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Gamers worldwide stared open-mouth as the giant crimson “X” burned onto the screen at E3. Of course, everyone had heard the rumors that Rift Warriors’ creator Ryuichi Masada himself would be making an appearance at this year’s conference, but the reveal still sent waves through the community. You could practically feel the energy spreading through the convention hall as Masada took the stage amidst the avalanche of cheers and applause. In spite of the excitement, absolutely no one was prepared for what Masada had to say next.

[color=crimson]“Greetings, travelers of the Rift. It warms my heart to see each and every one of you excited for this latest foray into my world. However… I do have an important announcement to make. Rift Warriors X is going to be the FINAL entry into the franchise, and we are preparing to release it later this year.”[/color] The crowd roared at this revelation, but Masada wasn’t finished. [color=crimson]“More to the point… the game is already finished! But there will only be five copies released. Said five copies will be distributed to the top 5 players in the Rift Warriors IX online community by the end of October this year, that’s the anniversary of Rift Warriors one for you mega-fans.”[/color]

Despite Masada’s joke, the crowd was stunned into total silence. All of a sudden, the energy from before was back, but it was replaced by confusion, anger, and fan rage. Social media began to blow up with hashtags such as “Riftisdead?” Or “WtfMasada?!”. More than a few players quickly fired up their copies of Rift Warriors IX and began to aggressively hit the online battle scene. Masada continued despite the outcry, [color=crimson]"I wish all you players the best of luck in conquering the Rift. To those of you who successfully climb the ladder: All will be revealed in Rift Warriors X!"[/color]

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Meanwhile, in London, a young university graduate named Thomas Clarke sat stunned into silence as he stared at the livestream on his PC. The streamer felt his mouth curling into a slight smile. Thomas had fallen out of Rift Warriors for the last few months because he’d been getting bored of the competitive drama. He’d even ceded his title as the number one player in the U.K. circuit, but the idea of a new challenge… that got him excited. Closing his internet browser, Thomas opened Rift Warriors IX on his computer and turned to the character selection.

[color=silver]"Alright, Masada... I accept your challenge. Jesse the Ravager and I'll rise to the top. Let's see if I've still got the touch."[/color] Hours later, Thomas smiled as he racked up his twenty-fifth straight win since his retirement a few months ago. Deciding to make a show of it, Thomas opened up his Twitch account and began a livestream. [color=silver]"Alright everyone, the HellfireRider is back in business."[/color] 

Over the course of the next several months, Thomas battled relentlessly on Rift Warriors IX. Sadly, a recent patch had nerfed some of Jesse’s main abilities, but it wasn’t anything Thomas couldn’t handle. While the competition brewed, Thomas found himself getting re-engaged with the Rift Warriors community he’d left behind. He began attending conventions, competing in local tournaments, and he even began seeing HellfireRider trending on social media again.

He’d only been planning to earn the number 5 spot on the leaderboard, but the intensity online spiked more than he’d expected as the October deadline drew near. Eventually, when the digital dust finally settled, Thomas had firmly placed himself as the third best player in the world.

Finally, on November 1st, Thomas was climbing the stairs to his flat, and found a package sitting outside his door. His breath caught in his throat as he hurriedly rushed inside and ripped open the parcel to reveal the box containing Rift Warriors X! Inside the box was a letter from the company warning him against publicly sharing the game with anyone until he’d beaten the campaign mode, [color=silver]”That’s odd. The crimson back on the disk is a nice touch though,”[/color] muttered Thomas as he popped the game into his console. The company had reached out to him via email to ask what console he preferred to play on.

As the game loaded, Thomas was blown away by the intro cutscene; featuring all the iconic characters in a massive battle with one another before the title card blazed across the screen. Thomas flicked through the menu and a pop-up asked for access to his Rift Warriors IX data. A quick accept later and Thomas opened fighter selection to see only one character available: Jesse the Ravager. Only this time, the slot was blank. Before Thomas could question anything, the TV screen began to glow white hot and the light shot out to cover the whole flat! When it disappeared, Thomas was nowhere to be found. When he next came to, Thomas was standing in a location he knew all too well: The Hall of the Messenger from Rift Warriors.