The field was quiet, but Kairo felt that the silence was only the calming prelude to something darker. He and Lyra stood there, in the center of the devastated desert, where the battle against the creature from the Rift still reverberated in their minds. The sound of their breathing was the only echo that remained, but he knew they were not alone. Something else was watching them. Something else was waiting.
Lyra, at his side, was restless. Her golden eyes were fixed on the horizon, where the line of the sky merged with the infinite. She seemed to be thinking, weighing every word she spoke. Kairo, despite being exhausted, didn't want the silence to take over. The pain of losing one's own humanity, which she had mentioned, echoed in his mind. Whatever the Rift was, it was now clear that it wasn't a natural phenomenon. It was an entity with incomprehensible power, a force capable of distorting anything in its path.
"We don't have much time," Lyra said, breaking the heavy silence. Her voice sounded like a warning. "The Rifts don't stop. They are growing, and with that, the distortions. The creatures… they are no longer just monsters. They are like the men who once crossed those doors."
Kairo closed his eyes, trying to absorb the weight of her words. The visions of war and destruction he had seen before, the things falling from the sky, were just the beginning. He felt a growing pressure, as if the world around him was crumbling. He had lost friends and was now alone in a search for his sister. But what Lyra said… it was more than a fight for survival. It was a call to something much greater.
"I don't know how this works," Kairo finally said, his voice tense. "But I have to try. Ayleen…" He paused. The pain of thinking about her was almost unbearable. She was lost, and he didn't know how to bring her back. "If the Rift is what you say it is, if this is really what's happening to the people who go through it, then what's happening to her?"
Lyra turned to him, her eyes shining with an intensity that made him hesitate. "I don't know. No one knows what happens on the other side, Kairo. But it's clear that the Rift… it's not something to be ignored. The only thing we can do now is keep moving forward. Maybe we can find answers. Maybe there's still something we can do."
They walked on in silence, the weight of their words hanging in the air between them. The sun was low, painting the sky in a golden hue, but the atmosphere around them still felt charged with a dark energy. The path ahead seemed endless, a desert that never ended. Kairo felt fatigue dragging over him, but his mind was too occupied with thoughts of what was to come. Each step seemed to take him deeper into an abyss of uncertainty.
Suddenly, Lyra stopped, her eyes narrowing. Kairo looked around, but saw nothing. The wind whispered through the broken stones, bringing with it a sense of discomfort. "I feel something," Lyra murmured, her voice softer, as if trying to understand.
Kairo looked at her, confused. "What do you feel?"
"A presence. Something… familiar, but distorted. As if something is trying to guide us, but in a way we don't understand."
Before he could respond, a strange breeze began to blow, coming from an unexpected direction. A soft sound, almost like a distant echo, was heard, and the horizon in front of them distorted, as if time and space themselves were being altered. Kairo frowned. "What is that?"
Lyra didn't respond, but her expression softened slightly. "Let's go. I need to investigate."
They followed the strange breeze, the sound growing as they advanced. In the distance, a figure began to take shape in the mist. As they approached, Kairo could see more clearly: a city, or what remained of it. Ruins of a place that seemed to have been abandoned long ago, but at the same time, seemed still inhabited by some invisible presence.
The city was covered in moss and plants, the stone structures rising with a lost majesty, as if time had stopped there. The streets were deserted, but Kairo could feel the echoes of something that had once been prosperous. There was a strange energy in the air, and the ruins seemed to stretch further than the eye could see.
"This is…" Kairo began, not knowing how to finish the sentence.
"It's what remains," Lyra said, her voice almost sad. "A city that succumbed to the Rift. This place… was corrupted. But it might still give us answers."
They moved cautiously through the deserted streets, the echo of their footsteps being absorbed by the thick vegetation that crept along the stones. Kairo looked at the buildings around. The façades were damaged, but there was still something that seemed intact. As if time hadn't corrupted everything there.
As they explored the city, a strange feeling began to form between them. The environment wasn't just desolate, but full of memories. Kairo felt as if the place itself was trying to communicate something. Something he still couldn't understand.
At one point, they reached a large central plaza. In the center, a dry fountain, but whose sculpted contours seemed to have been made by skilled hands. In the background, a large statue of a warrior raised a sword to the sky. His eyes, however, were empty, as if there was something beyond what he could see.
Lyra stopped in front of the statue, her eyes fixed on the sculpted figure. "This place," she murmured. "I've been here before."
Kairo approached. "What do you mean? You've been here before?"
She looked at him, her golden eyes revealing an internal conflict. "I… don't know. There's something about this city that reminds me of a past I can't access. Maybe it was just an old life… or maybe I've seen this somewhere else, in another time."
Silence fell between them, until Kairo spoke: "It doesn't matter now. We need to find a place to rest. We're exhausted."
Lyra nodded in agreement, and they moved to a nearby building, where the walls still seemed to resist the wear of time. It was a tavern, or at least what remained of one. The doors were open, and a comfortable warmth emanated from inside, as if someone still lived there, taking care of the place.
Inside, the atmosphere was in contrast to the outside world. The warm air and soft candlelight seemed to invite them to stay, to allow themselves a moment of pause, a moment of relief.
Kairo let himself fall into one of the chairs, feeling his tense muscles finally relax. Lyra sat in another, her eyes fixed on the fire burning in the fireplace, but her mind clearly distant.
For a brief moment, Kairo had the feeling that the world was quieter there. But even amid the relative peace of the tavern, he knew the journey was just beginning. And what awaited them in the future was something much greater, much more dangerous than anyone could imagine.
They were together, but the truth was that, deep down, both knew that the Rift and its secrets would not leave them in peace. And while they rested in that forgotten city, a feeling that they were being watched persisted.
"I think the worst is yet to come," Kairo murmured.
Lyra looked at him, a sad smile appearing on her face. "Yes, Kairo. But for now, we can rest."