The Union transport was silent—too silent.
Caleb sat cuffed in the back, his wrists locked in magnetized restraints that pulsed with dampening fields. His Riftlight flickered weakly, like a candle behind glass. He could barely move, let alone fight.
Across from him sat Director Yu, arms folded, mechanical eye occasionally clicking as it scanned his vitals.
"You're stable, for now," she said flatly. "But don't push the Riftlight again. It's not… loyal."
Caleb didn't respond.
Yu sighed. "Do you even know what you are?"
"A person," he said.
She tilted her head. "That's up for debate."
He glared at her. "Then let's debate."
She smirked, stood, and activated a holo-screen from the transport wall. Files flickered open—classified documents marked 'PROJECT: RIFTBORN'.
"What I'm about to show you doesn't leave this room," she said. "The last person who saw it ended up erasing himself from history."
The screen showed footage—an experiment, a child in a sealed chamber surrounded by scientists in hazmat suits. The Rift pulsed behind a glass wall.
The child screamed as the Riftlight entered him. Not through force.
Through invitation.
Caleb's stomach twisted.
"That's… me."
"No," Yu said. "That was someone else. But the procedure was the same. A Riftbonding ritual. Forbidden after what happened to Subject 09."
"Who was Subject 09?"
Yu hesitated. Then tapped the screen again.
A face appeared.
Marcus Calen.
Caleb's breath hitched.
"That's my dad."
Yu looked at him, and this time there was no mockery in her face.
"Your father wasn't just a hero. He was the Rift's first chosen. He entered it, survived it, and came back changed. The Union let him walk free… until the things inside him started to wake up."
Caleb's mind reeled.
"You're saying he was… a Riftborn?"
"No," she said. "He was the Riftborn. The prototype."
"And me?"
Yu stepped closer. "You were born after he disappeared. And yet… you show the same power spikes. The same defiance of physics. You shouldn't exist—but you do."
Caleb leaned forward, eyes sharp.
"Why hide this?"
Yu's expression hardened. "Because if the Union knew what you really are… they'd destroy you before the monsters even got the chance."
The lights flickered. Outside, the skyline of Sector Zero came into view—metal towers wrapped in plasma shields, floating defense drones patrolling the edges like hornets.
Caleb stared out the window.
"If my father was the first… and I'm next… then what comes after me?"
Yu didn't answer.
But deep in the Union headquarters, as they descended into black tunnels carved into ancient rock, Caleb could feel it:
There were more secrets below.
And they were clawing to be let out.