Chapter 33 - This Rift Is on Fire
An Emergency Rift?
It was the kind of thing that only showed up in fiction. Rare, high-risk, borderline catastrophic. Like hell it would appear on Tave's first Rift Expedition. That kind of ridiculous twist only happened in books written by authors who enjoyed tormenting their own protagonists.
But this... this wasn't fiction.
This was real.
Tave let out a breath and smiled faintly to himself. Then, without hesitation, he stepped into the swirling vortex.
And... Whoaaa!
His body was yanked forward and spun violently through a twisting, echoing void. It felt like being flung across a bottomless pit, thrown around by invisible currents in a hollow dimension that had no up, no down. His scream tore through the darkness, lost in the roar of the vortex as shadows swallowed him whole.
And then... crack! He was thrown loose.
The crushing grip of energy snapped away, and a sudden blast of light assaulted every inch of his senses. His voice, still caught in the scream, was flung free into the open space he now landed in.
Tave hit the ground hard and scrambled to stabilize his footing. The earth beneath him was scorched and blackened. The air was thick and dry, heat pulsing in waves that stung against his skin.
He lifted his head.