Episode 9 - The Fractured Veil
1326 Words
The portal closed behind them with a violent burst of silver light.
Elias crashed onto cold stone again, breathing hard as Kael and Lyra stumbled beside him. For several seconds, none of them spoke.
The roar of collapsing reality still echoed faintly in Elias’s ears.
His hands trembled.
The Silver Key rested in one hand.
The Blade of Aether in the other.
Both relics glowed softly now, almost peacefully.
Which somehow made them even more terrifying.
Kael finally stood first.
“We need to hide the blade.”
Elias immediately handed it toward him. “Please.”
Kael didn’t take it.
The sword reacted instantly, glowing brighter in warning.
Kael sighed.
“…Right.”
Elias lowered the blade awkwardly. “I’m starting to miss when my biggest problem was school.”
Lyra leaned against the wall nearby, exhausted from opening the portal.
“You almost shattered part of the Veil.”
Elias blinked. “Almost?”
Kael gave him a sharp look.
“That was not encouragement.”
Elias looked around properly for the first time.
They stood inside what looked like an abandoned observatory. Broken silver windows curved overhead while ancient machines covered in dust surrounded the room.
Outside the cracked glass ceiling—
The sky of Velmora burned crimson.
Smoke rose across distant districts of the city.
Elias frowned.
“…That doesn’t look good.”
“It isn’t,” Lyra answered quietly.
A distant explosion shook the building slightly.
The Hunters were attacking openly now.
Kael walked toward one of the observatory windows.
“The city shields are failing.”
Elias approached carefully.
Far across Velmora, gigantic silver barriers flickered above the towers while crimson energy spread through parts of the sky like corruption.
People flooded the streets below.
Running.
Panicking.
For the first time since arriving in Velmora, the city looked afraid.
Elias tightened his grip on the sword unconsciously.
“This is happening because of me, isn’t it?”
Neither Lyra nor Kael answered immediately.
Which was answer enough.
Hours passed before anyone spoke properly again.
Kael spent most of the time reinforcing the observatory’s barriers while Lyra studied old maps and documents scattered across the room.
Elias sat quietly near one of the broken windows.
The relics rested beside him.
Even inactive, he could feel their presence constantly.
The key pulsed like a heartbeat.
The sword hummed softly.
Like both were waiting for something.
Or someone.
Elias stared at the silver markings spreading slowly across his arm.
The symbols had reached his elbow now.
He pulled down his sleeve quickly when Lyra approached.
She noticed anyway.
“It’s spreading faster.”
Elias looked away slightly.
“Can it be stopped?”
Lyra hesitated.
“I don’t know.”
“That’s becoming everyone’s favorite answer.”
She sat beside him quietly.
For a while, neither of them spoke.
Then Lyra finally asked:
“What exactly did the visions show you?”
Elias stayed silent at first.
But after everything that had happened…
Keeping secrets felt pointless.
“I saw another version of myself,” he admitted softly.
Lyra listened carefully.
“He had silver eyes. He carried both relics.”
Her expression became tense immediately.
“And?”
Elias looked down at the floor.
“He stood at something called the Final Gate.”
Lyra’s breathing slowed slightly.
“The Gatewalker…”
Elias frowned.
“You really think that’s me?”
Lyra answered honestly.
“I don’t know.”
Not comforting.
But real.
Elias appreciated that more than fake reassurance.
Then he remembered something else.
“The Hollow King was there too.”
Lyra stiffened.
“What did he say?”
Elias hesitated.
“He said… ‘You failed.’”
Silence.
Lyra slowly stood.
“That changes things.”
Elias blinked. “That’s not a sentence you say casually.”
Before she could explain—
Kael suddenly turned sharply toward the entrance.
His hand moved instantly to his sword.
“We’re not alone.”
The room became silent immediately.
Elias stood carefully, gripping the Blade of Aether again.
Then—
A slow clap echoed through the observatory.
Someone stepped out from the shadows near the doorway.
A man.
Tall.
Dressed entirely in black.
Silver markings glowed faintly across his gloves and coat.
Unlike the Hunters, he looked completely human.
But something about him felt wrong.
Ancient.
Dangerous.
He smiled calmly.
“Well,” the stranger said softly, “this became much more interesting than expected.”
Kael immediately moved in front of Elias.
“Stay back.”
The man raised an eyebrow.
“Oh? No warm greeting?”
Lyra’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“…Darius.”
So that was his name.
Darius smiled faintly toward her.
“It has been a long time, Lyra.”
Elias looked between them nervously.
“You know this guy?”
Kael answered coldly.
“We used to.”
Darius sighed dramatically.
“You make betrayal sound so negative.”
Elias blinked.
“…Because it is?”
Darius ignored him completely and focused on Elias instead.
His silver eyes slowly lowered toward the relics.
The smile on his face faded slightly.
“So it’s true.”
The room felt colder.
“You awakened both relics.”
Kael’s grip tightened around his sword.
“You’re not taking them.”
Darius laughed quietly.
“You think I came alone?”
The observatory windows suddenly shattered inward.
Crimson light flooded the room.
Hunters poured into the observatory from every direction.
At least twenty.
Elias stepped backward immediately.
“Oh COME ON.”
But these Hunters looked different.
Their armor was darker.
Sharper.
And their crimson eyes glowed brighter than normal.
Elite Hunters.
Darius walked calmly through the chaos.
“The Hollow King grows impatient,” he said.
Kael moved instantly.
Their blades collided with explosive force.
Silver sparks erupted across the observatory.
The impact cracked the floor beneath them.
Elias stared in shock.
Darius blocked Kael’s attack with one hand.
One hand.
“…That’s not normal,” Elias whispered.
“No,” Lyra answered grimly. “It isn’t.”
The Hunters attacked simultaneously.
Lyra created barriers of silver light while Kael fought Darius directly.
Elias barely dodged a crimson blade slicing past his head.
The Blade of Aether pulsed violently.
Instinct moved through him again.
He swung the sword.
Silver energy erupted outward in a massive arc.
Three Hunters were thrown across the observatory instantly.
One crashed through a wall entirely.
Elias stared at the sword again.
“…I’m never getting used to that.”
But the Hunters kept coming.
Too many.
Far too many.
Kael and Darius continued clashing violently across the room.
Darius moved almost effortlessly.
Every strike from him carried unnatural power.
Kael was losing.
Lyra noticed too.
“We can’t win this fight!”
Darius smiled calmly while blocking another attack.
“Correct.”
Then his silver eyes shifted toward Elias.
“The relics belong to the Gatewalker.”
Elias froze slightly.
Darius tilted his head.
“And you are not him.”
The words hit harder than Elias expected.
Something inside him twisted painfully.
“What does that even mean?”
Darius stepped forward slowly.
“It means you are only an echo.”
The relics suddenly reacted violently.
Both the key and blade began glowing brighter.
The room trembled.
Darius’s expression changed instantly.
“…Interesting.”
The silver markings on Elias’s arm spread farther suddenly.
Pain shot through him again.
Elias dropped to one knee.
The visions returned.
Faster this time.
Broken worlds.
Falling stars.
The Final Gate opening.
Then—
A voice.
Not the Hollow King.
Not the silver-eyed version of himself.
Someone else.
A woman.
Soft.
Ancient.
“Find the Seventh Relic…”
Elias gasped sharply as the vision ended.
The observatory shook violently.
Outside, the crimson sky above Velmora cracked apart.
A gigantic fracture spread across the heavens.
Everyone froze.
Even Darius.
Beyond the c***k in the sky—
Something enormous moved in the darkness between worlds.
And it was coming closer.
- Writer
