The forest didn't move.
Not the leaves.
Not the grass.
Not even the dust.
It was as if time itself held its breath when the Silver Wraith stepped out from the darkness — tall, calm, glowing faintly like moonlight carved into human form.
Arin Kael felt a strange pressure building in his chest. It wasn't fear. It wasn't shock. It was something deeper… like a forgotten memory trying to claw its way back.
The Wraith's silver eyes were fixed entirely on him.
"You're late, Arin Kael."
Arin's fists clenched.
His instincts screamed two things at the same time:
Fight.And run.
"…How do you know my name?" Arin asked, voice low but steady.
The Silver Wraith tilted his head slightly, lips curling into something that wasn't quite a smile.
"Because your name was written long before you were."
Razan's voice rumbled. "Arin, step back. This thing… this thing is beyond anything we've trained for."
Kaien grabbed his sleeve. "Don't provoke him. His aura is wrong — it's layered, distorted. He's not even following normal spiritual patterns"
Kaien stopped breathing for a moment. His glasses fogged.
"…He's suppressing ninety-eight percent of his energy."
Eira's eyes widened. "What…? No one suppresses that much."
The Wraith didn't even look at them. His attention stayed glued to Arin, like the others didn't matter at all.
Lynx whispered—he wase the only one bold enough to speak directly to the monster.
"So what do you want with the kid? You chasing prodigies now?"
The Wraith's eyes flicked, sharp and cold.
"Not 'want'… retrieve."
Draiven's jaw tightened. "He speaks like Arin belongs to him."
For the first time, the Silver Wraith acknowledged someone else — Draiven — but only with the smallest raise of an eyebrow. It was enough to send a ripple of unease through the group.
Arin stepped forward slowly, ignoring Kaien's attempt to stop him.
"Retrieve me? I don't belong to you."
The Wraith exhaled softly, almost disappointed.
"No… not to me."
His eyes dimmed, as if recalling something older than the forest around them.
"But to what lies beneath the Temple of Umbran Dawn."
Eira stepped up beside Arin. "What are you saying? That Arin has some connection to the ruins?"
The Wraith finally smiled.
A haunting, knowing smile.
"He is the connection."
Thunder cracked through the sky—though the sky was still perfectly clear.
The veil itself reacted.
Arin felt something rip inside him. A pulse. A memory. A voice—
—"Return…"—
He staggered.
Eira caught his shoulder instantly. "Arin!"
He shook his head, eyes trembling. "…I'm fine."
But he wasn't fine.
The Wraith watched him struggle, calm as ever. "It has begun. You cannot outrun your origin, Arin Kael."
Arin tried to speak — but the forest shook violently, cutting him off.
Not from the Wraith.From something else.
A black tear appeared behind the Silver Wraith — a ragged hole in the world, leaking shadows like ink bleeding through paper.
Kaien gasped. "A Veil Rift—?! It's unstable! It's not even forming properly—"
A monstrous hand burst out, claws scraping reality itself.
Razan swore loudly. "Oh great. As if one nightmare wasn't enough."
Eira drew her snow-white blade, its frost aura shimmering. "Arin, what do we do?!"
Before Arin could respond, the Silver Wraith lifted one hand lazily.
"Stay out of this. You are not ready for what crawls out of that place."
Lynx snapped, "We're not letting you kill him!"
The Wraith didn't even humor them with a glare.
"That creature is not here for him. It is here… for me."
The thing lunged.
A distorted beast of shadows, tendrils twisting around its body, face cracked with glowing violet lines. Its mask-like jaw unhinged.
Kaien choked on his breath. "A Nether Seraph… But those were extinct—"
The Silver Wraith blurred.
One movement.
No sound.
The monster froze.
Then exploded into a cloud of dark mist.
Half the squad stumbled from the shockwave.
Arin's eyes widened. He didn't see the attack — only the aftermath.
The Wraith shook dust off his sleeve as if brushing snow.
"Pathetic."
Razan whispered, "…He killed an extinct top-tier entity like it was a fly."
Draiven's aura thickened in fear — something Arin had never seen from him.
The Wraith turned back to Arin.
His expression was no longer amused.
"You must come to the Temple. The seal is failing. And when it breaks fully… everything you know will burn."
Arin narrowed his eyes. "Why would I follow you?"
The Wraith stepped forward slowly. The forest darkened with every step.
"Because what sleeps beneath the temple——is waking up because of you."
A cold weight slammed into Arin's heart.
He whispered, "What… what do you mean?"
The Wraith's eyes held something ancient. Something sorrowful.
"You are the key.And the lock.And the mistake."
Arin froze.
Everyone froze.
Kaien muttered, "What the hell does that even mean…?"
The Wraith continued:
"They created you to save the Veil.They created you to destroy it."
Eira grabbed Arin's hand unconsciously. "Arin isn't a weapon."
The Wraith gazed at her, voice flat.
"Every weapon says that before it draws blood."
Arin took a deep breath — then stepped in front of Eira gently.
"No. I'm done listening to riddles."
The Silver Wraith raised a hand—
—but not to attack.
To tear open the Veil itself.
Reality split like fabric.
Behind the rift…a colossal structure glowed in ancient purple light.
The Temple of Umbran Dawn.
But this was no ordinary vision—
Arin could hear someone screaming on the other side.Screaming his name.
"ARIN!"
A voice he had never heard.A voice he somehow remembered.
His heart jolted.
The Wraith looked almost sad.
"You hear it too."
Arin staggered backward. "Who was that?!"
The Wraith whispered:
"The first you.The forgotten you.The one sealed away."
Everything inside Arin went cold.
He felt sick.
Confused.
Terrified.
Angry.
The Wraith closed the rift with a flick of his hand. "Come to the temple if you want answers."
Kaien raised a trembling hand. "Wait — why show us this? If you're our enemy, why help?"
The Wraith paused.
"I am not your ally.But I am not your enemy today."
Razan growled, "Then what are you?"
The Silver Wraith stepped back into the shadows, his form dissolving.
"A warning."
His voice echoed unnaturally through the frozen forest.
"Arin Kael…the world is not ending."
A faint glimmer of silver cracked through the darkness.
"You are."
And he vanished.
Just like that.
The forest exhaled.Time resumed.Wind rushed through the leaves like the world had been holding its breath for too long.
No one moved for several seconds.
Then Kaien fell onto his knees, gasping. "Holy— That wasn't normal. That wasn't ANYTHING normal."
Razan sat heavily against a tree. "He barely tried… and I still felt like I was drowning."
Eira turned to Arin — worried, scared, confused.
"Arin… what he said… Was any of that true?"
Arin didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Because he still heard that voice from the rift calling his name.
Arin… Arin…Run…Run before he finds you…
His head throbbed violently.
Draiven placed a hand on his shoulder. "You are trembling."
Arin grabbed his wrist to steady himself.
"…I'm not trembling."
But he was.
Lynx stood up, cracking their neck. "So, boss… what now? Retreat? Report back? Pretend none of this happened?"
They were joking — but their voice shook.
Arin exhaled deeply.
"No."
Everyone turned to him.
"We keep moving.The mission doesn't change."
Kaien looked dumbfounded. "Are you insane?! That was the Silver Wraith! You saw what he..."
Arin cut him off.
"And if we run back, the temple still breaks."
Eira stepped closer, her voice soft. "Arin… this is personal for you now, isn't it?"
Arin didn't deny it.
"…Yeah."
He looked at the dark path leading deeper into the forest.
That strange voice from the rift echoed in his mind.
"Run… before he finds you…"
But Arin wasn't running from anything.
Not anymore.
He straightened.
"We go to the Temple of Umbran Dawn.We stop the seal from breaking.And we get answers."
Kaien sighed heavily. "I hate this. I hate this so much."
Lynx smirked. "But you'll come."
Kaien pushed his glasses up. "…Of course I'll come. Someone has to keep you idiots alive."
Razan stood up. "Let's move, then."
Eira gave Arin a soft smile — reassuring, loyal.
"You're not alone, Arin."
And for the first time, Arin truly felt that.
They began walking.
Slowly.Carefully.Together.
The deeper they went, the darker the forest became — like the trees themselves were warning them to turn back.
But Arin didn't stop.
Couldn't stop.
Because he felt something waiting for him at the temple.
Something terrifying.
Something familiar.
The forest air thickened — heavy, suffocating.
Kaien suddenly lifted a hand. "Wait."
Everyone froze.
A massive pulse shook the ground.
Razan whispered, "…What now?"
Arin turned slowly—
—and saw a gigantic shadow rising in the distance.
A monstrous shape.
Blackstone armor.
Glowing cracks.
Six burning eyes.
Kaien's voice cracked. "That's not a beast…That's a Guardian Titan."
Eira gasped. "Those are only awakened when a seal is close to collapsing."
Arin's heartbeat quickened.
The Titan roared — the sound splitting the sky.
The mission had officially begun.
And this… was only the first trial.