The alarm reached Aiden before the order did.
It wasn't a sound.
It was pressure.
The Fragment stirred violently, far stronger than before, like something inside him had suddenly lifted its head and listened. The black interface snapped into full focus, text appearing faster than he could read.
[EMERGENCY EVENT DETECTED.]
[Gate Classification: Unregistered Urban Zone.]
[Threat Level: Escalating.]
Aiden sat up sharply.
The containment room lights flared red.
Moments later, the door slid open and Hana stepped inside, already armored, expression tight.
"Get up," she said. "This one isn't optional."
They stood on the rooftop of a Federation tower overlooking the city.
The sky above District Twelve was wrong.
Not dark.
Not stormy.
Bent.
Space itself warped around a point near the city center, buildings leaning inward at impossible angles as if reality were being pulled toward a wound. Civilians flooded the streets below, screams echoing even at this height.
Aiden felt it clearly now.
The gate wasn't just open.
It was unstable.
And it was reacting to him.
[Resonance Detected Authority-Level Disturbance.]
[Containment Advisory: Extreme.]
Hana swore under her breath. "It's a collapse-type gate. If it detonates"
"The district's gone," Aiden finished.
She looked at him sharply. "You feel it."
"Yes."
That was all he said.
The director's voice cut in through the comms.
"Kurovale. This is a live urban environment. Evacuation is incomplete. S-rank teams are holding the perimeter, but containment is failing."
Aiden stared at the warped skyline.
"You want me to go in," he said.
"Yes."
No hesitation. No apology.
The system displayed new parameters.
[Operational Override Authorized.]
[Power Output Limit: 0.1%]
Aiden's breath caught.
That wasn't restraint.
That was permission.
As they descended into the city, people noticed.
Phones lifted. Cameras turned. Whispers spread faster than the evacuation orders.
"Who is that?"
"Is he a Hunter?"
"Why does the air feel"
Aiden felt every gaze like weight pressing against his skin. The Fragment pulsed uneasily, reacting not to threat but to attention.
[Psychological Load Increasing.]
He clenched his fists.
Focus. Just the gate.
The closer they got, the worse it became.
Cars hovered inches above the ground. Streetlights bent like soft metal. A building's upper floors twisted slowly, groaning as if reality itself were straining.
At the center of it all,
The gate.
It wasn't a doorway.
It was a tear.
A vertical fracture in space, edges bleeding distorted light, pulling everything toward it in slow, inevitable motion.
S-rank Hunters were already fighting monsters spilling out in warped, half-formed shapes. Their attacks barely slowed the flow.
Aiden stepped forward.
The world reacted instantly.
The gate shuddered.
Every Hunter froze.
Hana grabbed his arm. "Aiden"
"I know," he said quietly.
The system screamed warnings.
[OUTPUT SPIKE IMMINENT.]
[Containment Stability: DROPPING.]
He could feel it now.
The gate wasn't hostile.
It was confused.
Like something opening where it shouldn't and sensing something far greater nearby.
Him.
"Aiden Kurovale," the director said sharply over comms. "Your objective is stabilization only. Do not attempt closure."
Aiden didn't respond.
He took one step closer.
The city held its breath.
The Fragment surged.
Not violently.
Decisively.
Reality bent inward around him, not collapsing but aligning. The pull of the gate weakened, monsters freezing mid-emergence, their forms unraveling under pressure they couldn't comprehend.
[Output: 0.08%]
Pain tore through Aiden's chest as the system fought to compress the surge.
Blood ran from his nose.
He didn't stop.
People were watching now.
Not just Hunters.
Civilians.
News drones hovered at the edge of the distortion, broadcasting live.
A single thought echoed through the city:
What is he doing?
Aiden raised his hand.
Not toward the gate.
Toward the space around it.
The Fragment responded.
For a brief, terrifying moment, the world listened.
The tear stabilized.
Not closed.
Anchored.
The pull ceased. Buildings stopped bending. Cars dropped back to the ground with heavy thuds.
Silence fell.
[Containment Breach: IMMINENT.]
The system reacted brutally.
[EMERGENCY SUPPRESSION ENGAGED.]
Agony exploded through Aiden's nervous system. He screamed, collapsing to his knees as invisible pressure crushed inward, forcing the Fragment back down.
The gate shrieked.
Then stabilized completely.
Aiden hit the pavement hard.
He barely felt it.
Hana was at his side instantly, shouting orders, but her voice sounded distant.
The system flooded his vision.
[Urban Stabilization Achieved.]
[Casualty Projection Reduced: 91%.]
[Penalty Applied: Severe Neural Feedback.]
He couldn't move.
Couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think.
But the city was still standing.
Hours later, footage replayed across the world.
A single figure standing before a warped sky.
Reality bending around him.
A gate freezing in place.
Headlines followed within minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED RANKER HALTS URBAN GATE COLLAPSE
NEW AUTHORITY-CLASS ENTITY CONFIRMED?
HUNTER FEDERATION REFUSES COMMENT
In containment, Aiden stared at the ceiling, body shaking uncontrollably.
The system hovered silently.
[Public Exposure: Confirmed.]
[Containment Risk: Increased.]
Hana sat beside him, silent for a long time.
"You saved them," she said finally.
Aiden laughed weakly. "No."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I proved them right," he whispered.
That he was dangerous.
That he was necessary.
That he could never be free.
The Fragment stirred faintly.
Satisfied.
And somewhere deep within the system.
Something recalculated.