The city below buzzed in shades of synthetic neon and steam-choked dark. But above the skyline, on a forgotten rooftop littered with broken antennas, Rei stood frozen.
She was there again.
The silver-haired girl.
This time, she didn't vanish.
She stepped forward slowly—barefoot, cloak dragging behind her like liquid shadow. Her skin glowed faintly under the moonlight, almost translucent. Her single exposed eye shimmered blue, like fractured crystal.
Rei raised his arm, claws twitching to emerge.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
The girl stopped five feet from him. Unarmed. Calm.
"You've devoured too quickly," she said softly. Her voice was distant—echoing, like it came from inside his own mind. "You're not stable yet."
> [Warning: Unknown mental intrusion blocked.]
[Cognitive Anchor Engaged.]
Rei flinched. "You tried to scan me."
"I tried to stop you from shattering."
"…Too late for that."
The girl's expression didn't change. "You've chosen the Hybrid Path. I see it coiled around your aura like a serpent."
Rei narrowed his eyes. "What do you know about my evolution?"
She looked past him—toward the void, the unseen beyond.
"More than you. Less than I need to."
She took another step closer. Rei didn't move.
> "What are you?"
"I'm like you," she said. "But I woke up earlier."
---
▓ Flashback: Sector 0 – Ruined Rift Spire
She stood alone in a blood-drenched rift four months ago.
Dozens of mutated corpses surrounded her. Her body was trembling, her arms soaked in gore. Her first devour had nearly broken her. But she lived.
The system had whispered then:
> [Sleeper Protocol Initiated.]
[Survivor of Cycle 4 Detected.]
She remembered none of what came next. Only fire. And silence.
---
▓ Now – Rooftop, Sector 9
"They call me Solara," she said at last.
Rei didn't lower his guard.
"What do you want?"
"I want to warn you."
> "The System that gave you power… isn't neutral."
"It's not helping you. It's preparing you—for something ancient."
"The 'Devourer Trait' is not a gift. It's a key."
"A key to what?" Rei asked.
Solara looked up at the sky. The stars above Sector 9 were flickering—like they, too, were watching.
> "To open something that was locked away long before this world ever had Rifts."
Rei's breath caught.
His instincts screamed. Everything in him told him this wasn't just a crazy girl spinning tales. The System wasn't reacting. It wasn't denying her.
It was silent.
> "I don't care about ancient locks," Rei said. "I just want to survive."
Solara finally frowned.
"Then you've already lost."
---
She turned and began to walk toward the rooftop's edge.
Rei called after her, "Why tell me all this?"
She stopped.
> "Because when the Cycle restarts… there's always two."
"One who devours everything to ascend."
"And one… who devours him to end it."
She looked over her shoulder, blue eye glowing bright.
"I haven't decided which one you are yet."
And then—she vanished.
No wind. No sound.
Just gone.
---
▓ Minutes Later – Luka's Hideout
Rei paced in silence, blood pounding in his ears.
The system's usual voice had been quiet ever since Solara left. No pings. No data.
Just this message:
> [Classification Updated: Sleeper Detected – Sync Probability 34%]
[The Cycle has begun.]
He stared at the mirror, at the mark still glowing faintly on his chest.
A key.
A weapon.
A curse.
He thought he was climbing. But what if he was just being wound up… like a bomb?
> "If I'm not careful," he whispered, "I'll become the very thing I'm trying to survive."
---
▓ Elsewhere – Inside a Guild-Controlled Rift Lab
A man in a suit looked at surveillance footage.
The screen showed Rei—his first arena match as "Kain Vos." Then footage from the Rift tower collapse. Then the city rooftop… with a static glitch where Solara had stood.
The man sipped his wine, eyes glowing faintly red.
> "The Devourer and the Sleeper," he murmured. "Both alive… in the same cycle."
He smiled.
> "The countdown begins."
---
📘 Character Update:
Level: 8
New Encounter: Solara – The Sleeper of Cycle 4
System Notice: Cycle Tracking Activated
Psychological Status: Anchor Holding – Moderate Stability
Skill Awakening Progress: 53%
Next Trait Unlock: 2 Elite-Class Devours Remaining