The tunnels groaned overhead as dust rained from the concrete ceiling.Rick steadied himself against a rusted pillar, breathing hard while the echo of the Heir’s voice pulsed in his skull.Grayson scanned the darkness with conjured shadows coiled around his arms.Liora staggered forward, still dizzy from the violent ejection from the Veil.“Everyone… okay?” Rick asked, voice shaking more than he wanted it to.“No,” Grayson grunted. “But alive, which is becoming rare around you.”Liora didn’t laugh.She stared at Rick with a fear she tried to hide.“Rick,” she whispered, “your eyes…”Rick blinked.“What about them?”“They’re glowing.”---THE POWER SURFACESRick touched his face, alarm rising in his throat.A reflection glimmered on a broken metal panel leaning against the wall.He stepped closer.His irises weren’t their normal color.Not green.Not brown.But a swirling, dark amethyst—the same color as the crack in the Veil.Liora approached slowly.“The shard in you is fully reacti

The night sky over the Silent Ridge shimmered with fragments of broken starlight—distorted reflections caused by the unstable spatial energy leaking from the dimensional tear. Rick stood at the edge of the ridge, the ground cracking beneath his boots as waves of invisible force rippled outward from the rift.System Notification:Warning: Unknown dimensional fluctuation detected.Risk Level: High.Rick exhaled.“So this is where the Guardian appeared…”Behind him, Leon, Sura, and Maven arrived, each emanating their own unique aura.“Rick.” Maven stepped forward, her eyes glowing faintly. “I scanned the tear. There’s a signature… a foreign consciousness trying to anchor itself into our world.”Leon frowned. “You think it’s connected to that message we intercepted? The ‘Fractured Path’?”Sura flicked her fingers through the air, slicing open a thin arc of red aura.“Whatever it is, we should destroy it before it becomes a problem.”Rick didn’t answer. Instead, he reached out his hand tow

And whatever it was…It had only just started waking in the Shadows of the Veil.The wind in the freight yard grew unnaturally cold, as if the world itself reacted to whatever stirred inside Rick. The metallic scent of dimensional energy still lingered in the air, mixing with smoke and dust.Rick clenched his fist slowly. His heartbeat wasn’t steady. It throbbed in an uneven rhythm—like two different pulses overlapping.One was his.The other… wasn’t.Sura stepped closer, cautious but concerned. “Rick. Something happened when you destroyed that creature’s core. You spaced out for a moment.”Rick didn’t lie. “I heard a voice.”Maven froze. “A voice? From where?”“Inside the seal.”That shut everyone up.Leon swallowed loudly. “Bro… are we talking creepy old-man-in-your-body voice or demon-that-wants-to-eat-your-liver voice?”Rick ignored him and focused on Maven.“It wasn’t words. More like… a feeling. A call.”Maven’s face turned serious—sharper than usual. “That’s not good. The seal

The world around Rick faded into a blur—voices muffled, shapes distorted. He stood still in the middle of the dim street, feeling the pulse of the seal inside his chest hammering in a dangerous rhythm.His brother.His own brother had the Second Fragment.He didn’t even know how to process the thought.Maven stepped forward cautiously. “Rick… breathe. Focus.”But Rick couldn’t. His mind flashed through memories—childhood moments, arguments, laughter, silence. He never imagined his brother would ever be dragged into the supernatural world at all—let alone this deeply.He finally forced out a hoarse whisper:“…How?”Lira stepped closer, her expression unreadable. “He wasn’t chosen. He was exposed.”“Exposed?” Sura repeated, stepping into a defensive stance. “Fragments don’t just expose people. They annihilate anyone unworthy.”Lira’s eyes flickered. “Unless the person shares blood with the Bridge.”Everyone went quiet.Leon blinked. “Hold on. So Rick being the Bridge means his siblings

The abandoned church stood at the edge of old Silver Heights—far from the neon-lit districts, far from the restless crowds, and far from anything resembling safety. Rick stared at the building with an expression halfway between disbelief and annoyance.“This place looks like the opening scene of a horror movie,” he muttered.Lyra stepped beside him, her cloak brushing against his arm. “Oberon Mallik prefers isolation. And technically, this place is condemned.”“Fantastic,” Rick replied. “If a roof falls on my head, I want that noted in your mission report.”Lyra ignored him and pushed open the heavy wooden door. It creaked loudly, echoing through the hollow, dust-filled nave. Sunlight barely touched the broken pews and peeling murals. Everything smelled like forgotten time.“Stay close,” Lyra whispered. “The wards in here are unstable.”Rick followed, instincts on high alert. He could feel… something. A pressure in the air. A vibration that wasn’t sound. Like someone whispering behind