The sun was slowly rising in the sky. Soft golden light came through the windows of the house. The morning felt quiet and peaceful.Leo stood alone in the backyard.The grass was still wet with morning dew, and the air was cool. Birds were starting to sing in the trees.Leo looked around carefully. Everyone else was still inside. That was good. He wanted to be alone for a while. He needed to understand what had changed inside him.After everything that happened in the spirit realm… he knew he was different now. Stronger. But he didn’t fully know what he could do yet.“I guess it’s time to find out,” Leo said quietly to himself.He stood still and closed his eyes. Then he focused on the power inside him. Before, the power had always felt wild and dangerous. Like fire burning out of control.But now it felt completely different. It felt warm, Calm and Steady. It felt like a second heart beating deep inside his chest.Thump. Thump. Thump.The power moved through his body slowly and smoot

The morning arrived with a sharp chill in the air. A thin layer of mist hung above the grass, and the wind carried the cold of the early hours across the yard. Despite the cold, Leo’s shirt clung to his skin with sweat. He had been outside long before the sun appeared, pushing himself through one training exercise after another.The sky was only beginning to turn pale when he started. Since then, he had not stopped moving.He practiced flying first. Rising higher and faster each time. Then he moved on to fire, forcing the flames to come when he called them and disappear when he willed them away. After that came barriers—strong walls of light that could stop anything thrown at them. He even practiced reaching into nearby minds, testing the strange new ability that allowed him to hear thoughts when he focused.And sometimes, without warning, brief flashes of the future came to him like sudden sparks. They appeared quickly and disappeared just as fast, leaving him with fragments of image

The fortress looked unnatural against the dark landscape.It rose from the earth like a deep scar cut into the land itself. The walls were made of black stone that seemed older than the forest around it. Thick iron gates blocked the main entrance, and tall torches burned along the outer walls. The flames were not normal fire. They burned with a cold blue glow that flickered strangely in the wind.At first glance, the fortress did not seem very tall.But the structure went downward instead of upward.Massive levels had been carved deep into the rock beneath the surface. Long tunnels and chambers stretched into the earth, forming a fortress that was far larger underground than it appeared above.Leo stood quietly at the edge of the tree line.From there, he could see the entire entrance area.Chloe stood beside him, watching the guards patrolling near the gates. Bella stood just behind them, her eyes moving nervously between the walls and the shadows beyond them. A few steps away, Maria

Iden’s body bent sharply against the machine as another wave of power rushed through him. The artifact on his chest glowed brighter than before, its light shifting into a deep blue that filled the entire room. The wires connected to his body tightened and pressed deeper into his skin, as if they were feeding on him instead of helping him.Bella stood at the doorway, unable to move. Her hands trembled, and tears streamed down her face as she watched him suffer.“Please,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Please stop this.”Iden slowly opened his eyes. They were no longer normal. A faint blue glow had replaced their usual color, making him look almost like a stranger.“The cost…” he said weakly, struggling to breathe properly. “It takes years from me. Maybe even decades… for every minute I use this power.”Bella shook her head immediately, panic rising inside her.“Then stop it,” she said quickly. “It’s not worth it. Nothing is worth this.”Iden looked at her for a long moment, as if

The seven Terrors slowly spread out across the chamber, their dark forms stretching into every corner of the space. Each one moved in its own strange way, like they were alive but not fully part of the world. The air grew heavier with every second, and it became harder to breathe just standing near them.Leo looked at the people beside him. They weren’t just fighters. They were his family. His friends. The people who had stood with him through everything.He took a breath and spoke quickly, knowing they didn’t have much time.“We have to split up,” he said. “Each of us takes one.”Chloe grabbed his arm immediately, her grip tight.“That’s a bad idea,” she said. “We’re stronger when we stay together.”Leo shook his head, even though he understood her fear.“These things aren’t like normal enemies,” he explained. “They feed on what connects us. Fear, hope, memories… the more we stand together, the more power we give them.”His voice stayed calm, even though the situation was anything bu