Elder's starlight eyes burning into him.
The Voidheart's call lingered in his mind—power and ruin intertwined. As darkness claimed him, Velmire's fate and Elara's sacrifice pressed on his soul.