Far above, the chaos of the Rift had begun to settle. The sky still shimmered with streaks of violet Aether, but the worst had passed. Charred homes smoked under the dying glow of the riftstorm.
The soldiers had finally arrived, a squad from the Valorian Guards, the group of high ranking Rift Walkers that appeared in every rift leakage in the Veyron Border town. Their silver armor was marked with glowing sigils, and weapons still humming with residual energy. As they moved through ruined town with grim expressions.
"Third wave's over. Most of the rift beasts retreated," one of them said, scanning the wreckage.
"Retreated, or got bored after slaughtering half the district," another muttered, nudging the corpse of a monster with his boot.
Their boots crunched over splintered wood and blood-soaked mud as they swept the area for survivors.
The captain, a broad-shouldered man with a scar across his jaw, gestured toward what remained of a small hut. "You two, check that area. Looks like the beasts in there took a direct hit from my skill."
Two soldiers jogged over, weapons raised, their Aether lamps cutting through the smoke.
Inside, the smell of ash and iron clung thick in the air.
Confirming the death of the beasts that seemed to attack the hut, just then one of them froze. "Captain," he called, voice low, "we've got… bodies."
They knelt beside Elara first. Her small form lay motionless, her hands folded as if she had been sleeping. There was no blood around her face, only a soft layer of ash.
The soldier sighed. "Kid didn't stand a chance."
His partner looked to the other side of the hut where Lucien's body lay half-buried under debris.
"And this one… looks older. Maybe tried to protect her."
The first soldier's tone turned indifferent. "Half-bloods, judging by their appearance. Poor bastards never last long when the Rifts get this close."
"Still," the other muttered, his eyes softening, "they seemed to have held out longer than most would."
The captain approached, glancing once before shaking his head. "Mark the site and move on. We've got regulars still trapped in the south block. Prioritize the alive first."
"Yes, sir."
As the rest of the squad prepared to leave, the two assigned soldiers stayed behind.
One reached for Lucien's arm to lift the body, and stopped.
"Wait."
He leaned closer, eyes narrowing. "Did you see that?"
"What?"
"The veins… look."
Faint lines of silver light were crawling up Lucien's forearm, pulsing weakly beneath the skin.
The soldier hesitated, then pressed two fingers against Lucien's neck.
A flicker.
A heartbeat.
Weak, but there.
"Captain!" he shouted. "The boy's alive!"
The squad turned sharply. Even the captain looked taken aback.
"Alive? In that state?"
"Yes, sir. He's breathing, although barely. His body's reacting to something."
The captain knelt beside the boy, his eyes narrowing as he caught the faint shimmer of black and silver energy dancing along Lucien's chest.
"That's… not normal Aether flow."
One of the soldiers nodded, uneasy. "There have been rare cases, half-bloods awakening late. Emotional overload, trauma, things like that. But this—"
"This looks like a full Aether reaction," the captain finished. "Get the stabilizers ready. If he's awakening, we can't risk losing him."
They moved fast, unpacking crystal conduits and medical seals. The captain looked back at Elara's body, his expression softening for the first time.
"Wrap the girl. She'll be given rites with the others. But save the boy. Even if he's half-blood, the researchers will want to see this."
As they worked, the Rift energy stirred again. The ground trembled softly, and the air grew heavy. A ripple of shadow and light spread out from Lucien's body, like the pulse of a second heartbeat.
Inside that storm of energy, Lucien's mind drifted in darkness.
He stood in a place that wasn't real, a vast emptiness filled with flickering echoes of light. It felt endless, yet confined within him.
His thoughts stumbled through confusion. "Where… am I?"
Something answered.
Not a voice at first, more like a vibration crawling through his bones.
Then whispers layered, mechanical and alive at once.
▓▒░ [ Resonance anomaly detected… ] ░▒▓
▓▒░ [Soul integrity fractured.] ░▒▓
▓▒░ [Rebinding core…] ░▒▓
The words weren't heard but felt, resounding through him.
Lucien tried to move, but he was weightless. His heart, or whatever remained of it beat once, and with that pulse, a thread of silver light cut through the dark.
▓▒░ [SYSTEM BOOTING…] ░▒▓
▓▒░ [Identity Sync: Success] ░▒▓
▓▒░ [Cognitive Link Established] ░▒▓
Another pulse.
▓▒░ [Soulbinder Protocol — Initializing] ░▒▓
The phrase lingered, cold, and precise. Yet beneath it, he felt warmth. Familiar warmth. Elara's warmth.
His will clung to it. Held it as the void tried to swallow him.
"I won't die here. Not again."
The silver threads thickened, weaving through him, stitching cracks that weren't physical but spiritual. The Rift's fading energy spiraled into him, drawn to something buried deep inside.
▓▒░ [Analyzing Host Parameters…] ░▒▓
▓▒░ [Luck Variance — Anomalous] ░▒▓
▓▒░ [Accumulated Misfortune: Critical] ░▒▓
▓▒░ [Compensatory Mechanism Triggered] ░▒▓
A soft chime echoed as if the system recognized his entire life of bad odds.
▓▒░ [Passive Unlocked: Survivor's Bias] ░▒▓
"Probability slightly bends in your favor in moments of mortal crisis."
Light burst behind his eyes. His heartbeat returned, steady, rising, and defiant.
Outside, the soldiers stepped back as Lucien's body lifted inches off the ground. Black and silver Aether spiraled around him, forming a faint cocoon.
"What the hell…" a soldier whispered.
"Keep your distance!" the captain barked. "That's not a normal awakening!"
▓▒░ [Synchronization — 97%] ░▒▓
▓▒░ [Stabilizing Soul Vessel…] ░▒▓
Lucien's lips parted as a final whisper flowed through him, not divine, not digital, but something eerily alive.
▓▒░ […Synchronizing… Host Found.] ░▒▓
▓▒░ […SOULBINDER SYSTEM — GAMEMODE ACTIVATED.] ░▒▓
The glow dimmed. His body went still.
The soldiers hesitated, unsure what they had witnessed.
The captain exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face. "Get him to the med bay. Whatever just happened, we can't let this go undocumented."
As they carried Lucien away, the Rift's light died completely. Only the faint scent of ash and battle lingered.
And beneath it, the quiet promise of something the world had never seen before.
The Soulbinder had been born.