Chapter 147: The Fractured World

The moment Evryn’s consciousness returned, she was met with an overwhelming silence, the kind that reverberated deep in her bones. The familiar hum of the Nexus was gone, replaced by an eerie stillness that felt wrong. Her body was heavy, as though it had been torn apart and pieced back together. She could feel the faint pulse of energy coursing through her veins, but it was... distorted. Fractured. Something had changed.

Her eyes fluttered open, but the world before her was a blur. The edges of her vision warped like a reflection in a broken mirror. The ground beneath her was soft—unnaturally so—and she found herself lying on a bed of something that resembled grass, though its color was a sickly gray.

“What... happened?” she whispered, her voice hoarse.

The last thing she remembered was the violent explosion, the sensation of being sucked into the rift, and then... darkness. Had she been transported somewhere else? Was this still the Nexus?

She slowly pushed herself up, wincing as a sharp pain shot through her side. Her fingers brushed against the soft surface beneath her, and she realized that the ground wasn’t the only thing that had changed. The air itself felt different—thicker, heavier—as if it was full of unspeakable pressure.

“Evryn...” The voice came from the shadows, soft but unmistakable.

She whipped around, her heart skipping a beat. Standing a few feet away was Kai, but he looked different. His eyes, once warm and filled with a familiar fire, now flickered with an unsettling, distant light. His posture was rigid, tense, and there was something in his gaze that made Evryn’s skin crawl.

“You’re... here,” she breathed, her chest tightening as she scrambled to her feet. “I thought... I thought I lost you.”

Kai’s lips parted, but no sound came from them at first. He seemed to struggle with his own words, his gaze shifting toward the ground.

“Something’s wrong, Evryn,” he said, his voice colder than she had ever heard it. “This place isn’t what we think it is.”

Evryn’s pulse quickened. The way Kai spoke sent a ripple of dread through her. “What do you mean? What happened?”

His eyes lifted to meet hers, and for a moment, she could see a flicker of the man she had known—the man she had fought alongside. But it quickly vanished, replaced by a hollow emptiness that sent a shiver crawling up her spine.

“I’m not sure, but I don’t think we’re in the Nexus anymore,” Kai continued, his voice lowering. “This place... it’s not like anything I’ve seen before. It feels... ancient. Alive. And I can sense something in the air, Evryn. It’s drawing us in.”

Her heart raced as she looked around, trying to make sense of her surroundings. The landscape stretched out before them, but it was nothing like the cold, metallic corridors of the Nexus. Instead, jagged, black mountains loomed in the distance, their peaks reaching up toward a blood-red sky. The ground beneath her was covered in withered, twisted plants, their leaves curling into unnatural shapes, as though they had been poisoned by the very air.

“What is this place?” Evryn asked, her voice trembling.

“I don’t know,” Kai said quietly. “But I have a feeling we’re not the only ones here.”

Before Evryn could respond, a low rumble echoed from deep within the ground. It felt as though the world itself was trembling. The very earth beneath their feet began to shift, and the blackened sky overhead seemed to pulse with an unnatural energy.

“This isn’t good,” Evryn muttered, instinctively reaching for the energy inside her, the power that had once felt like a lifeline. But now, it was as if the connection to her own abilities had been severed, leaving her feeling exposed, vulnerable.

“Stay close,” Kai urged, his tone sharp. He reached out and grasped her wrist, pulling her toward a rocky outcrop nearby. “Whatever this place is, it’s not friendly.”

Evryn nodded, her mind racing. The last time she had encountered something like this—the sensation of being trapped in an unfamiliar, hostile place—had been when she first entered the Nexus. But this felt different. This wasn’t an artificial world. This was something ancient. Something real.

As they moved toward the outcrop, a sound pierced the air—a guttural growl, low and menacing. Evryn froze, her breath caught in her throat. It was coming from the shadows.

“Stay behind me,” Kai whispered, his hand tightening around her wrist as he drew her further into the cover of the rocks.

A figure emerged from the darkness, moving with a terrifying speed. It was humanoid but distorted, its form twisting and shifting as though it couldn’t decide what it was. Its eyes glowed with an eerie red light, and its teeth—sharp, jagged—snapped hungrily in the direction of Evryn and Kai.

“What the hell is that?” Evryn gasped.

Kai didn’t answer. Instead, he pushed Evryn behind him and raised his hand, as though preparing to fight.

But before they could react, the creature let out an ear-splitting screech and lunged at them. Evryn’s heart raced as Kai shoved her out of the way, throwing himself in the creature’s path.

“Get back!” Kai shouted, but it was too late. The creature’s claws raked across his chest, sending him sprawling to the ground in a heap.

Evryn screamed, but the sound was drowned out by the screeching of the creature. She could see the blood staining Kai’s shirt, his body crumpled under the weight of the attack.

Without thinking, Evryn reached for the energy inside her once more, but it was still out of reach. She cursed under her breath. There had to be a way to fight back.

“Kai!” she cried out. “Hold on!”

But the creature wasn’t done. It turned, its grotesque form shifting as it advanced on her next, its mouth wide, ready to devour her whole.

Suddenly, a flash of light erupted from the horizon. A figure, cloaked in shadow, appeared at the edge of the rocky outcrop, their hands raised in a gesture of command.

Evryn’s eyes widened as a powerful wave of energy crashed into the creature, sending it flying backward into the darkness. The figure stepped forward, revealing their face.

It was a woman—a woman who looked strikingly similar to Evryn, but with eyes that glowed with the same red intensity as the creature’s.

“Evryn,” the woman said in a voice that seemed to echo within her skull. “You’ve arrived.”

And then, the ground beneath their feet began to crack, the world itself shifting once more.