The world was trembling.
Not metaphorically — literally.
The trees shook, the ground quivered, and even the sky seemed to pulse like a living wound spreading across the horizon. The moment the Wraith's final words echoed through the Umbran Temple—
"Then you are already out of time."
—Arin and the others were already running.
Not walking.Not hastening.
Running.
Every heartbeat was a countdown.Every breath felt stolen.
The path back toward the Veilbreaker headquarters — their home, their refuge, the center of all Veil defense — burned beneath their feet as they sprinted through the dying forest.
The sky above them was tearing.
Tiny fissures, like hairline cracks on glass, glowed red and violet. Each crack pulsated in sync with the broken seals scattered across the world.
Draiven shouted between breaths, "The more seals collapse— the more unstable the land becomes!"
Kaien yelled back, "Yeah, thanks professor, I REALLY needed the reminder we're in an apocalypse!"
Eira ran beside Arin, matching his pace despite the fear etched into her eyes. "Arin—keep breathing. Focus."
But he couldn't.
Not fully.
The closer they got to the headquarters, the more the pull returned. The pull from the Veil. The pull from something beyond it. Something that recognized his existence. Something that wanted him—needed him—just as much as he feared it.
Arin clutched his chest mid-run.
Eira grabbed his arm. "Stay with me."
"I'm— fine," he panted.But he wasn't.
None of them were.
Because as they sprinted over the last ridge, the sight below them ripped the breath from their lungs.
The Veilbreaker headquarters was on fire.
But not normal fire.
Veil-fire.Purple and black flame that ate stone like paper.
The fortress walls — once thick, proud, carved with ancient sigils — were shattered. The courtyard was a warzone. Bodies lay scattered like fallen leaves. Smoke choked the air. The once-mighty banners of the Veilbreakers were shredded, soaked in blood.
Lynx stumbled to a halt. "No… no, no, no—"
Kaien's voice cracked. "This can't— this isn't real—"
Draiven froze. "The seal— look!"
At the center of the headquarters stood the second great Seal — only this one was far, far worse than the one in Umbran Dawn.
Completely cracked.
Leaking tendrils of shadow.
And from those shadows…
creatures crawled out.
Dozens.Then dozens more.
Some were small, skeletal, screeching like newborn banshees — creatures from the First Veil.
Others were enormous, twisted, covered in bone-plated armor with glowing red eyes — creatures from the Second Veil.
The air distorted around the second category. They didn't walk — they disturbed reality with every step.
Razan exhaled shakily. "We're too late."
Eira whispered, "Arin… brace yourself."
The first creature noticed them.
Its head snapped to the side. It shrieked, a sound like rusted metal tearing in half.
Then it charged.
Arin reacted first, punching forward with blue-flaring energy. He smashed the creature into a wall— but instantly, another leaped over it, claws wide.
Kaien blasted wind, Lynx fired arrows, Eira cut two down with a frost-coated spin, Razan skewered another—
But there were too many.
Far too many.
Within seconds, they were surrounded — creatures swarming over bodies, crawling from rooftops, ripping through damaged walls.
A surviving Veilbreaker commander — blood-soaked, armor shattered — stumbled toward Arin's group.
"Y-You all—" he coughed blood — "shouldn't… be here. Fall back—!"
A Second Veil creature struck.
The commander shoved Arin aside—
SHHK—
The creature's arm pierced the commander's chest.
Blood splattered onto Arin's face.
"No—!" Arin yelled.
The commander smiled weakly, grabbing Arin's shirt with trembling fingers."You… live. You six… run. You are … the last…"
The creature lifted him like a ragdoll and slammed him to the ground, snapping his spine.
Arin screamed, charging at it, but Eira held him back.
"YOU CAN'T— ARIN— STOP—!"
But Arin was losing control.
His vision blurred blue.
His heartbeat thundered.
Something inside him snarled.
"I should've been here— I should've saved them—!"
Kaien pulled him back. "BRO— NOT LIKE THIS—FOCUS!"
But focus was impossible.
Because everywhere —
Veilbreaker knights were dying.Their friends. Their teachers. Their commanders.
One knight crawled across the ground, reaching for Arin with a shaking hand.
"A-Arin…? Please… help—"
Before Arin could move—
A First Veil creature bit through the man's neck, ripping his head clean off.
Lynx vomited on the spot. Razan trembled with rage. Draiven whispered something like a prayer — or a curse.
And then—
The Second Veil creature approached.
The same one that killed the commander.
Tall as three men. Raw muscle wrapped in bone armor. A single crimson eye glowing from its skull-like head.
Its footsteps cracked the ground.Its breath warped the air.
Kaien stuttered, "O-Oh hell no—"
Eira tightened her grip on her sword. "Everyone—ready yourselves!"
They attacked together.
Arin punched its chest — it barely staggered.Eira sliced its leg — her blade bounced off like metal on stone.Lynx fired arrows — they snapped on impact.Kaien blasted wind — the creature didn't move.Razan struck its neck — his spear cracked in half.Draiven summoned roots — the creature ripped free effortlessly.
Then it attacked.
One swipe —Lynx went flying into rubble, coughing blood.
Another swipe —Kaien smashed into a collapsed pillar, screaming as his shoulder dislocated.
A stomp —Razan barely rolled aside, but the shockwave cracked the ground and sent him tumbling.
A lunge —Draiven took the hit, thrown across the courtyard, blood gushing from his mouth.
It turned to Eira.
She blocked — just barely —
CLANG
Her blade shattered.
She fell to her knees.
The creature raised its claw over her head—
Arin's scream ripped through the air.
"NOOOOOOO—!!"
He sprinted, blue flames erupting from his skin, punching the creature with everything he had—
The creature grabbed his arm mid-strike.
And squeezed.
Bones cracked.
Arin screamed.
It lifted him by the throat — his feet dangling — the world dimming—
When suddenly—
SILVER LIGHT FLOODED THE COURTYARD.
And the creature's head vanished.
Just— gone.
The body collapsed.
The others froze.
Arin dropped to the ground, gasping for breath, vision blurring with tears.
Footsteps echoed softly.
The Silver Wraith appeared from the smoke,
hands in pockets,
expression unreadable,
cloak drifting in a slow arc.
He looked at the bodies.The ruins.The blood.The half-dead creatures.The six survivors struggling to stand.
He whispered, nearly soundless—
"…Too many fell."
Then he moved.
Not walked — moved.
Like light itself was obeying him.
Every creature in the headquarters lunged at him.
None touched him.
A flick of his wrist — ten First Veil creatures evaporated.
A wave of his finger — three Second Veil horrors collapsed into dust.
A single glance — the last beast disintegrated into silver ash.
In under five seconds…
Everything stopped.
Silence.
Not a living creature remained except the few surviving Veilbreakers scattered across the debris.
Arin fell to his knees.
Chest heaving.
Hands trembling.
Tears dripping onto the blood-soaked ground.
"We were… too late…"
Eira limped to his side, touching his shoulder gently.
Razan helped Lynx stand. Kaien winced, holding his broken shoulder. Draiven leaned on a broken shield for support.
The Wraith approached Arin.
Slowly.
Quietly.
He extended a hand.Arin didn't take it.
The Wraith spoke softly, for the first time sounding almost… human.
"Come. The seal must be restored."
Arin whispered, voice cracking:
"What's the point… if they're all dead?"
The Wraith didn't answer with words.
Instead, he gently placed his hand on Arin's back, guiding him toward the broken seal chamber.
Arin stumbled forward. Every step felt heavier than the last.
Inside the chamber, the seal pulsed weakly — a nearly shattered relic trembling on the verge of collapse.
Arin stared at it.
His vision swam with memories of everyone who died minutes earlier.
Friends.Teachers.Comrades.All gone.
A single tear fell down his cheek.
"I failed them…"
The Wraith's voice was calm.Unusually calm.
"No. You arrived as soon as time allowed."
Arin clenched his fists. "If I was stronger—"
"Strength does not bend time. Even I cannot unbreak what has already broken."
Arin trembled. "But they— they died for nothing!"
The Wraith turned to him, eyes cold but strangely soft.
"They died for a world they hoped would live. That hope is not nothing."
Arin shook, breath breaking.
"I can't— I—"
The Wraith placed two fingers on Arin's forehead.A surge of cold clarity flowed through him.
Not peace.Not healing.
But focus.
"Stand up," the Wraith said softly.
Arin swallowed.Nodded.
Together they stepped in front of the fractured Seal.
This time, the Wraith didn't request Arin's power.
He simply raised his hand.
Silver energy erupted like a collapsing star.
Arin shielded his face.
The Wraith's power poured into the seal — filling cracks, melting ruptures, reforging runes.
The veil screamed.
Reality shook.
Light exploded outward—
And then…
Silence.
The seal was whole once more.
The Veil behind it stabilized, turning into a silent, unmoving wall of black.
No cracks.
No claws.
No whispers.
The world quieted.
For a moment.
Then Arin stepped back out into the courtyard.
And the devastation hit harder than before.
Bodies everywhere.Blood soaking the ground.Half-burned flags.Crushed armor.The remains of people he admired, trained with, laughed with.
Some still clung to life — barely breathing, broken, begging to be put out of their misery.
Arin's knees buckled again.
He cried.Silently at first.Then loudly.The type of cry that tears something out of your soul.
He was shaking so hard Eira had to hold him upright.
But when he looked up…
At the Wraith…
Something inside him snapped.
"You…" Arin whispered.
The Wraith didn't turn.
"YOU COULD HAVE SAVED THEM!"
His voice cracked the air.
Eira froze.Kaien looked away.Lynx bit his lip.Razan lowered his head.Draiven closed his eyes.
Arin staggered toward the Wraith, fists trembling.
"You— you saved us. You killed everything here— in SECONDS! WHY— WHY DIDN'T YOU COME EARLIER?!"
The Wraith didn't respond.
Arin grabbed a fallen dagger.
His blue aura flared.
He pointed the blade at the Wraith's back.
"ANSWER ME!!"
The Wraith slowly turned.
Silver eyes met blue flame.
Behind Arin, Eira gasped. "Arin—stop—"
Kaien whispered, "Bro… don't…"
Arin didn't care.
His voice was raw.Hollow.Shattered.
"If you don't tell me the truth… I swear— even if it kills me— I'll try to cut you down."
The Wraith finally spoke.
"Very well."
He stepped forward.
"Then I will explain."