The world didn't fall away when we were dragged through the gate.It tore.
It felt like claws raking across my soul, each beat of my heart yanked in a different direction as the vortex pulled us through. The air burned cold, like winter wind carrying ash, and then… nothing.
When I opened my eyes, the sky was wrong.
Blood-red clouds churned in a slow spiral above us, their edges flickering like flames. The ground wasn't solid earth but something softer, shifting with each step, like walking on living muscle. Rivers of black water cut through the land, reflecting no light, and every few seconds, a faint whisper drifted on the air.
I couldn't make out the words. I wasn't sure I wanted to.
Aria landed hard a few feet away, her chains clattering against the ground before dissolving into smoke. She pushed herself up, grimacing. The glow beneath her skin had dimmed, but I could see the mark creeping farther, curling along her neck.
Lyra stood not far off, brushing the dust from her black armor like this was nothing new. "Welcome to the Veil," she said, her voice low, almost reverent. "The place between life and death… and the last place you'll see if you're not careful."
I forced myself upright, every muscle tight. The shard in my chest pulsed, harder than it ever had, like it had been waiting to come home. I gritted my teeth against the heat flooding my veins.
The whispers grew louder when I moved. I could almost make out the sound—words curling at the edge of my mind: Anchor… Key… Break the chain.
Aria's eyes snapped to mine, as if she heard them too. Her voice was sharp. "Kael, whatever that thing is inside you, it's calling to this place. You need to fight it."
Before I could answer, the ground trembled.
It wasn't a quake. It was footsteps. Heavy. Slow.
From the black river ahead, something rose—taller than the trees, its form shifting with every breath. A hulking creature made of shadows and bone, its limbs too long, its head crowned with jagged horns that scraped the sky. Its chest glowed faintly, the same color as the shard burning inside me.
Aria stumbled back, her hand sparking faint light, though it looked weaker than before. "What… what is that?"
Lyra's smirk returned. "A Herald's hound. Drawn to the shard. Drawn to him." She nodded toward me. "Looks like we have its full attention."
The creature let out a sound that wasn't a roar so much as a low, grinding hum, like the earth itself was groaning. Its eyes—pale, empty voids—locked on me, and it moved.
Not slow. Not lumbering.
Fast.
I barely had time to brace before it slammed down in front of us, the shockwave throwing Aria to the ground and forcing me to dig my claws into the shifting soil just to stay upright.
The shard pulsed again, harder, almost eager. My wolf rose to meet it, the urge to tear, to feed, clawing at the back of my mind.
Aria scrambled to her feet, her glow flickering like a dying flame. "Kael, don't let it take over! If you lose yourself here, we're both dead!"
The hound lunged.