🌒 Location: Under the City – Forgotten Station R-7
The old metro map didn't list it.
Even Zephyr's ring resisted showing the way.
But Kiyomi found it — buried beneath two collapsed tunnels and a rusted vending machine.
"Station R-7," she said. "Last used during the Blackout Riots. Abandoned. No cameras. Perfect place to open a hole to hell."
Ren smirked. "Love our vacation spots."
The trio stood at the center of the platform, where the air shimmered like oil on water.
Zephyr began carving the spellgate:
An intricate circle of rings and glyphs — overlapping memories and pressure.
Kiyomi tossed a Rift crystal into the center.
It cracked mid-air and — BOOM.
A tear in space opened.
And through it… Aya's voice slipped out.
> "Y
ou found me…"
🌀 Aya's POV – Inside the Labyrinth
The Rift Labyrinth wasn't a place.
It was a mind.
A swirling prison built from the strongest emotions and worst fears of its prisoner.
Aya wandered halls that resembled classrooms, her old bedroom, her childhood hospital — all stitched together like bad dreams on repeat.
But now, she had remembered what she was.
Not just a girl.
Not just a student.
A living key.
She pressed her hand to the wall and whi
spered, "Open."
🌌 Ren Enters the Rift
When Ren stepped through the gate, his vision twisted.
One second he stood in darkness.
The next — a snow-covered field.
Then — underwater.
Then — floating through stars.
Every few seconds, the world flickered. The Labyrinth had no single form.
Only fragments of Aya's soul — and Ren
's regrets.
Suddenly, the field stopped shifting.
A girl stood there.
Small frame.
White hoodie.
Bare feet on cold grass.
Hair: short, silver-blue.
Ren's heart stopped.
He whispered, "...Saya?"
The girl turned.
Same eyes.
> "Hi, Renny."
> "I missed you."
💔 Who Is Saya?
Kiyomi and Zephyr emerged behind him.
Kiyomi's hand went straight to her sword. "Who is that?"
Ren didn't speak. Couldn't.
Zephyr's eyes widened. "It's a projected soul."
Saya took a step forward. "I'm not a ghost."
She pointed at Ren's chest — at his Mark.
> "I'm a piece of him. A memory he never let go of. That means I am real — as long as he remembers me."
> "And now… I have something to say."
📜 The Message from the Rift
> "Ren, there's something you were never told."
> "On that plane… our father tried to save one of us."
> "He chose you."
> "I died."
Ren shook his head. "No… No, that's not how it happened."
> "You blocked it out," Saya said, smiling gently. "You survived because someone made a deal. A pact. That's how the Mark started growing inside you."
> "That's why the Watcher wants you."
> "Because you were the first successful Seal-Bearer… born from a sacrifice."
Ren dropped to his knees.
Kiyomi whispered, "He's the key to the whole thing…"
💀 The Rift Cracks
Suddenly — the sky above the Labyrinth split open.
Flames poured down like molten stars.
And from the clouds, a massive shadow descended — a Rift beast 100 feet tall, stitched together from corpses, metal, and shadow.
The Labyrinth was collapsing.
Saya turned to Ren, eyes glowing.
> "You need to leave."
> "Find Aya."
> "And whatever you do—don't awaken the Fourth Gate."
Ren stood, eyes hard.
"I'm not leaving without her."
🧠 Meanwhile – Aya Fights Back
Aya stood before a massive crystal throne.
The Watcher's mask hovered above it — sending projections to confuse her.
> "You are a key. You do not rebel."
Aya narrowed her eyes, hands glowing with a new kind of light — logic-made-energy.
"Guess what? I installed a firewall."
She launched a blast that fractured the throne.
The prison cracked.
🔚 Cliffhanger – Real World
Outside the gate, at the surface —
Jin stood alone. Watching the sky darken.
Next to him, Nathaniel.
> "When he awakens the Fourth Gate, there will be no turning back," Nathaniel said.
Jin didn't flinch.
> "Then let's pray to the gods."
> "That he doesn't become one."
End of Chapter 18
📘 Quick Lore Drop – The Rift Labyrinth
> A realm that exists inside those imprisoned by the Watcher.
It adapts to the memories, fears, and emotions of the target.
It is both a prison and a test.
If you escape, you're stronger.
If you fail… you disappear from existence itself.
🔥 Chapter 19 Teaser:
> The Rift Beast descends. Aya makes her escape. Ren must face a decision — to flee, or awaken the Fourth Gate and burn away what's left of his humanity. And someone back home… decides to expose the truth to the world.