Chapter 145: The Rift Unfolds

The sensation of falling was immediate and overwhelming. Evryn’s stomach lurched as the world twisted and broke apart around her. For a brief moment, she thought she might pass out from the sheer force of the disorienting plunge. The echoes of the Architect’s laugh faded, but his words lingered in her mind like a dark cloud.

“You were always part of a plan—a grand experiment.”

What did he mean? What experiment?

She fought against the crushing weight of the void that surrounded her, but it was no use. Her thoughts spun, her body feeling like it was being pulled apart by some invisible force. She reached for Kai, but the darkness was impenetrable. She couldn’t see him, couldn’t hear him, but she could feel his presence, just out of reach.

Then—thud.

The impact was brutal, slamming her to the ground with a force that left her breathless. She gasped for air, her lungs aching, her mind still reeling from the fall. But as she struggled to open her eyes, she realized she wasn’t in the rift anymore.

The world around her was... different.

The ground beneath her was smooth, black, and shiny—reflecting her face as she slowly sat up. Her eyes adjusted, and she realized the sky above wasn’t sky at all. It was a blank, metallic surface, as though the entire world had been constructed from a single, unyielding material.

“Kai?” Her voice cracked, but there was no answer.

Evryn pushed herself to her feet, trying to steady her shaking legs. Where was she? What was this place?

She turned in a circle, looking for any sign of life or familiarity. But the landscape stretched out in all directions, an endless expanse of jagged black rocks and glowing lines of energy that hummed beneath the surface. The air was thick with an electric charge, and the temperature was unbearable—cold enough to freeze her bones, but too warm to be comfortable.

“Evryn.”

The sound of her name—familiar, but distorted—reached her ears, and she whipped around, heart pounding in her chest.

And there, standing at the edge of the strange, fractured horizon, was Kai.

But this wasn’t the Kai she knew. His eyes glowed with a sickly, unnatural light, and his skin was pale, stretched tight over his bones. He seemed... different, as if some part of him had been stripped away.

“Kai?” she whispered, dread crawling down her spine. “What happened to you?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he raised a hand, pointing toward something in the distance.

“Do you see it?” he asked, his voice distant, as though he wasn’t fully there. “The truth is beyond the veil. The Architect was right. You’ve been part of this all along.”

Evryn’s heart skipped a beat. “What truth? What are you talking about?”

Kai’s form flickered, his image blurring in and out, like static on a broken screen. “It’s all connected. The Nexus, the Architect, the experiment—it was all designed to bring us here. To this moment.”

Evryn’s pulse quickened. “We need to get out of here. This place—it’s wrong.”

But Kai only stared at her, his glowing eyes empty of emotion.

“I’m not sure there is an out anymore.”

The words hit her like a physical blow, and for the first time, Evryn realized just how much danger they were truly in. The rift was no longer just a place of darkness—it was a prison, an inescapable dimension designed to keep them contained. And the Architect, the one who had orchestrated all of it, was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, the ground trembled beneath her feet. A low, guttural rumble echoed through the air, and the once-still horizon began to ripple, as if the world itself was coming alive.

“No…” Evryn breathed. “Not again.”

The energy lines beneath her feet sparked to life, pulsing with a violent, erratic force. She tried to step back, but the ground gave way beneath her, and she was falling again—this time, into the abyss below.

Her body tumbled through space, the world spinning around her like a cyclone of shadows and light. But then, just as she thought she might lose consciousness, she crashed into something solid.

Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes opened to find herself in a completely new environment—a room of glimmering metal and sharp angles. It was... alive. The walls pulsed with energy, and the air was thick with the hum of machinery.

And standing before her, bathed in the flickering light, was a figure. A familiar face. One she thought she’d never see again.

“It’s been a long time, Evryn,” the figure said, voice soft, yet carrying an authority she couldn’t ignore.

Evryn’s heart stopped.

“Aurex?” she gasped.

The man—if he could be called that—smiled faintly, his expression both sad and knowing.

“You’ve come far, Evryn. Farther than I thought you would.”

Evryn stepped back, her mind racing. “What is this? Where are we?”

“You’re at the center of it all,” Aurex said, his voice almost reverential. “The Nexus, the Architect—everything that’s happened has been leading to this. You were always meant to reach this place.”

Evryn shook her head, her confusion mounting. “What do you mean? I don’t understand.”

Aurex stepped forward, his gaze never leaving her face. “You were created for a purpose, Evryn. A purpose beyond your comprehension. But now, you have the power to decide your own fate.”

The words felt like a weight in her chest. But before she could respond, the ground beneath her feet shook once more, and the walls began to crack.

“There’s no time,” Aurex warned. “The Architect is not done with you yet. The true game begins now.”

And just like that, the world around them began to collapse. The walls splintered, the energy lines flickering erratically. Evryn’s heart raced as she grabbed for Aurex, but in the blink of an eye, he disappeared—leaving her alone, trapped in the disintegrating room.

A voice, distant but familiar, echoed through the chaos.

“The truth will find you, Evryn.”