The world remained frozen for a heartbeat after Rick whispered the truth—that the thing clawing at the Veil wasn’t just a monster…it was an erased god.Collins’ voice was the first to return, sharp and trembling.“Rick… you said it followed you. Followed you from where?”Rick blinked slowly, as if remembering something he’d rather forget.“When the chamber collapsed… when the Door pulled me in… I didn’t just fall into darkness.”He swallowed hard.“I fell into a memory that wasn’t mine.”Seraphina stepped closer.“A memory?”Rick nodded.“Fragments of a war older than kingdoms. Older than magic. A war where the Veil wasn’t a barrier—it was a prison. And the prisoner was trying to rewrite reality.”Collins clenched his fists.“And this prisoner is the same thing trying to break through now.”Rick hesitated.Then nodded once.“It’s called the Nullborn. The first shadow. The thing even the ancient kings feared.”A chilling wind swept through the strategy hall. The torches flickered vio

The atmosphere in Astral Dominion felt different—lighter, but also charged with an undercurrent of uncertainty. Collins Lutherchris stood on the balcony of the highest tower, watching the golden mist swirl below. Aelexa joined him silently, her long hair flowing with the celestial breeze.“Something is shifting,” she murmured.Collins nodded. “I can sense it too… but I can’t tell yet if it’s good or bad.”Before Aelexa could respond, a blinding pulse of light tore across the sky. Bells rang in the realm—an ancient alarm never triggered unless something world-shaking approached.Arkais appeared behind them, eyes wide.“That signal… someone is breaching the Gate of Echoes.”The Gate of Echoes.A place no one dared touch—not even the High Guardians. It was a forbidden crossing between the mortal world, the Astral Dominion, and the forgotten realm where ancient beings slept.Collins didn’t hesitate.“Prepare a shield formation,” he commanded. “Aelexa—stay close.”They teleported to the Ga

The Hall of Concord shook under the force of the explosion.Light erupted from Collins in a brilliant column—golden, fierce, and pulsing with celestial resonance. But the Remnant’s darkness rose to meet it, swallowing the light like an endless abyss.The moment they collided, a shockwave tore through the chamber.BOOOOM!Celestials staggered.Demons braced themselves.Mortals shielded their faces from the violent wind.Aelexa slammed her palms into the ground.“Astral Barrier!”A dome of shimmering violet light rose around the delegates just as debris flew across the hall. Without it, half the room would’ve been wiped out instantly.But Collins stood at the center of the chaos—alone—locked in a deadly clash with a force older than the realms themselves.Dark tendrils shot toward him, but he twisted, spun, and cut through them with blades of pure energy, eyes blazing.The Remnant chuckled, its voice echoing through every stone in the hall.“You wield your blood’s power well… but you ar

The Remnant’s scream tore through the hall like thunder.Its severed arm dissolved into a storm of black smoke, swirling violently before merging back into its core. But something was different now—its shape flickered, distortions warping across its form, as though Collins' strike had exposed something the creature never meant the world to see.Kai whispered from behind a broken column:“…It’s destabilizing.”Aelexa pressed a trembling hand to the barrier.Her eyes locked on Collins.“Finish it… finish it before it adapts again!”But Collins didn’t attack immediately.He watched the Remnant carefully.His violet aura sizzled around him, hotter, heavier, more stable than before.This wasn’t a temporary burst—it felt natural.Like something that had been waiting inside him for years.The Remnant steadied, its voice deeper now—less like a monster, more like something ancient waking up.“You dare wound me…You dare bare the bloodline that should not exist.”Collins tightened his grip on

The air over Elyndor felt heavy that night—too still, too cold, as if the Veil itself was holding its breath.Collins stood at the balcony of the War Chamber, staring at the scattered lights of the city below. Seraphina was beside him, her fingers brushing the cold rails, her eyes distant.“Something is shifting,” she whispered.“I can feel it too,” Collins replied. “A presence… familiar.”Before either of them could speak again, the great doors of the chamber burst open.Everyone turned.Every guard knelt.Even the Council’s remaining members froze.Because standing in the doorway—covered in dust, scars, and a dark traveling cloak—was the man they thought was either dead or lost forever.Rick Halden.But he wasn’t the same.His eyes glowed with a strange silver fire.His aura felt sharper, heavier… ancient.And strapped across his back was a blade none of them had ever seen.Seraphina gasped, “Rick… you’re alive.”Rick stepped forward, each footstep echoing like thunder.“I had to di