[Jeremy Soren – Unknown Location]
The underground chamber pulsed with a flickering crimson glow, casting jagged shadows along the cracked stone walls. Jeremy stood at the center, surrounded by ancient symbols etched into the ground—some glowing, some burning with real flame. The air shimmered with raw energy, heavy with the scent of iron and ash.
He pressed his hand against the sealstone resting on the altar. It thrummed in response—angry, alive.
"It's time," he murmured, voice like oil over glass.
He'd waited long enough. The failed ambush near Hollowfang Glen hadn't been a loss, despite the Wraithborn being thwarted. The rupture there had weakened further—he could feel it in the energy web surrounding the territories. But Eila… she was advancing faster than anticipated.
She'd already managed to close the rift once.
Jeremy narrowed his eyes.
"No matter. Let her play with shadows. I will give her something real to fear."
With a sudden jolt, he drove the sealstone into the center of the glyph circle. The floor cracked open with a burst of icy wind and searing heat, the competing forces tearing through the veil like claws on silk. From the hole surged a thick plume of black mist—familiar, living, and full of teeth.
The second rift opened in a forgotten stretch of barren land near the eastern rim of the Sunashi Mountains—untouched by patrols and unprotected. Jeremy laughed, arms spread, as the winds howled and the sky split open.
A new army would rise.
[Eila – Hollowfang Glen]
A sudden, violent tremor shook the glen.
Eila jolted awake where she lay, barely recovered from closing the first rupture. She had no memory of being moved, but now she was inside a medical tent, cool cloth pressed to her forehead, her limbs wrapped in warmth and healing balm.
Outside, chaos brewed.
Leonard burst into the tent, flanked by Lukas and Zois. All three looked pale—furious, but frightened.
"You're awake," Leonard said in a tight voice, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. "You closed it. You did it. But—"
"But something's wrong," Zois cut in, pacing. "The scouts just returned. There's a second rupture—a much larger one, and it's growing. The magic readings are… off the charts."
Eila sat up slowly, groggy but alert. "Where?"
"East," Lukas said grimly. "Sunashi's other side. Jeremy must have done it."
Leonard added, "We're receiving fragmented reports—shadows forming out of thin air. Entire herds vanishing. Crops decaying in seconds. It's worse than the first."
Eila's heart dropped.
"He's not just opening rifts," she whispered.
"He's feeding them."
Lukas turned sharply. "Feeding them?"
"Yes," she said, her eyes distant. "The one I just closed… I could feel its hunger. It wasn't just magic—it was alive. It feeds on fear, death, imbalance. Jeremy knows that. He's accelerating the collapse."
Outside the tent, distant battle horns blew. A scout rushed toward the commanders, yelling something they couldn't hear yet. Leonard turned toward the sound instinctively.
Zois clenched his fists. "They're coming."
"Who?" Eila asked.
The answer came in a low rumble across the earth, like a drumbeat from deep underground.
The Wraithborn. Again. But evolved.
"They look… changed," one of the warriors gasped, running past the tent. "Bigger. And fast. Too fast."
Leonard growled under his breath and looked at Eila. "You're not fighting."
Eila's head spun. She still hadn't fully recovered—but there wasn't time.
"I need to see it," she said, standing shakily. "And I need to go east."
"No," Lukas said. "Not yet. Not without us."
Zois stepped forward, calm but deadly serious. "We'll fight them here. You recover tonight. Then… we take the fight to Jeremy."
Eila looked between them—her fated ones, her protectors, and yet the very bond that had made her stronger than she ever thought possible. And somewhere, across the mountain, Jeremy was watching.
And waiting.