The elevator shook violently as it descended. Rick gripped the side rail, his heart pounding in his chest like a drum. Dust rained from the ceiling, and somewhere above them, another explosion roared.
"What the hell are they?" he shouted over the noise.
Lira pressed her hand against a glowing rune on the wall, forcing the elevator to move faster. "The Eclipse Order. Fanatics who believe the Veil should be torn down completely — that magic should rule over everything."
Rick swallowed hard. "And they want me because—?"
"Because you're proof it can be done," she said. "A human who survived the Veil's touch? To them, you're a key."
The elevator jolted to a stop with a harsh metallic screech. Lira cursed under her breath, kicking the control panel. "Power's out. We'll have to move on foot."
The doors slid open with a strained groan, revealing a corridor filled with smoke and flickering blue light. The sound of boots echoed in the distance — too many to count.
Rick hesitated. "You're armed. I'm not."
Lira pulled a sleek black dagger from her belt and pressed it into his palm. The blade shimmered faintly, cold but strangely weightless. "This will answer to your touch. Don't lose it."
He stared at it. "You're giving me a magic knife?"
"Would you rather be unarmed?"
He opened his mouth, then shut it quickly. "Point taken."
They moved fast through the corridor, stepping over fallen debris and shattered glass. Every few seconds, the ground trembled from another blast. The air smelled like burning metal and ozone.
Around the next corner, two masked figures appeared — Eclipse operatives clad in black armor with glowing sigils carved into their helmets. Lira didn't hesitate. She raised her hand, and a burst of silver light shot from her palm, hurling one of them backward.
The other lunged forward. Rick's instincts screamed — and before he could think, the dagger in his hand flared to life, burning with pale blue fire.
He swung. The blade sliced cleanly through the attacker's weapon, sending a wave of energy rippling through the air. The man collapsed, armor smoking.
Rick stared at his own hand, breathing hard. "I… I didn't even know what I was doing."
Lira gave him a sharp look. "That's the problem. You're channeling it naturally. We need to get you out before you burn yourself alive."
They turned down another hallway — this one ending in a massive chamber with a glowing circle etched into the floor. Above it hung a hovering sphere of light that pulsed slowly, like a heartbeat.
Rick slowed down. "What is this?"
Lira answered quietly, "The Transit Gate. A teleportation nexus that links to safehouses around the world. It's our way out."
Before they could reach it, a voice echoed through the chamber.
"Too late for that."
Rick froze. From the shadows emerged a tall man wearing a dark coat embroidered with crimson runes. His eyes glowed gold, and veins of shadow crawled across his neck like cracks in glass.
Lira's breath caught. "Lord Saren."
The man smiled faintly. "Still using that name, Lira? You should've joined us when you had the chance."
"You call this chaos salvation?" she spat. "You're tearing down the only thing that keeps this world from falling apart."
Saren's gaze shifted to Rick. "And that must be the human anomaly. The Seer."
Rick raised the dagger, trying not to show how much his hand was shaking. "You want me? Too bad. I'm not signing up for whatever cult you're running."
Saren chuckled softly, the sound disturbingly calm. "You misunderstand, boy. You were never meant to join us. You were meant to open us the way forward."
Before Rick could move, Saren raised his hand — and the air itself twisted. A blast of dark energy slammed into him, sending him crashing into a pillar. His vision blurred. Pain exploded through his ribs.
"Rick!" Lira shouted, firing a burst of silver light toward Saren. The dark lord deflected it effortlessly, his cloak swirling with shadow.
He moved faster than Rick's eyes could track. One moment he was twenty feet away, the next he was standing right over him. "You can't hide your nature forever, Seer. The Veil recognizes its own."
Saren's hand reached toward Rick's chest — and something inside Rick snapped.
A surge of energy erupted from deep within him, flooding the room in blinding blue light. The walls cracked. The floor split open. For a heartbeat, Rick felt everything — the pulse of the Veil, the whispers of things beyond it, the power that wasn't supposed to exist inside a human.
Saren stumbled back, shielding his face. "Impossible—!"
Lira grabbed Rick's arm and dragged him toward the Transit Gate. "Now, Rick! Focus on me!"
He could barely hear her over the roar of energy. The blade in his hand pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat, drawing the power inward. He fixed his eyes on the circle of light — and with a blinding flash, the world folded in on itself.
Silence.
Then — air.
Cold, clean air.
Rick collapsed onto rough stone. They were outside, somewhere high above the city. The night sky stretched endlessly above them, stars glimmering through the clouds.
Lira fell beside him, breathing heavily, her clothes scorched. "You… did it," she said between breaths. "You opened the Gate yourself."
Rick coughed, his body trembling. "Did what? I don't even know what just happened."
She looked at him — really looked at him — with a mix of fear and awe. "You shouldn't be alive after channeling that much energy."
Rick met her gaze, his voice hoarse. "Then what does that make me?"
Lira hesitated, then whispered, "Something the world hasn't seen in a thousand years."
The wind howled around them. Far below, the city of Greyhaven shimmered like a dying flame — and above it, the sky rippled faintly, as if the Veil itself were breathing.