The Masked Virtuoso-Chapter 50: Riftborne Requiem

Return from the Abyss

The air rippled violently as Ethan and the others burst out of the collapsing Rift, landing hard onto the cracked stone of the ruined battlefield. A deafening boom followed as the Rift imploded behind them, swallowing itself into nothingness.

For a long moment, there was only silence.

Then—

"Well," Kieran groaned, rolling onto his back, "that sucked."

Nefera, dusting off her armor, arched a brow. "You weren’t even in the worst of it."

Kieran pointed at Ethan. "He was. And look at him—barely a scratch. What kind of protagonist bull—"

"Not the time," Isolde cut in, scanning the group with a critical eye. "Everyone alive?"

"More or less," Mia murmured, clutching her dagger with a grip so tight her knuckles were white.

Ethan didn’t move.

He knelt on one knee, hands pressed against the ground, his breath slow. Controlled.

And yet, the shadows around him writhed unnaturally.

Nefera narrowed her eyes. "Ethan...?"

Selene, still pale from exhaustion, took a slow step toward him. "Ethan, talk to us."

Ethan finally exhaled. When he lifted his gaze, his golden eyes flickered with something darker.

Something not entirely human.

Isolde, always the strategist, immediately noticed.

Orion noticed too—and he didn’t hesitate.

His rifle was instantly raised, his tone sharp. "What the hell happened to him in there?"

Ethan’s shadows twitched.

The tension was immediate.

Nefera stepped forward, her chains rattling. "Hey, put that thing down, Orion."

"Not until someone explains what’s wrong with him," Orion snapped, eyes locked on Ethan.

Mia swallowed hard. She knew. She had seen it.

The Rift had changed Ethan.

But the question was... how much?

---

Power Shift & Unexpected Surprises

Before anyone could say another word, a sudden pulse of energy radiated from Ethan.

The ground cracked beneath him.

Kieran’s scouter-like device beeped rapidly, flashing red warnings. "Whoa, wait a second. That’s not normal—Ethan, are you seeing this?!"

Ethan flexed his fingers. The air around his body shimmered as if reality itself was struggling to hold him in place.

"...I feel fine," he said.

A loud snap echoed—Kieran’s scanner overloaded and exploded in his hand.

"Okay," Kieran muttered, shaking his burnt fingers, "he’s broken. He’s completely broken."

Nefera smirked. "We knew that already."

Ethan shot her a look, and for a second—just a second—his pupils slit like a predator’s.

Isolde’s stomach dropped. Not good.

Orion’s Breaking Point

Orion had seen enough. His rifle snapped up, trained on Ethan in an instant. His hands were steady, his posture unshaken.

"That’s not normal," he snapped, voice sharp as steel. "We don’t even know what he is anymore!"

Ethan’s expression darkened, shadows curling around his fingertips. "I’m still me, Orion."

"Are you?" Orion’s voice was dead serious. "Because from where I’m standing, you don’t even need to fight anymore—your own power does it for you. That’s Rift-level mutation."

A heavy silence settled over the battlefield.

Kieran, ever the smartass, was conspicuously quiet. Mia didn’t move. Even Nefera’s usual smirk had faded.

"You’re reaching, Orion," Nefera finally muttered, arms crossed. "He didn’t ask to get supercharged."

"That’s not the point," Orion said. His voice was steady, but his finger was tight on the trigger. "The point is we don’t know how far this change goes. We don’t know if we can stop him—if we ever have to."

That word.

Stop.

Ethan’s breath hitched, but he masked it well. Too well.

His shadows flickered—not in aggression, but something worse.

Hurt.

For the first time, the rift between them wasn’t just metaphorical.

Selene saw it. She felt it.

And it made her afraid.

Orion’s grip on his rifle never wavered.

"Can you prove me wrong, Ethan?" Orion asked, voice dangerously quiet. "Because if you can’t—I have my orders."

---

Selene’s Realization

Selene’s breath was steady, but her heart was racing.

Ethan stood only a few feet away, but he felt... distant.

She could sense it—the Rift wasn’t just something inside him anymore. It was in the air around him, woven into his very existence.

She took a step forward, her golden aura flickering in the dim light. Carefully, she reached out and placed a gentle hand on his arm.

Then she felt it.

Not exhaustion. Not adrenaline.

Cold.

Not the cold of fear or exhaustion.

The cold of something inhuman.

Her fingers tensed slightly. Her instincts screamed at her to pull away. But she didn’t.

She forced herself to meet Ethan’s gaze, really look.

And for just a second—his pupils slit again.

The change was subtle. Almost imperceptible.

Then—just as quickly—it was gone.

But Selene knew the truth.

Something was wrong.

And Ethan didn’t even realize it.

She withdrew her hand, slowly. Ethan tilted his head slightly, sensing something off about her hesitation.

"You okay?" His voice was normal. Like it had always been.

Selene forced a smile. "Yeah."

A lie.

She turned away before he could see the truth in her eyes.

---

The General’s Orders

A sharp crackle came through Orion’s earpiece.

"Commander Orion, report."

Everyone tensed.

Orion hesitated. His finger hovered over his comm unit.

"Orion, the General wants an immediate status update. Are the targets contained?"

Ethan’s stomach turned to stone.

Orion’s jaw tightened. His expression gave nothing away.

Finally, he spoke. His voice was unreadable. "Not yet."

Silence.

Then—

"Understood. A retrieval unit is inbound. Do not let them leave."

Orion’s fingers twitched.

Ethan’s breathing slowed.

There it was.

The confirmation.

They weren’t just after the Artifact Users anymore.

Now, they were after him.

Nefera’s chains rattled. "You wanna tell us what that was about?"

Orion exhaled slowly. "Reinforcements are coming."

Selene’s golden light dimmed. "To do what?"

Orion’s silence was the answer.

Isolde, usually unreadable, took a step forward. "You’re turning him in, aren’t you?"

Orion didn’t deny it.

Ethan’s shadows curled tighter around his feet, instinctively defensive.

Mia’s breath caught in her throat.

Orion didn’t flinch. "I have my orders."

Nefera scoffed. "Oh, of course you do."

The tension in the air was suffocating.

Orion turned to Ethan, his gaze unwavering. "I need you to come quietly." 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The world stilled.

Ethan met Orion’s eyes.

And he smiled.

But it wasn’t his usual grin.

It was sharp. Cold.

Like the Rift itself.

"That’s not happening."

---

Mia’s Breaking Point

Mia couldn’t stay silent anymore.

"Orion," she said, slowly, carefully. "You don’t understand what happened in that Rift."

"Then explain it to me."

Mia froze.

Because she couldn’t.

Not without revealing the truth. Not without telling them what she had seen—the Forsaken One.

Orion’s patience was running out. "Either you tell me the truth, or I follow my orders."

Mia’s fingers tightened around her dagger.

The truth?

The truth was that the Rift had changed Ethan. That the Forsaken One wasn’t just a vision. That every future she had seen led to the same fate.

And that she had been the one to stab him in all of them.

Her pulse pounded in her ears.

Ethan’s eyes met hers.

Something passed between them.

A silent question. A silent plea.

Mia looked away.

And that was all Orion needed to see.

"You don’t trust him either," Orion said quietly.

Mia didn’t answer.

The weight of the moment crushed her.

Because she didn’t know if he was wrong.

---

To Be Continued...