Echo of the Rift
Zohar Leo Palfi
© Zohar Leo Palfi, 2025
ISBN 978-5-0067-1793-0
Created with Ridero smart publishing system
Dear Readers!
You are holding a story about the fragility of our world, about dreamers who, in their quest to reshape reality, found themselves on its very edge. This book is not merely a tale of heroism or struggle. It is a story about people – their fears, losses, hopes, and their desperate will to survive against all odds. As you immerse yourself in this world, I hope you feel like part of this team – sharing their anxieties, pain, and the paradoxes of their choices. But above all, I want this story to remind you of one essential truth: even in the darkest abysses, there is always room for light – in inner strength, in trust in one another, and in the pursuit of redemption.
Thank you for embarking on this perilous journey alongside the characters to uncover the truth about the boundaries of existence and what makes us human.
When I first began writing this book, I could never have imagined how deeply it would resonate within me. This is a story about a world that collapsed under the weight of its own mistakes, about people whose lives were torn apart but who still found the strength to move forward. It is a tale of loss, guilt, hope, and, above all, of how we can find light even in the darkest corners of our hearts.
The protagonists of this book – Kyle, Eva, Lina, and Drake – have become more than just fictional characters to me. They are reflections of our fears, regrets, and most cherished dreams. Their journey through a shattered world, through the Rifts that tear apart not only reality but also souls, is a voyage toward acceptance and the realization that even in chaos, there is room for redemption.
I sincerely hope this story touches your hearts as deeply as it touched mine while I was writing it. May it serve as a reminder that even in the darkest times, we carry within us the strength – the strength to fight, to love, and to believe, bearing the echoes of those we have lost and the hope for a new dawn.
With warmth and faith,
Zohar Leo Palfi
Table of Contents for Echo of the Rift
Prologue: «The Fracture»
A depiction of the catastrophe that marked the beginning of the story – the first Rift.
Chapter 1: «The Last Bastion»
Kyle lives in the «Last Bastion.» He is assigned a mission to scout the Rift «Echo-7.»
Chapter 2: «Shards of Trust»
Team formation: tense relationships between the members of the expedition.
Chapter 3: «On the Edge of the Void»
The team’s first steps into the Wasteland, revealing their vulnerabilities.
Chapter 4: «Voices from the Cracks»
As the team approaches the Rift «Echo-7,» mental intrusions begin.
Chapter 5: «Shadows in the Walls»
A stop at the abandoned bunker «Northern Shield.» The heroes encounter shadows.
Chapter 6: «Echo from the Depths»
The Rift intensifies its attacks, consuming reality and affecting the heroes’ minds.
Chapter 7: «The Rift Within Us»
The Rift exploits the heroes’ fears and guilt, tearing apart their inner worlds.
Chapter 8: «The Point of No Return»
The team reaches the boundary of the Rift’s zone of influence and moves forward, unable to turn back.
Chapter 9: «Voice from the Void»
The Rift’s essence manifests through voices, manipulating the team’s minds.
Chapter 10: «Choice in the Abyss»
The heroes confront the core of the Rift and make a pivotal decision.
Chapter 11: «Shadow Beyond the Edge»
The aftermath of the confrontation with the Rift. Questions arise about what was truly defeated.
Chapter 12: «Calm Before the Storm»
The team temporarily shelters in «Southern Blade,» but the threat remains.
Chapter 13: «Path into Darkness»
A fleeting sense of safety turns into the next stage of a perilous journey.
Chapter 14: «Iron Ruins»
The heroes navigate a ruined industrial complex, uncovering mysterious traces.
Chapter 15: «Voices from the Void»
The heroes begin to understand the true nature of the Rift’s voice and its influence on their fears.
Chapter 16: «Claws of Darkness»
The conflict escalates with physical manifestations of the Rift – tentacles and shadows.
Chapter 17: «Walls of Refuge»
The team reaches «Southern Blade,» but faces suspicion and isolation.
Chapter 18: «Shadows in the Walls»
Even behind the fortified walls of the bunker, the Rift’s essence continues its influence.
Chapter 19: «Truth and Echo in the Technical Corridors»
The heroes find allies and uncover troubling secrets about the Rift and the «Quantum Dawn» laboratory.
Chapter 20: «Escape from the Bastion of Fear»
The team orchestrates a daring escape from «Southern Blade» in pursuit of the truth.
Chapter 21: «Heart of the Rift»
The team returns to «Echo-7» for a final attempt to confront the Rift’s essence.
Chapter 22: «Echo of Silence»
The aftermath of the expedition: what the heroes lost and what they gained.
Prologue: «Echo of the Rift»
March 9th, 2239. Quantum Dawn Laboratory, Sector 17.
Kyle adored mornings in the station’s habitat module. Ella, his little sunbeam, often woke before Maria and would put on a «morning concert,» singing her simple songs while her toy robot, creaky and well-worn, marched across the table. In these moments, the laboratory, that buzzing hive of advanced technology and hidden risks, seemed a distant, almost unreal world, having nothing to do with their cozy, almost illusory family idyll. Illusory, because the underlying tension of the impending experiment already hung in the air, even if they tried to ignore it.
The air vibrated. Not from heat or cold, but from something deeper, something that was born in the very depths of the reactor, as if reality itself was stretched taut like the string of an ancient, out-of-tune instrument, ready to snap with a deafening dissonance. Kyle Rain stood at the control panel, his fingers, usually flitting confidently over the sensors, frozen above the screen, the pale, anxious light of the indicators reflected in his dilated pupils.
«We’re on the edge, Kyle,» the voice of Eva Carter, his colleague, sounded tense, cracking with metallic notes through the communicator. Even through the interference, he felt her fear, mixed with that steely resolve that had always been her essence. «If we don’t launch the stabilizer now, everything will collapse. Do you hear me? The energy is out of control! We’re losing it!»
On the small holographic window in the corner