The purple light flooding from the cracked temple doors wasn't just bright — it was alive. It pulsed like a heartbeat, shaking the air, rattling the bones inside their chests. Arin was the first to step inside. Eira rushed behind him, blade glowing with frost. Kaien followed with a curse under his breath. Razan entered silently, spear raised. Lynx slipped in last, bow drawn, eyes scanning every shadow.
The moment they crossed the threshold, the temperature dropped.Not cold — hollow.
As if the air itself had died.
The interior of the Temple of Umbran Dawn was colossal, built entirely of black stone veined with violet cracks. The architecture twisted in ways that didn't make sense, like the angles were wrong, like the walls bent inward and outward at the same time. Ancient murals covered the stone, depicting swirling voids and figures with hollow eyes fighting monstrous silhouettes.
Draiven inhaled sharply."The murals… they've changed."
Kaien squinted. "What do you mean changed? These things are carved in stone."
"They weren't like this last century," Draiven whispered. "The temple reacts to the Veil. And right now… it's terrified."
A sound echoed—A low, distant, ancient moan, like metal dragging against the ocean floor.
Eira grabbed Arin's sleeve. "The seal… it's ahead."
He could feel it.Not see it — feel it, like a magnet dragging his heartbeat forward.Like something beyond that chamber was calling him.
They walked deeper, past pillars carved with runes that glowed faint purple. Shadows trembled along the edges of the room, alive but hiding.
The air thickened.
And then—
The corridor opened into a massive circular chamber.
At the center stood the Seal of Umbran Dawn—a floating stone disc cracked into three large fragments, chained together by pulsing violet energy. Runes blazed across its surface. The entire thing trembled violently, leaking tendrils of shadow that dripped onto the floor and evaporated like smoke.
The Veil behind the seal looked like a rippling curtain of darkness, shaking violently, torn down the middle like ripped cloth.
And standing directly in front of it—
Was the Wraith.
Back turned. Cloak drifting as if underwater.Silver energy orbiting him like drifting moons.
He didn't turn when they entered.He simply said, voice quiet but echoing:
"You're late."
Kaien groaned. "Bro, we literally sprinted. What do you mean 'late'?!"
The Wraith finally turned his head slightly, enough for them to feel the weight of his attention.
"It has already begun."
Arin stepped forward. "The seal—can it still be repaired?"
The Wraith regarded him for a long, unreadable moment…Then lifted a finger and pointed toward the crack in the Veil.
From the tear, something crawled out.A creature with no skin, just muscles wrapped around jagged bone.Its head was a spiral of teeth.Its arms dragged across the floor like enormous scythes.
Razan whispered, "That's a Second Veil creature…"
"No," the Wraith corrected softly."That is a fragment of something beyond the Second Veil. A sliver that leaked through."
The creature shrieked and lunged.
Razan intercepted with a blazing strike.The blow connected—And the creature barely flinched.
Eira darted in, slicing the creature's leg. Frost spread, slowing it.Kaien blasted it with wind, Lynx rained arrows, Draiven summoned roots from the stone floor.
The monster fought like a storm.
Arin hesitated.Not out of fear.
Out of instinct.
Something behind the seal was pulling him harder.Stronger.Almost… hungrily.
Eira shouted, "ARIN— HERE!"
He snapped out of the trance, charging in. His fist glowed faint blue—the same strange energy from before—and when he struck the creature's side—
BOOOOOM
It skidded back, crashing into a pillar hard enough to crack it.
Lynx gasped. "Bro, seriously, what ARE you?!"
But Arin didn't know.
The creature rose again—limping, snarling, furious.
The Wraith finally raised a hand.
A single gesture.
SILVER FIRE erupted around the monster, burning it silently, devouring it until nothing was left but cinders.
Kaien's jaw dropped. "You could've done that from the start—?!"
The Wraith ignored him.
His gaze locked on Arin.
He approached slowly, cloak drifting like smoke.
"You feel it, don't you?"
Arin swallowed. "The pull. Yeah."
"It calls your name. It remembers your essence."He stopped a foot in front of Arin."And it fears you."
Eira stepped defensively between them. "Back off."
The Wraith didn't even blink."That seal is beyond your understanding. Beyond your strength. Beyond your timeline."
Arin clenched his fists. "Then tell me how to fix it."
The Wraith finally exhaled softly—almost human.
"Lend me your power."
Arin blinked. "What?"
"I need a host. A vessel tethered to this plane. Someone the Veil recognizes. Someone born marked." He raised a hand to Arin's chest. "You."
Kaien gasped. "Bro, you're not seriously—"
Lynx hissed, "Arin, don't let him—"
Razan shook his head. "Don't take me wrong but It might be the only way."
Eira whispered, voice trembling, "Arin… decide fast."
The ground shook again.
The seal cracked further—A deafening sound, like the world splitting.
The Veil rippled violently.More shadows clawed from inside.
Arin took a breath.
Then nodded.
"Do it."
The Wraith placed his palm on Arin's chest.
The world exploded.
Silver and blue light erupted outward.Energy surged through Arin's veins—cold, hot, painful, empowering—all at once.He felt his body shift, his vision blur, his heartbeat synchronize with the Wraith's.
And then—
He wasn't standing.
He was floating.
He and the Wraith shared the same space.Same breath.Same mind.
Arin's voice echoed as if underwater. "What—what is this—"
The Wraith's voice overlapped his.
"Focus. I am using your tether. Your existence stabilizes the Veil better than mine."
Energy converged around their fused form. Runes glowed on their arms. Their vision shone silver-blue.
A blast of energy erupted from their hands, striking the fractured seal.
CRAAAAACK—
The cracks sealed slightly.
Another blast.
CRACKS MELTED AWAY.
Another blast.
THE SEAL BEGAN TO REFORM.
But from the tear in the Veil, massive claws reached out, trying to stop the restoration.
The fused Wraith-Arin extended their hand, unleashing a wave of power that slammed the claws back into the darkness.
The chamber trembled.The Veil shrieked.The seal glowed blindingly.
Then—
A final surge.
A blinding flash of silver-blue energy.
And the temple fell silent.
Arin staggered forward as the Wraith separated from his body, reforming like smoke. Arin gasped, clutching his chest.
Eira ran to him. "Arin! Are you okay?!"
"Yeah… I think so…"
Kaien threw his arms up. "BROOOOOO! WE DID IT!"
Lynx whooped. "Seal repaired! Let's go!!"
Razan let out a long breath. "One crisis handled."
Draiven smiled with relief. "The Veil has stabilized. The corruption is receding. We—"
"No."
Everyone turned.
The Wraith stood motionless, staring at the seal.
His voice was low.
Cold.
"Do not celebrate."
Kaien froze. "Uh… why."
The Wraith raised his hand.
Images projected into the air — silhouettes of temples across the world.Their seals cracked.Their runes dimming.Their Veils trembling.
"This was not the only seal breaking," he said quietly. "It was merely the nearest."
They stared in horror.
Razan took a step forward. "How many—"
"All of them."
The chamber went silent.
The Wraith continued:
"All thirteen Veil-Seals are fracturing. The Veil is collapsing. And only this one had Arin."
He turned toward Arin.
"The others do not."
Eira breathed, "…so the others will break?"
"Yes."
Kaien swallowed hard. "And if they break—"
The Wraith slowly extended three fingers.
"There are three Veils. Three layers of reality."
His voice deepened.
"Behind the First Veil dwell creatures your knights can defeat — small terrors, fanged beasts, hollow shadows."
A second finger.
"Behind the Second Veil lie horrors that topple kingdoms — beasts that take armies to slay."
A third finger.
"And behind the Third Veil…"
The air darkened.
"Dwell beings even I do not trifle with. Gods of ruin. Ancient devourers. The kind that unmake suns for sport."
A chill ran across everyone's spine.
Lynx whispered, "Are… any of them stronger than you?"
For the first time, the Wraith smirked.
A tiny, dangerous smirk.
"No."
Silence.
He added with absolute confidence:
"No one is stronger than me."
Kaien muttered, "Bro… okay damn…"
"But even I," the Wraith continued, "cannot stop all thirteen seals alone."
Arin inhaled sharply. "Then what do we do?"
The Wraith turned to them.
"You run. You reach the next temple before the seal collapses. If even one more fails completely, the first Veil will shatter. The second will weaken. And the third—"
He paused.
"The world will drown in endless night."
The temple trembled slightly, as if agreeing.
Eira grabbed Arin's arm. "We go. Now."
"Wait," Razan said suddenly. "Isn't there a temple… near Veilbreaker ruins?"
They all froze.
Kaien slowly turned to him."Bro… don't tell me…"
Lynx whispered:
"That temple has a Veil Seal too."
Silence.
The Wraith's eyes narrowed.
And with a voice that cut through their bones, he said:
"Then you are already out of time."
The chamber trembled.
The Veil shuddered.
Arin felt the pull again—But this time it wasn't calling him.
It was warning him.