As Kaien begins training with Zaiya, he struggles to understand the visions haunting him. They're not dreams — they are lived experiences from alternate timelines, places he's never been, battles he never fought. He begins to lose track of what is truly his. During a supply run through a Rift-bleached forest, Kaien meets Shiran, a strange girl who speaks in riddles and refers to Kaien as "the seventh version." She reveals she remembers every version of herself from fractured timelines — she is Fractureborn, a child of collapsing realities.
Shiran explains that the Rift isn't just reopening — it's adapting. Creatures once sealed away are returning in new, evolved forms. Cities flicker between centuries. And in the shadows, the Clockbound rise: a time-worshipping cult that believes Vaegros's will survived and must be fulfilled. They steal Rift tech, experiment on timelines, and seek to bring back the Spiral — a loop where free will is impossible.
Kaien and Shiran uncover an ancient chamber that reacts to Kaien's touch, showing flashes of Benizame's transformation into Eclipse Breaker. Zaiya warns Kaien: the more he leans into the power of the Rift, the more he risks losing himself — or becoming the very thing Benizame fought.
Meanwhile, the Rift pulses stronger. Multiple versions of people begin overlapping, causing rift-fusion events. If left unchecked, reality will collapse. Kaien must choose: keep hiding… or begin walking the path of the Rift, even if it destroys who he is.