CHAPTER 7 — The Rift Expands
The Rift pulsed again.
Aiden felt it before he saw it—an invisible tug deep in his chest, like someone had hooked a line to the Gravity Force inside him and pulled. The sensation was faint at first, a whisper of pressure beneath his ribs.
Then it grew.
A low hum vibrated through the air, rattling broken windows and sending dust drifting from cracked rooftops. Aiden looked up.
The Rift was changing.
The swirling wound in the sky twisted violently, its edges stretching outward like something inside was pushing to escape. Violet light flared, brighter than before, casting long shadows across the ruined district.
Aiden’s breath caught.
“…that’s not normal.”
Hunters noticed it too.
Shouts echoed from the next street over.
“Rift surge! Brace!”
“Why is it expanding?!”
“Get the stabilizers online—now!”
Aiden ducked behind a half?collapsed wall, watching as hunters scrambled into defensive positions. Their armor glowed with Force energy. Their scanners flickered wildly, glitching harder than before.
One hunter slammed a fist against his wrist device.
“Stabilizer readings are off the charts! This Rift isn’t following any known pattern!”
Another cursed under his breath.
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“Rifts don’t expand like this. Not without a Titan forming.”
Aiden stiffened.
Titan?
He peeked over the rubble.
The Rift pulsed again—harder this time. A shockwave rippled outward, distorting the air. Hunters braced themselves, boots digging into cracked pavement.
The shockwave hit Aiden—
—and passed through him like wind through smoke.
He staggered, but the force didn’t slam him backward like it did the hunters. It didn’t crush him. It didn’t even push him.
It ignored him.
Just like everything else.
Aiden swallowed hard.
“…why?”
The pull inside his chest intensified.
Not painful.
Not overwhelming.
But unmistakable.
The Rift was calling to him.
Not metaphorically.
Not emotionally.
Literally.
The Gravity Force inside him resonated with the Rift’s pulse, vibrating in sync with the expanding tear in the sky. Pressure Force throbbed beside it, reacting to the distortion in the air.
Aiden pressed a hand to his chest.
“Stop,” he whispered. “Not yet.”
The pull didn’t stop.
It grew.
Hunters shouted again.
“Sector Five! Fall back!”
“Forceborn surge incoming!”
“Where the hell are these readings coming from?!”
Aiden moved through the chaos unseen, slipping between overturned cars and shattered storefronts. Hunters ran past him, weapons drawn, eyes wide with panic.
None of them saw him.
None of them sensed him.
But the Rift did.
The pull sharpened, like a hook sinking deeper into his ribs. Aiden winced, gripping the rebar tighter.
“What do you want from me…?”
The Rift answered with another pulse.
Aiden stumbled as the Gravity Force inside him surged in response. The weight behind his ribs grew denser, heavier, like a star collapsing inward. His knees buckled for a moment before he forced himself upright.
He looked up at the swirling wound in the sky.
The Rift was expanding faster now—its edges tearing wider, its light intensifying. The air warped around it, bending like heat haze. Buildings groaned under the pressure.
Aiden’s heart pounded.
He wasn’t ready.
He wasn’t strong enough.
But the Rift didn’t care.
It wanted him.
A Primal Forceborn crawled out from a collapsed rooftop, snarling. Aiden didn’t even look at it. He swung the rebar once, clean and precise. The creature fell instantly.
A Core rose.
Aiden ignored it.
The pull was too strong.
He stepped closer to the center of the chaos, drawn by something he didn’t understand. Hunters shouted warnings. Forceborn roared. The city trembled.
Aiden kept walking.
The Rift pulsed again—louder, deeper, resonating through his bones.
Aiden exhaled shakily.
“Fine,” he whispered. “If you’re calling…”
He stepped into the heart of the expanding glow.
“…I’m listening.”
