The air split apart.
Once.
Twice.
Then again.
Cracks spread in every direction, tearing through space like invisible blades. The distortions twisted violently, forming unstable openings that pulsed with dark, unnatural energy.
Danny's chest tightened.
"…There's too many…"
He turned slowly.
Left.
Right.
Behind.
They were surrounded.
Abby stepped forward slightly, her crimson aura igniting instantly stronger than before, pressing outward like a barrier against the collapsing space.
"Stay close," she said.
Ren, however—
Didn't move.
Didn't tense.
Didn't even look concerned.
Instead He smiled.
"Now this is more like it."
Danny shot him a look.
"…You're enjoying this?!"
Ren shrugged lightly.
"Better than waiting around."
That answer didn't help.
The first distortion snapped open completely.
And something stepped out.
Not massive.
Not towering.
But wrong.
Its body was humanoid—
But incomplete.
Pieces of it flickered in and out of existence, like it wasn't fully rendered into reality. Its limbs shifted unnaturally, phasing slightly with every movement.
Then another emerged.
And another.
Each one slightly different.
But all of them Unstable.
Abby's eyes narrowed.
"…They're incomplete manifestations."
Danny blinked.
"…Meaning?"
"They haven't fully crossed over."
A pause.
"But that also means…"
Her aura sharpened.
"They're unpredictable."
One of them twitched suddenly—
Then vanished.
Danny's eyes widened.
"…Where did it—?!"
It reappeared.
Right in front of him.
"MOVE!"
Abby reacted instantly, slamming it away with a burst of crimson energy before it could touch him.
BOOM.
The creature shattered But instead of disappearing It split.
Two forms replacing one.
Danny's breath hitched.
"…You've got to be kidding me…"
Ren laughed softly.
"Yeah… they're annoying like that."
Another distortion burst open.
Then another.
More of them poured out.
The ground trembled slightly.
The air warped.
The pressure increased.
Danny clenched his fists.
"…We can't fight all of these."
Abby didn't respond.
Because she already knew.
They couldn't.
Not like this.
Not surrounded.
Ren finally stepped forward.
Slow.
Casual.
"Then don't fight all of them."
Danny frowned.
"…What does that mean?"
Ren raised his hand again.
The air around it sharpened instantly.
Cleaner than before.
More precise.
Controlled.
"You just need to break the flow."
A step forward.
"Watch."
One of the creatures lunged at him—
Fast.
Unstable.
Ren didn't dodge.
Didn't block.
He pointed.
And the space between them—
Collapsed.
The creature froze mid-motion—
Then Cracked.
Like glass.
Shattered instantly.
Gone.
Danny's eyes widened.
"…What was that…?"
Ren glanced at him.
"Control."
A pause.
"You should try it."
Danny clenched his jaw.
"…I don't even know how I did what I did earlier!"
"Then figure it out," Ren said calmly.
Another creature lunged—
This time from behind.
Danny turned—
Too slow.
But before it could reach him It stopped.
Mid-air.
Frozen.
Danny blinked.
"…Wait…"
The distortion around him—
Was active again.
Stronger.
More responsive.
"…I did that…?"
The creature twitched Trying to move But couldn't.
Abby didn't hesitate.
She moved instantly—
A flash of crimson—
And destroyed it completely.
BOOM.
She landed beside him.
"Don't lose focus."
Danny nodded quickly.
"…Right."
But his heart was racing.
This wasn't random anymore.
He was starting to feel it.
That connection.
That control.
Even if it was incomplete.
The distortions pulsed again.
More creatures emerged.
More unstable.
More aggressive.
The situation—
Was getting worse.
"…At this rate…" Danny muttered.
"We'll be overwhelmed."
Abby's voice was calm.
But sharp.
"Then we change the situation."
Danny looked at her.
"…How?"
A pause.
Then She said something unexpected.
"We close it."
"…Close what?"
Her eyes shifted—
To the distortions.
"All of them."
Danny's eyes widened.
"…You can do that?!"
A brief silence.
Then—
"…No."
"…That's not reassuring!"
Ren chuckled softly.
"She can't."
A pause.
Then He looked at Danny.
"But you can."
Silence.
Danny froze.
"…What?"
Abby didn't deny it.
Her gaze locked onto him.
"You're the Key."
A step closer.
"If anyone can interfere with the Rift system…"
A pause.
"It's you."
Danny's chest tightened.
"…I don't even know how to control it!"
Another creature lunged He reacted The distortion flared, It froze, Abby destroyed it again.
"…Then learn," she said.
Danny clenched his fists.
"…Right now?!"
"Right now."
The distortions pulsed again.
More creatures.
More pressure.
More danger.
Danny's breathing became uneven.
But then He closed his eyes.
Just for a second.
"…Focus…"
He remembered the feeling.
That moment everything stopped.
That connection.
That control.
Not force.
Authority.
The distortion around him stabilized.
For the first time It didn't flicker.
It held.
Danny's eyes opened.
"…Okay…"
He raised his hand slightly.
The air warped.
All around them.
The distortions—
Reacted.
Ren's smile widened.
"There it is."
Abby's eyes sharpened.
"Don't stop."
Danny took a step forward.
The pressure increased.
The distortions trembled.
Cracks forming along their edges.
"…I can feel it…"
A pause.
"…I can actually feel them…"
Every tear.
Every opening.
Every distortion.
Connected.
Danny clenched his hand.
And the world—
Responded.
The nearest distortion—
Collapsed instantly.
Gone.
Danny's eyes widened.
"…I did it…!"
But then—
All the others—
Reacted.
Violently.
Like they were resisting.
Like something Was pushing back.
The air trembled.
The distortions pulsed harder.
Stronger.
More unstable.
Ren's expression shifted slightly.
"…That's not normal."
Abby's eyes widened.
"Something's interfering."
Danny froze.
"…Interfering…?"
The distortions stopped collapsing.
Instead—
They began to grow.
Larger.
Wider.
More dangerous.
The air screamed silently as the space around them began to tear apart further.
Danny's chest tightened.
"…I thought I was closing them—!"
"You were," Abby said.
A pause.
Her voice dropped.
"Until something stopped you."
Silence.
Then—
A voice.
Familiar.
Calm.
Cold.
"You're progressing faster than expected."
Danny's blood ran cold.
"…No way…"
Ren sighed softly.
"…He's back already?"
At the edge of the street—
Standing exactly where he had been before—
That man.
Watching.
Smiling.
"But not fast enough."
The distortions pulsed violently.
And this time They didn't stop.
To Be Continued.