Three days had passed since the ritual. Nkosana remained unconscious, lying in a chamber deep within the fortress—his breathing shallow, his body still radiating faint pulses of corrupted light.
Around him, the world did not pause.
The skies over Emadolobheni had darkened unnaturally, as if the Veil itself still clung to the heavens, refusing to release its grip. Across the land, strange phenomena erupted—animals behaving erratically, shadows moving without light, and whispered voices haunting the ears of the living.
Lira stood watch at Nkosana's bedside, her hand resting gently on his arm. "Wake up," she whispered. "You're not done yet."
Outside the chamber, Kaede and Matsu pored over fragmented prophecy texts salvaged from the ruins. One line repeated across multiple scrolls, written in ink and blood:
*"When the seed breaks, the Echo stirs."*
Matsu frowned. "I don't think severing the Demon Seed stopped the Veil. I think it called something worse."
Kaede looked toward the sealed chamber. "Then we'd better hope our champion wakes up soon."
That night, the fortress trembled.A thunderclap split the silence, not from the sky—but from beneath the earth. Walls cracked. Lights flickered. And in the dark, a whisper slithered from the deepest corners of the realm:
"He broke the bond… now we are free."
Nkosana's eyes snapped open—glowing not with power, but with dread.
"They're here," he rasped. "The true Veilborn… the ones that were sealed long before my curse ever began."
From the shadowed hills beyond the walls, twisted silhouettes began to emerge—taller, hungrier, and more ancient than anything the world had yet seen.
The final storm was on the horizon.
—