Aren stepped onto the larger, warped platform, shards orbiting him with precision. The smaller Murmurborn scattered as he advanced, giving him a clear path deeper into the Rift.
The air shifted suddenly. A heavy, oppressive pressure settled around him, like the Rift itself had taken notice. The floating shards stilled mid-orbit.
"…That's new," Aren muttered, narrowing his eyes. The fragment pulsed sharply in his chest, warning him of something dangerous approaching.
A deep rumble echoed through the warped space, and shadows thickened ahead. The platform beneath him vibrated subtly, not enough to throw him off balance, but enough to make him tense.
Then the screen appeared. Bright, holographic, hovering in the air above the Riftstone:
RIFT ALERT – ENEMY DETECTED
CLASS: Rift Elite – Mini-Boss
NAME: Wraithbreaker
TIER: High Mid-Depth Threat
ABILITY: Authority Manipulation – can bend fragments and Rift energy in small radius
STRATEGY RECOMMENDATION: Extreme caution advised; exploit pattern recognition and environmental manipulation
Aren blinked at it. "…Wraithbreaker, huh?" He tilted his head, reading the info. "Authority manipulation… that sounds fun."
The fragment throbbed in response, almost impatient. Aren smirked. "Yeah, yeah… let's see if you really earned that title."
From the shadows, movement. A massive silhouette emerged, vaguely humanoid but twisted, warped by the Rift's authority. Its body seemed to flicker between solidity and ghostlike transparency. Jagged Riftstone spikes jutted from its shoulders and back, pulsing faintly.
Its eyes—or whatever passed for eyes—glowed with a deep, cold light. The Rift rippled around it as if acknowledging the authority it radiated.
Aren adjusted his stance. "Alright, Mindsteel… Gravity Shift… you ready for this?"
The fragments pulsed in response, orbiting faster, aligning with his intent. The smaller Murmurborn shrank back, sensing the overwhelming power.
Aren grinned faintly, his heart steady despite the pressure. "Okay, Wraithbreaker. Let's see if your authority manipulation can actually keep up with me."
The Rift seemed to hum in anticipation. Somewhere deep inside, the Wraithbreaker flexed its intangible claws, warping the floating platforms around it subtly, testing the boy already daring to face it.
Aren tightened his fists. "Fun's about to start."
The Rift pulsed violently as Wraithbreaker stepped forward, the warped platforms quivering under its presence. Shadows twisted around it, bending space slightly with every movement. Aren felt the fragment in his chest throb, reacting to the enemy's authority like a live wire.
"Alright," Aren muttered, flexing his fingers. "Step one: figure out what makes you tick."
He let Gravity Shift lift a few jagged shards, sending them spinning in a loose circle around him. Mindsteel shaped them into a protective barrier, anticipating the first strike.
The Wraithbreaker's form blurred and snapped forward like a whip of smoke and shadow, its arm swinging toward him. The Riftstone beneath Aren warped, a subtle distortion that tried to destabilize his footing.
Aren staggered slightly, but the fragment pulsed sharply, anchoring him. He tilted his wrist: the orbiting shards moved, intercepting the strike mid-air. The impact sent a shockwave through the platform, rattling smaller floating debris.
"…Okay, yeah, that's… definitely stronger than I expected," Aren muttered.
The Wraithbreaker didn't pause. It extended a claw, and suddenly the shards around Aren jerked violently, pulled by an invisible force. Gravity Shift strained as the authority manipulation tried to wrest control from him.
Aren gritted his teeth, concentrating. "Mindsteel… stabilize them! Think like the Rift, but faster!"
The shards pulsed and wobbled, resisting Wraithbreaker's pull. For a moment, it worked—then another ripple from the boss distorted the fragments again. Aren stumbled back, barely maintaining balance.
The fragments had a mind of their own, but this boss was bending reality, trying to make his Mindsteel orbit misalign. He frowned. "Right… you don't just hit you with brute force."
He stepped forward, letting the smaller Murmurborn crawl into the warped platforms near the edges. Not for attack, but for testing. The Wraithbreaker lunged, trying to manipulate the creatures with its authority. They twitched, levitated slightly, then Aren pulled them with Gravity Shift, spinning them away, forcing the Wraithbreaker to overreach.
"…Heh," Aren muttered under his breath. "Guess even a ghost can overcommit."
He circled, observing patterns. Every time Wraithbreaker flexed its authority, the surrounding Riftstone bent slightly, the platforms shifting just enough to throw him off. He noted the rhythm: sharp pulse, hold, expand. Timing was key.
Aren raised a hand, Mindsteel shards darting outward. "Alright… test time." He focused on a single shard, letting it ricochet off the warped walls. It clipped the Wraithbreaker's arm, harmlessly—but it elicited a reaction: a quick snap backward, a flicker of surprise in its rhythm.
"Gotcha," Aren whispered. He grinned faintly. "Not much, but it's something."
He adjusted his stance. Gravity Shift lifted a floating platform beneath him, pivoting it like a skateboard. He leapt onto it, using Mindsteel shards to block authority waves. The boss tried to manipulate his shards mid-air—but he countered, letting the fragments orbit faster than the distortion could affect them.
"Okay… okay…" Aren breathed, sweat running down his brow. "I think I get your pattern now."
He tested a combo move: launching Mindsteel shards at one side while pulling another platform beneath him to pivot into a different angle. Wraithbreaker tried to respond with authority manipulation—but Aren anticipated, letting the shards bounce off the Riftstone, ricocheting into the boss's flank.
The Wraithbreaker hissed—or maybe it was the Rift reacting—but it staggered slightly, its form flickering. Aren smirked. "That's more like it."
But he didn't celebrate. He knew this wasn't over. Authority manipulation wasn't just raw power—it was control. And the deeper he went, the more unpredictable it would become.
He circled again, letting Mindsteel shards orbit more erratically, testing how much the boss could interfere. Every pulse it sent, he analyzed, adjusting his shards' paths. Gravity Shift became not just lifting, but subtle repositioning: moving platforms, shifting debris, controlling the battlefield.
"…Yeah, okay, I see now," Aren muttered. "This isn't just strength. It's a dance. And I'm learning the steps."
Minutes passed like hours. The Rift pulsed around them, shards clashed, authority waves collided. Aren staggered, sweat pouring, fragments pulsing furiously. The boss adapted, bending reality faster—but Aren adapted faster, learning the flow, integrating Mindsteel and Gravity Shift into a rhythm.
He grinned faintly despite fatigue. "You're fast. I'll give you that. But I'm faster when I learn."
Another pulse from Wraithbreaker sent debris flying. Aren jumped onto a platform, shards deflecting multiple pieces mid-air. Then he combined both powers: using Gravity Shift to fling one platform into the boss's trajectory while Mindsteel guided ricocheting shards to strike weak points glimpsed through its flickering form.
The Wraithbreaker staggered again, letting out a low, distorted roar that reverberated through the Rift. Aren landed on solid Riftstone, breathing hard but smiling.
"…Okay," he muttered, brushing dust off his jacket. "I'm starting to get you."
The fragment pulsed warmly, almost like approval. Aren felt the first real sense of control in a fight this dangerous.
"…Just don't get cocky," he warned aloud. "You've still got tricks I haven't figured out."
The Rift hummed, shadows shifting. The Wraithbreaker's form solidified slightly, claws twitching, testing. But Aren didn't flinch. His hands hovered, ready, mind sharp.
This fight wasn't over—but now, for the first time, he felt… prepared.
The Rift pulsed violently, Wraithbreaker looming larger with every movement. Its shadows stretched unnaturally, claws slicing the air as if cutting reality itself. Aren's chest heaved; sweat dripped into his eyes, and a sharp pain throbbed along his ribs.
The boss lunged, faster than anything he'd faced before. Aren barely deflected the strike with Mindsteel shards—but the force of the blow sent him skidding across a floating platform. Riftstone splintered beneath him, and his shoulder took a hard impact. A sting of blood ran down his arm.
"Damn it…" Aren muttered, tasting iron in his mouth as he spat. "You're… stronger than I thought."
He tried a combo—Gravity Shift to pivot, Mindsteel shards to strike—but Wraithbreaker's authority pulses were relentless. Every move he made, the shards jerked violently as if resisting his control. Another swipe caught him mid-air, a claw raking across his torso, tearing through his jacket and leaving a deep, bleeding gash.
Aren landed heavily on a fractured platform, teeth gritted, blood dripping onto Riftstone. The fragment in his chest pulsed violently, stabilizing him but also signaling danger. Pain shot through his limbs with every heartbeat.
"This… isn't just a test anymore," he muttered, voice tight. "It's a warning."
The Wraithbreaker advanced slowly, each step a distortion in space. Aren backed up, using shards defensively, but one sudden pulse from the boss bent the fragments mid-air, throwing him off balance. He hit the ground hard, a shard of Riftstone embedding into the floor next to his side with a spark. Pain flared in his ribs, and a groan escaped him.
The fragment in his chest pulsed again, warm but insistent. Aren clenched his fists, blood smearing over his knuckles. "…I can't… lose."
He forced himself to stand, wiping blood from his lip. "You're fast. You're strong. But I can learn. I can adapt. And I will."
Another strike came—a spinning lunge. Aren barely rolled to the side, feeling the force tear into his leg, sending shards of Riftstone flying. The pain was sharp, debilitating. His vision blurred at the edges, but he focused, forcing Gravity Shift to stabilize a platform beneath him.
Mindsteel shards spun around, but one clawed past, grazing his shoulder again. Blood seeped through his sleeve. Every movement now cost him—breath, strength, focus—but he gritted his teeth and countered with a ricochet strike, hitting Wraithbreaker's flank.
A low, guttural roar echoed through the Rift. Shadows writhed violently. The Rift itself seemed to pulse in alarm. Aren's arms trembled. Pain radiated from every strike, every tear in his clothing, every wound bleeding down his chest.
"…I… have to…" he gasped. Mindsteel and Gravity Shift pulsed as he pushed both powers together. Orbiting shards flew faster, platform manipulations more precise. He aimed not to attack directly, but to control the flow, forcing Wraithbreaker to misstep.
A glancing blow connected, and the boss recoiled slightly—but Aren felt the punishment immediately. A jagged shadow clawed at his back, tearing through his jacket and scoring a long cut across his spine. He stumbled forward, coughing lightly, tasting blood again.
Pain. Fatigue. Rage. Focus. All mingled.
"…No," Aren muttered through gritted teeth. "I… I won't lose. Not here. Not now."
He took a deep breath, fragment pulsing fiercely. Both powers surged at once: Mindsteel shards flew, ricocheting off warped walls; Gravity Shift moved entire platforms to trap the Wraithbreaker's momentum. The boss twisted violently, trying to manipulate him—but Aren anticipated, adjusting shards mid-flight, countering every shift.
It wasn't perfect. He was bleeding. Exhausted. Limbs trembling. But for the first time, Wraithbreaker's attacks were slightly slowed, slightly less precise. Aren gritted his teeth, summoning every ounce of focus.
"…You… you're strong. But I'm stronger than yesterday," he muttered, blood running down his face, soaking into his collar.
And as he took a staggered, bloody stance, the Rift pulsed around them, alive with chaos—but Aren, despite the pain, had found his rhythm.
Aren staggered, blood dripping from his shoulder and ribs, limbs trembling—but his eyes burned with focus. He had studied Wraithbreaker's patterns. Every pulse, every distortion of space, every lunge—it followed a rhythm, predictable if he dared to push through the pain.
"Alright… let's try this," he muttered, wiping blood from his lip. He clenched his fists, fragment in his chest flaring violently.
He combined both powers deliberately this time. Gravity shift spun shards faster, sharper, while Mindsteel whispered into Wraithbreaker's subconscious authority threads. Aren's shards weren't just attacking—they were baiting, manipulating, forcing the boss to overcommit its swings.
A glancing claw strike tore across his leg, sending him tumbling, but Aren twisted mid-air, slamming his shards into the Riftstone beneath the boss's feet. Gravity bent. Riftstone rose like walls under Wraithbreaker, forcing it to stagger sideways.
"Finally…" Aren grunted, pain lancing across his torso. He focused, and the Mindsteel shards latched onto Wraithbreaker's authority pulses, disrupting its rhythm.
A deafening roar filled the Rift as Wraithbreaker swiped wildly, trying to regain control. Aren ducked under the claws, blood spilling down his forehead. His ribs ached, and each breath was a sharp stab—but he pushed forward, shards ricocheting around him with precision.
He aimed a concentrated strike at the boss's flank, where Riftstone shimmered weaker. Mindsteel guided the shards, twisting authority pulses to confuse Wraithbreaker mid-strike. The shards hit simultaneously.
Wraithbreaker staggered hard. A crack of warped energy exploded outward, hurling fragments into the Rift air. Aren was thrown back, sliding across broken platforms, coughing blood—but the boss had flinched.
For the first time, it wasn't just him reacting. He had made the boss react.
Panting, blood soaking his sleeve, Aren muttered, "…That's right. I'm not yesterday's kid anymore."
Wraithbreaker's eyes glowed brighter, shadows writhing in rage. Its claws slashed downward, faster, heavier. Aren barely jumped, landing on a floating shard that tilted dangerously under his weight. Pain screamed through his leg from the earlier wound.
He gritted his teeth. "I can do this. I… have to do this."
Mindsteel whispered guidance, telekinesis responded, and for a moment, they were one. Aren's shards struck again, this time faster, hitting the boss's weak points in a rapid, precise barrage. Riftstone splintered. Wraithbreaker staggered, its authority pulse faltering slightly.
But Aren's body was screaming. Blood dripped freely from his arms, torso, and a cut above his eye blurred his vision. Each step, each dodge, each strike cost him more than he could handle if the fight dragged on too long.
He landed heavily, sweating and bleeding, but eyes fierce. "…You're strong… but not unbeatable."
Wraithbreaker roared, shadows writhing, claws swinging with terrifying force. Aren stumbled, barely catching a floating shard to stop himself from falling off the platform. Blood trickled down his temple, and he tasted it in his mouth.
But he smiled faintly, spiteful. Pain could slow him, but it couldn't stop him—not yet.
"…You're going to regret underestimating me."