The air vibrated with tension, thick with the scent of scorched earth and flickering traces of corrupted mana. Above the shattered hills where the veterans had gathered, clouds churned unnaturally—no wind, just the raw pulse of power building toward the inevitable. They all felt it: the end was coming.Joey stood atop the makeshift tower, scanning the camp sprawled below him. He watched as lines of awakened veterans trained relentlessly, their sweat mixing with dust, their war cries echoing across the fractured terrain. Since the last attack, no one rested easily. They knew Veil would not wait long to strike again.Down below, sparks of power danced in the air as two veterans collided mid-combat. One of them, Marcus, had developed the ability to ripple time in short bursts—his form stuttered like a broken frame as he dodged an incoming strike and countered with a precise blow. His opponent, Elira, blinked with teleportation magic, her movements erratic and dangerous.Joey’s jaw clench

The sky split into two colors above the battlefield—blinding gold on one side, pulsing violet on the other. Samuel stood at the center, his arms outstretched, his breath shallow, his soul torn.He had made his decision.“I will be the bridge,” Samuel whispered, voice laced with pain and defiance. “Between Light and Veil. Between what was and what must be.”Around him, the land shuddered, caught between realms. The fractured barrier separating Light from Veil trembled, veins of shadow snaking through the air, stitched only by threads of his light. Every heartbeat cost him.Joey screamed from the ridge above, “Samuel, don’t do this! You’ll destroy yourself!”But Samuel didn’t flinch. He turned slightly, his eyes glowing with mirrored pupils—one golden, one pitch black. “There’s no other way. The fracture was never meant to be sealed. It was meant to be… harmonized.”Marie, her loyalty now proven despite past betrayal, stood beside Joey, disbelief painted across her face. “You’re binding

The sky above the battlefield shimmered like a cracked mirror, caught between two opposing forces. Light and shadow bled into one another, pulsing in erratic waves that rippled across reality. The moment Samuel sealed the fracture, anchoring himself as the bridge between Veil and Light, time itself seemed to hesitate—then shatter forward in unstoppable momentum.Joey stood only a few feet away, staring at Samuel with wide, glassy eyes. His breath came in uneven bursts. Something was wrong.Samuel collapsed to one knee, golden light spilling from the runes that had burst open along his spine and chest. His veins glowed. The ground beneath him turned translucent for a moment, revealing glimpses of an alien realm beneath. The Veil had not retreated—it had melded with him.“Samuel!” Joey rushed forward, catching him just as his body sagged forward. “Talk to me. Are you still in there?”Samuel looked up, his irises flickering between pure white and an ink-like darkness. “I… I held it toget

The sun didn’t rise that morning. Instead, a strange violet light shimmered on the horizon, as if the sky itself was holding its breath. The battlefield from last night was quiet now, soaked in blood, dust, and echoing grief.Samuel stood alone on a ridge overlooking the ruined valley. His chest rose and fell with each breath, but his heart beat with something deeper—something ancient. His veins no longer carried only blood, but threads of radiant energy and shadows interwoven in impossible harmony.Behind him, Joey approached slowly. “You’re glowing again,” he said.Samuel chuckled softly. “It’s not light. It’s... something else. I feel them—Light and Veil. They’re watching me now, whispering louder.”Before Joey could respond, a ripple tore through the air behind them. A portal, jagged like broken glass, split the sky open. From it, stepped a towering figure—half-beast, half-light, its face hidden beneath a silver mask. Others followed. Their forms twisted—some scaled, others transl