The Rift Between Worlds

The wind was cold and sharp, the taste of ozone heavy in the air. Sasuke Uchiha stood alone on a desolate cliff outside Konoha, the stars flickering above him like faint embers in the void. He had grown too familiar with solitude, and tonight felt no different-until the sky cracked.

A blinding flash erupted from the sky. Rinnegan pulsing, Sasuke turned just in time to see a swirling tear open in space itself-like reality had been slashed apart. Before he could react, an unseen force tugged at his chakra. His body was yanked forward. He activated his Sharingan, but even his ocular prowess couldn't anchor him.

Then-darkness.