Ryder woke up to the sound of bells.
Not church bells. Alarm bells.
He grabbed his shirt, pulled on his boots, and rushed outside.
Kareth's Hollow was in chaos. Mythborn warriors ran through the crumbling streets, weapons drawn. Archers lined the barricades. Torran stood in the middle of the courtyard, barking orders.
"Fog's too thick! Get the Seers up high!" he shouted. "No light spells, it'll draw them in!"
Ryder spotted Seris at the edge of the courtyard, fully armed, her Soul Weapon — Ashveil, a curved blade of blackened flame — glowing faintly at her side.
"What's going on?" he asked, heart pounding.
"Something breached the outer ruins," she said without looking at him. "Scout team's gone silent. A Rift fog is moving in fast."
"Rift fog?"
She finally turned to face him. "When Rift energy leaks into the world, it brings things with it. Echo-warped beasts. Wraithborn. Sometimes worse."
Torran approached, eyes grim. "Get ready, Heir. We're under siege."
Just as he finished speaking, a bone-chilling howl echoed through the fog.
Ryder's pulse spiked. "That… wasn't a wolf."
"No," Seris said. "That's a Void Howler."
Ryder froze. "Those are real?"
"Yes," she said. "And they usually hunt in pairs."
A scream rang out from the eastern wall. The sound of crashing stone followed.
Ryder grabbed his trident — Tidebreaker — and ran after Seris toward the perimeter wall.
The mist thickened the closer they got, swallowing light and muffling sound. Ryder could barely make out shapes — twisted figures, crawling across the broken masonry.
He gripped Tidebreaker tight and reached into the Tideflow. The pressure responded — cool, steady, waiting for his command.
A monstrous shape lunged from the fog.
Seris reacted first, slashing upward in a tight arc. Ashveil burst with black flame, cleaving through the beast's chest. It shrieked and fell apart into mist.
"That was a Wraithborn," she said. "Not even the worst thing coming."
More shadows moved in the fog.
Torran shouted from the wall. "Eyes up! Void Howler incoming!"
Ryder barely had time to react.
Something massive crashed down in front of them — tall as a tree, four legs, a jagged spine lined with flickering dark fire. Its face was all bone, mouth stretched in a permanent howl. The air warped around it.
Void Howler.
It growled, and the world seemed to tremble.
Ryder stepped forward. "Let's see what Tidebreaker can really do."
He spun the trident in his hand and planted one foot forward. The weapon pulsed, water condensing in the air.
The beast lunged.
Ryder dodged left and thrust Tidebreaker upward — a geyser of pressurized water exploded into the beast's side, knocking it back a step.
It didn't stay down.
"Hit it again!" Seris shouted.
Ryder focused, pulling in the pressure around him. The trident's runes lit up. Water spiraled around its prongs. He slammed it into the ground.
"Drownspike Barrage!"
Three spears of condensed water shot forward, crashing into the Howler's chest. One pierced its shoulder. Another caught the jaw. It screeched, swiping blindly.
Seris darted past it in a blur, slashing its flank. Ashveil roared, flames surging with every strike.
The beast stumbled again.
"Now!" Torran yelled. "Push it into the Rift line!"
Ryder gathered the last of his strength. The pressure surged. He focused everything he had into the trident's core.
"Leviathan's Grasp!"
A spectral, watery hand burst forth from Tidebreaker, massive and clawed. It grabbed the Void Howler and dragged it across the stone — straight into the Rift line at the edge of the warded field.
The creature howled one last time as it dissolved into dark mist, pulled back into whatever dimension it came from.
Silence fell.
The fog began to fade.
Ryder dropped to one knee, gasping for breath.
Seris walked up beside him. "You did good."
He nodded, eyes still wide. "That thing could've torn the whole Hollow apart…"
Torran approached, more calm now. "You've tasted what comes through a leaking Rift. This wasn't a random attack. Something's disturbing the region."
"Could it be the Concord?" Ryder asked.
Torran looked toward the horizon. "Could be. Or something older."
Ryder stood slowly, gripping his trident tighter.
Whatever it was, it was only getting started.