The Riftborn Hunter

Reiss Kain stood stiffly in his father's study, hands clenched at his sides. The air in the vast office was thick with silence, save for the soft scratch of a pen against paper.

His father, Valen Kain, sat at his heavy obsidian desk, sifting through reports like he was dissecting prey.

The room was grand—too grand. Lined with old-world bookshelves and trophies from hunts that weren't just limited to Rifts.

A statement. A reminder.

This is power.

This is what a real Hunter is.

And yet, the report in Valen's hand didn't belong to an S-Rank.

It belonged to an F-Rank.

Reiss exhaled slowly. He had fought against the idea, resisted the thought clawing at the back of his mind, but the facts were in front of him.

Aiden had survived.

More than that—he had walked out of a Rift that should have killed him.

Valen's fingers tapped against the polished wood of his desk. A slow, deliberate rhythm. Then, finally, he spoke.

"Explain."

The weight of that single word pressed down on Reiss's spine.

He hesitated. He had come into this room ready to present his findings, but standing here, under his father's gaze, the certainty in his voice wavered.

"He survived another Rift."

Valen didn't react.

"Not alone this time."

His father glanced at the page, scanning the report in front of him.

"Black Summit ran the operation." Valen's tone was unreadable. "A low-tier team. Disposable."

Reiss tensed. That was how their father saw it.

Aiden hadn't soloed the last Rift. He had gone in with a team of rookies.

And yet—the reports still made no sense.

Reiss cleared his throat. "They encountered something... unnatural."

That got a reaction. A flicker of something in Valen's silver eyes.

Reiss continued. "The Rift had... structure. The creatures inside weren't just attacking the Hunters." He swallowed. "They were fighting each other."

Silence.

Valen exhaled, setting the report down. "A territorial anomaly?"

"No." Reiss shook his head. "More than that." He hesitated. "Tactical. Coordinated."

Valen's brows furrowed slightly, but he didn't interrupt.

Reiss took a breath. "The Rift collapsed. But there was no recorded boss kill."

Now Valen paused.

That was against the rules. Against the System.

His father's gaze sharpened. "Who landed the final kill?"

Reiss clenched his jaw. "There wasn't one."

Silence.

Valen leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows against his desk. "You're certain?"

Reiss nodded. "The logs confirmed it. The Rift just... vanished."

Valen tapped his fingers against the desk again. Slow. Calculating.

Then—he smirked.

Soft. Amused.

But Reiss had known his father long enough to recognize what it really meant.

Understanding.

And that chilled him more than anything else.

Valen finally spoke. "What is he?"

Reiss clenched his fists.

"I don't know."

Valen exhaled through his nose, studying his son carefully. "That's not an answer."

Reiss forced himself to stay silent.

Valen leaned back, voice turning thoughtful. "First, he clears a Rift solo. No help. No interference." He tapped the paper. "Then, he enters another—with a team this time."

A pause.

"And yet, the Rift still breaks the rules."

Reiss hesitated. "We don't have proof it was him."

Valen chuckled. "You think that matters?"

His father rose to his feet, his presence too sharp, too large for the room.

"Black Summit is watching him," Valen said. "Which means others will follow."

Reiss's stomach twisted. "What if he's not ready?"

Valen's smirk faded.

"Then he'll break."

No hesitation. No concern.

Just cold, brutal reality.

He turned toward the window, looking out over the sprawling city.

"Find out what he is," he ordered. "Before someone else does."

The Black Summit outpost was little more than a repurposed warehouse—rusted scaffolding clung to the sides like an old exoskeleton, and the air smelled of damp concrete and burnt metal. Inside, makeshift sections divided the space into weapons racks, supply crates, and workstations where mercenaries adjusted their gear.

Rift scanners hummed in the background, flickering blue lights casting eerie reflections off the steel-plated floors. Occasionally, a Hunter barked orders, their voices sharp, cutting through the restless energy of the room.

Aiden leaned against a cracked concrete pillar near the entrance, arms crossed, golden eyes half-lidded. He wasn't drawing attention to himself—not yet. He simply observed. Listened.

Something was wrong.

He could see it in the tension lining Jenna's shoulders, in the way Silas and Marko stood just outside the conversation, watching but unwilling to step in.

And the man Jenna was arguing with?

Aiden didn't know his name.

But he knew his type.

Jenna's voice was sharp. "You don't just throw rookies into Rifts like that."

The man she was talking to—tall, lean, built like a street fighter rather than a soldier—grinned, stretching his arms behind his head like this was all a joke.

"They weren't rookies. They were disposable."

Aiden's jaw tightened.

Black Summit was ruthless, but this was something else.

This guy wasn't a leader. He was a predator.

And now, that predator's gaze landed on him.

The man's smirk widened, and he took a slow step forward, green eyes flicking over Aiden with the kind of scrutiny that made his instincts sharpen. Not curiosity. Not assessment.

Jealousy.

"So," the man drawled, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. "This is the F-Rank wonder boy?"

Aiden didn't answer.

The man exhaled through his nose, amused. "Quiet type, huh?" He turned to Jenna. "You sure he's not a mute?"

Jenna's eyes narrowed. "Kade. Drop it."

Kade.

Aiden committed the name to memory.

Jenna's irritation wasn't just casual annoyance. It was real.

Which meant this wasn't the first time Kade had pulled something like this.

Kade ignored her. Another slow step forward. Deliberate. Testing.

Aiden didn't move.

Kade clicked his tongue. "Not much of a reaction."

Jenna let out a slow breath, already done with this conversation. "What do you even want?"

Kade flashed a slow, wolfish grin.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'm just wondering why he's getting all the attention lately." His voice darkened slightly. "Garran's keeping an eye on him. Whole guild's talking about him."

His grin widened. "Gotta admit, that's a little annoying."

Aiden exhaled through his nose. There it is.

Kade didn't just dislike him. He wanted to break him.

Jenna crossed her arms. "If you're trying to prove something, go pick on someone else."

Kade ignored her.

He wasn't interested in proving something. He wanted to see if Aiden would flinch.

Aiden didn't.

"You ever fought a C-Rank before, Kain?" Kade asked casually.

Jenna immediately stepped between them. "Kade."

Aiden held his gaze. "Not yet."

Kade's grin widened. "Not yet."

A pause.

Then—without breaking eye contact—Kade clapped his hands together.

"Well, I guess today's your lucky day."

Aiden raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

Kade rocked on his heels. "Yep." He turned to Jenna, flashing a mocking smile.

"Garran's sending us on another Rift run. Routine. Figured the newbie might wanna tag along. Y'know, learn a thing or two."

Jenna's expression darkened. "Routine?"

Kade's smirk didn't falter. "Sure. Routine."

Aiden knew exactly what this was.

A setup.

Black Summit didn't kill its own.

But accidents happened.

And Kade Arlen looked like the kind of guy who loved making accidents happen.

Jenna's shoulders tensed. She turned to Aiden, lowering her voice.

"Stick close to me."

Aiden met her gaze.

She was tense.

That told him everything he needed to know.

This Rift wasn't routine.

It was a test.

And Kade was waiting for him to fail.

Aiden's golden irises flickered as he considered the situation. He knew exactly what this was.

A test. A trap. An opportunity.

His instincts told him Kade was dangerous. Not just because he was a C-Rank, but because he was unhinged. The kind of fighter who didn't just want to win—he wanted to crush anyone who stepped out of line.

If Aiden was smart, he'd walk away.

He wasn't Black Summit. He didn't owe them anything.

But…

His fingers curled slightly, feeling the faint hum of something new just beneath his skin.

Shadowbound.

The power the Rift had given him—or forced onto him. It was still incomplete, unstable. The summoned phantoms were weak, flickering like afterimages of what they had once been. Not enough.

He needed a way to push it further.

And what better way than a real fight?

He wasn't 100% certain Kade would actually attack him.

But if he did?

Then Aiden had every reason to push his power to its limit.

Aiden exhaled through his nose, relaxing his posture. He wasn't an idiot. He knew it was a setup.

But he was choosing to walk into it.

He turned to Jenna, voice low. "You're going too?"

Jenna hesitated for a fraction of a second. "Yeah."

Aiden met her gaze. She wasn't comfortable with this either.

If she wasn't going, he might've reconsidered. But if she was there, it gave him a layer of insurance.

His decision solidified.

"Then I'm in."

Kade's smirk widened. "Atta boy."

Aiden could already tell.

This wasn't going to be a routine Rift run.

It was going to be a hunt.

And Kade Arlen was the kind of man who liked to play with his food.