Darkness swallowed them whole—thick, heavy, disorienting.Rick felt the world twisting around him, like invisible hands were pulling at his limbs, dragging him through shadows that weren’t shadows at all. Serena’s grip on his arm slowly slipped away.“Serena—!” Rick tried to shout, but the darkness swallowed the sound.Then—THUD.He hit solid ground.Rick gasped for air, coughing, struggling to push himself up. The stone beneath him was cold—not natural stone, but carved. Intentional. Ancient.A faint blue glow spread across the floor as runes lit up one by one, recognizing him… responding to him.Rick froze.He wasn’t alone.Serena, Kai, and Lira lay a few feet away, unconscious.Before he could move toward them, a low hum filled the chamber.Light shifted.Walls reshaped themselves.And the darkness around him slowly pulled back to reveal—A massive chamber.Circular.Silent.Breathing with power.Rick’s throat tightened.He had seen drawings of this place.Old sketches in his fath

The night in Veloria was thick with silence—an uneasy silence, like the city was holding its breath for something it could not name.Rick stood on the balcony of the ancient Citadel, the cold wind brushing against his skin. His eyes were fixed on the strange glow above the mountains—an echo of the Veil, faint yet pulsing like a wounded heartbeat.Behind him, Amara stepped out quietly.“Rick,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Collins Lutherchris hasn’t returned. The scouts said his trail ended near the Fragmented Forest.”Rick clenched the railing.The Fragmented Forest was the only place that could erase tracks—because the forest itself shifted, moved, and swallowed paths. It meant one of two things:Either Collins went there willingly…or someone dragged him there.“Did he say anything before he left?” Rick asked.Amara shook her head. “Only that he needed to confirm something about the prophecy. He looked troubled… almost scared.”Rick’s jaw tightened. Collins Lutherchris rarely

The chamber was shaking again—not violently, but in small, deliberate pulses, like the place itself was breathing with something that didn’t belong to this world.Rick swallowed hard.“Lira… Kai… tell me you felt that.”Lira nodded slowly.“That wasn’t the creature. That was a signal.”Kai stepped forward, his hand pressed against the cracked wall.“No… it’s a message.”The pulses continued—three long vibrations… two short… then one sharp jolt.Rick’s heart dropped.“I know that pattern.”Lira froze.“You do…?”Rick nodded. “It’s how Collins used to send coded messages when something was hunting us.”Kai’s head snapped toward him.“You mean—”Rick didn’t answer.He pressed his palm against the wall.The chamber responded instantly.A rune lit up beneath his hand—one he’d never seen before, but somehow understood. It flickered weakly, like a dying candle struggling to stay alive.Lira stepped beside him.“Rick… what is it saying?”Rick’s voice came out low, almost a whisper.“It’s sayi

White light swallowed everything—the void, the masked figure, even Rick’s own thoughts.Then—A gasp.Air hit Rick’s lungs like a punch.He stumbled forward, choking, his knees hitting cold stone.Voices echoed around him.“Rick?!”“Rick, can you hear us?!”Hands grabbed his shoulders—Lira’s.Kai steadied him from the other side.Rick blinked hard as shapes sharpened.He was back in the chamber.Back in the real world.But everything was wrong.The air was heavier.The shadows were longer.And the runes that once glowed faintly now pulsed like beating hearts.Kai’s voice shook.“Rick… what happened? You vanished—gone like you were—”“Dragged,” Lira finished quietly. “Something dragged you into the Veil’s fold.”Rick exhaled shakily.“He brought me there.”Kai tensed.“The masked figure.”Rick nodded.Lira cupped his face gently, forcing him to lock eyes with her.“What did he do to you?”Rick swallowed.“He didn’t hurt me. Not physically. But he showed me things. Collins… I saw Colli

The night settled across Aethera like a velvet curtain, thick with unanswered questions. The moon hovered low, casting a cold glow over the courtyard of the Ravencrest Institute as Aurora paced restlessly, her mind spiraling with everything she had learned—and everything she still didn’t understand.She could feel the storm coming.Behind her, Collins Lutherchris watched quietly, his arms folded, his expression unreadable. He had always been the calm one, the composed one—the anchor of their fractured group. But tonight, even his calm looked strained.“You’re trembling,” he finally said.Aurora didn’t stop pacing. “I’m not trembling. I’m thinking.”He stepped closer. “Thinking shouldn’t make your hands shake.”Aurora froze. She hadn’t even noticed. Her fingers twitched at her sides, adrenaline surging through her veins like fire. She exhaled slowly.“It’s just… everything is happening too fast. The prophecy. The Sigil of Truth. Helena’s survival. And now the whisper from the Veil Real