Jak's second week in zone eighteen started with a mega-rift.
Not a normal tear. Something larger. Reality breaking on massive scale.
The warning came at dawn. Alarm bells across the zone. All specialists to central command immediately.
Jak ran. Shade beside him. Reached command in minutes.
Elena was already there. So were Theron and the other B-rank specialists. Six total. All looking at the detection equipment.
The readings were catastrophic.
"Mega-rift forming," Elena said. Voice tight. "Quadrant north. Energy concentration is off the scale. Estimated manifestation in thirty minutes."
"Estimated size?" Theron asked.
"Fifty feet across. Maybe larger. It'll stay open for hours. Maybe days." Elena pulled up historical data. "Last mega-rift in this zone was twelve years ago. Took three S-rank adventurers to seal it. Spawned over two hundred creatures before they succeeded."
"We don't have S-rank support," another specialist said. "Nearest S-rank is four hours away."
"Then we contain it ourselves." Elena's expression was grim. "Standard mega-rift protocol. Perimeter formation. Seal smaller rifts. Kill spawns as they emerge. Hold position until S-rank arrives."
"That's suicide," someone muttered.
"That's our job." Elena looked at each of them. "Jak, you're newest. You take rear position. Furthest from the mega-rift. Handle overflow spawns that break through our line."
"Understood."
They moved out. Fast. Coordinated.
The mega-rift was forming in a valley. Bad location. Natural chokepoint. Limited escape routes.
Energy was concentrating like nothing Jak had seen before. Through his void sense, it looked like a whirlpool. Purple-blue light spiraling inward. Growing. Intensifying.
Reality was screaming. The sound was almost physical. That glass-shard noise amplified a thousand times.
"Formation!" Elena shouted. "Hold the perimeter!"
The specialists spread out. Circle around the forming rift. Each covering a section.
Jak took rear position. Hundred feet back from the main line. His job was safety net. Catch anything that got through.
The mega-rift manifested.
Fifty feet across. Maybe sixty. A massive tear in reality. Purple-blue light flooding through. The void dimension visible beyond.
And things started coming through.
Not small spawns. Large ones. Greater Spawns. Multiple. Simultaneously.
The first wave was six creatures. All B-rank equivalent. All emerging within seconds of each other.
The specialists engaged. Professional. Coordinated. Each targeting one spawn.
Elena's magic tore through the first spawn. Obliterated it. Theron's sword work destroyed the second. The other specialists handled the rest.
First wave cleared. Six spawns dead in under two minutes.
Second wave emerged. Eight spawns. Larger than the first.
The specialists engaged again. But this time one spawn broke through. Got past the main line. Charged toward the rear.
Toward Jak.
He didn't hesitate. Drew his blade. Shade moved to intercept.
The spawn was huge. Ten feet tall. Four arms. Crystalline armor covering most of its body.
Shade attacked first. Claws finding a gap in the armor. Drawing blood. The spawn roared. Swatted at the fox. Missed.
Jak flanked. Blade aimed for the legs. Cut deep. The spawn stumbled.
But it didn't fall. These spawns were more durable. Harder to kill.
The fight lasted three minutes. Exhausting. Brutal. Finally, Jak's blade found the spawn's throat. Critical damage. It dissolved.
Jak looked back at the main line. The specialists had cleared the second wave. But they looked strained. Exhausted.
Third wave emerged. Twelve spawns.
Too many. The specialists couldn't handle twelve simultaneously.
Two spawns broke through. Both heading for Jak's position.
He killed one. Barely. The second engaged him while he was still recovering from the first.
Shade intercepted. But the fox was tiring. The fights were continuous. No rest. No recovery time.
Jak's void regeneration kicked in. His wounds from the previous fight closed. Not fully. But enough to continue fighting.
The second spawn nearly killed him. Claws raking across his chest. Deep cuts. Blood everywhere.
Shade saved him. The fox's jaws found the spawn's neck. Tearing. Killing.
Both spawns dead. But Jak was wounded. Badly.
He looked at the mega-rift. It was still open. Still spawning.
Fourth wave emerged. Fifteen spawns.
Three broke through the main line.
Jak couldn't handle three. Not wounded. Not exhausted.
"Fall back!" Elena's voice. Shouting. "Everyone fall back! We can't hold this position!"
The specialists retreated. Coordinated. Professional. Creating distance.
But the spawns pursued. Faster than expected. Coordinated. Intelligent.
One caught a specialist. Older man. Jak didn't know his name. The spawn's claws tore through the man's chest. He fell. Dead before he hit the ground.
"Keep moving!" Elena shouted. "Don't stop!"
They retreated further. Half a mile from the mega-rift. Set up new defensive position.
But the spawns kept coming. Wave after wave. Twenty. Thirty. Forty.
The specialists were overwhelmed. Exhausted. Wounded. Dying.
Another specialist fell. Woman. Mage class. Spawn tore her throat out.
Jak was barely standing. His regeneration was working. But not fast enough. Too many wounds. Too much damage.
Through the bond, Shade's exhaustion. The fox was limping. Wounded. Barely able to fight.
"S-rank support is still two hours out!" someone shouted. "We can't last two hours!"
"Then we die here!" Theron's voice. Defiant. "We hold! That's the job!"
But they weren't holding. They were losing. Badly.
Another specialist fell. Man. Warrior class. Spawn crushed his skull.
Three specialists left. Elena. Theron. Jak.
Against dozens of spawns. Maybe hundreds. They kept emerging from the mega-rift. Endless.
"We need to retreat further," Elena said. "Get to the zone exit. Seal it behind us. Contain the spawns to zone eighteen."
"What about civilians outside the zone?" Jak asked.
"What about us?" Elena's eyes were wild. Panicked. "We're going to die if we stay here!"
She was right. They couldn't hold. Couldn't win. Three people against an army.
But retreating meant abandoning the zone. Meant the spawns would spread. Reach populated areas eventually.
"How long until the rift closes naturally?" Jak asked.
"Hours. Maybe days." Theron's voice was grim. "We don't have that long."
Jak looked at the mega-rift through his void sense. The energy flow was massive. Constant. The tear was stable. Would stay open indefinitely without intervention.
Unless someone destabilized it.
The ancient journal had mentioned mega-rifts. "Large tears require massive energy to maintain. Disrupt the flow and they collapse. But disruption must be internal. From within the void dimension itself."
From within. That meant entering the rift. Going into the void dimension. Attacking the energy source from the other side.
Suicide. Probably.
But possibly effective.
"I have an idea," Jak said.
"What idea?" Elena asked.
"I can close the rift. From inside."
"That's insane. Nobody survives entering a rift."
"Shadow foxes have void affinity. My beast can survive void exposure. Maybe I can too." Jak looked at Shade. Through the bond, the fox's understanding. Agreement.
"You'll die," Theron said flatly.
"Probably. But we're dying anyway." Jak gestured to the dead specialists. "At least this way it means something."
Elena stared at him. Then nodded slowly. "Do it. We'll hold the spawns as long as we can. Give you time."
Jak ran toward the mega-rift. Shade beside him. Dodging spawns. Ignoring wounds. Focused on the tear.
Reached the edge. The rift was massive up close. Fifty feet of torn reality. Purple-blue light spilling through. The void dimension visible beyond.
Dark. Empty. Cold.
Jak didn't let himself think. Just stepped through.
The void swallowed him.