The aftermath of the warehouse battle left the trio tense and alert. Kael's chest still burned where the mark throbbed, Ryken's hands were shaking from adrenaline, and Aria's mind raced, eyes scanning energy readings on a portable monitor.
"Something's wrong," Aria said, her fingers flying over the holographic interface. "The energy signatures—the ones from the Null Order—they're changing. They're evolving. And something else… something powerful just entered the city."
Kael's ears pricked at her words, though he didn't yet understand the magnitude of them. The whispers inside his head had gone silent, replaced by a cold unease crawling through his veins.
Suddenly, a ripple of shadows flowed across the warehouse floor, coalescing into a figure—tall, lithe, and impossibly graceful. Her eyes glimmered with an otherworldly silver light, and her presence seemed to warp the air around her. Kael felt the mark on his chest pulse violently, reacting to her energy.
"Who… what are you?" Kael asked, stepping forward cautiously.
The figure tilted her head, a faint smile playing on her lips. "Names are complicated here," she said, her voice echoing softly in the warehouse. "But you may call me Veyra."
Aria's jaw tightened. "A Revenant?" she asked cautiously.
Veyra's gaze swept over Kael, studying him as though weighing his worth. "Yes," she said. "But not all Revenants are created equal. Some awaken to serve the Nexus. Others… awaken to destroy it. And you, Kael Draven, are an anomaly the Nexus never planned for."
Kael's pulse quickened. The whispers returned, but now they were fragmented, warning him: She is powerful. She knows things. She is both ally and threat.
Veyra stepped closer, light bending around her form. "The Null Order is not the only danger," she said. "I've been watching. Learning. And waiting. You are walking a path that will either save worlds… or burn them to ashes. The question is—are you ready to face what's inside yourself?"
Her words struck him like a blade. He didn't understand, yet part of him instinctively knew the truth: the greatest battle was no longer outside—it was already inside him.