Location: Drift Space – In-Between Layer / Then Ka'rath'Mar (Again. Kind Of.)
Time: [Core Reboot: Stable / Portal Capability: Beginner Level Dumbass]
Ren stood still, one eye twitching, both hands on his hips.
REN:
"I want to stop being dragged everywhere like a magical Amazon delivery."
GRAVITY (deadpan, in his skull):
"Then stop acting like luggage."
Ren rolled his shoulders.
REN:
"Teach me.
Teach me how to open portals. For real this time."
GRAVITY:
"Fine. But if you mess this up, we will arrive inside a volcano.
Or someone's toilet dimension. Or worse—Solmerea bureaucracy."
The others took a few steps back.
Just in case Ren punched a hole into raw space and summoned a screaming mailbox demon again.
(That happened once.)
FROST (concerned):
"Should he be glowing this early?"
BLAZE (fanning her face):
"He's not glowing. He's… sizzling."
GRAVITY:
"Alright, Riftborn 101:
Feel your Core.
Find your thread in the Drift.
Grab it. Pull.
Don't think. Just tear."
Ren gritted his teeth.
Focused.
His hand glowed with Aetherium sigils.
He tugged on the space in front of him—
REN:
"Open… sesame?"
The air ripped.
A portal opened.
Kind of.
It sputtered. Glitched.
Made a farting sound.
Then went pop — stabilizing into a swirling black-and-teal spiral.
SPACE (impressed):
"…Wow. That's either very wrong or just Ren-style perfect."
TIME:
"Place your bets. I'm saying he lands inside a storage closet."
REN (proud):
"See? I can Rift-jump just fine."
He stepped through confidently—
And IMMEDIATELY tumbled headfirst into a pile of cactus-like bones, rolled into a dry creek bed, and smacked his head into what looked like a forgotten fruit stand.
A startled goat screamed and ran away.
REN (groaning, eating dirt):
"…I meant to do that."
The portal behind him snapped shut with a judgmental whoosh.
A long pause.
He stood up slowly, brushing mud, bones, and dignity off his shoulders.
REN (looking around):
"Okay. So… 11th planet. Probably.
Definitely not the training temple.
And absolutely not a bathroom."
He looked up.
The sun above Ka'rath'Mar was still that weird hazy orange.
The skyline showed rusted towers in the distance.
Yup.
He was back.
Just not in the same place as before.
FROST (crackling through Core-link):
"Good news: You didn't die."
BLAZE (laughing):
"Bad news: You're gonna smell like goat spit for days."
GRAVITY (satisfied):
"Next time, ask for directions, Riftboy."
REN (dusting off his coat):
"Alright, old man.
Wherever you are — I'm coming.
Just… maybe not elegantly."