Thunder rolled across the hills like the beat of a war drum. The sky, now a swirling canvas of grey and violet, crackled with unnatural lightning. From the distance, figures emerged—tall, gaunt, cloaked in a mist that reeked of rot and forgotten nightmares.
The Unseen Ones had returned.
Nkosana rose from his chamber, his steps unsteady but purposeful. The shadows no longer clung to him; instead, they recoiled, as if fearing the strange fusion of power and sacrifice within him. He had severed the Demon Seed, but what remained in its place was something new. Something uncharted.
Lira met him at the door, her eyes sharp. "They're not like the others. I felt them in my dreams—cold, calculating, ancient."
"They were sealed beyond the Veil," Nkosana said, voice raspy. "Not because they were dead, but because even death feared them."
As the fortress prepared for war, Kaede and Matsu activated the last of the old city's defenses—sigil wards carved into the stone centuries ago, humming with fading magic.
A council gathered in the central hall—warriors, scholars, mages, and elders from every tribe. The alliance was fragile, but fear united them.
"We must strike before they fully cross," Kaede urged. "Once the veil tears, they'll devour this realm."
"But how do we kill what cannot be seen?" an elder asked.
Nkosana stepped forward. "We become the light they cannot endure."
He raised his blade, now reforged with remnants of the ritual flame and the echo of shadow—an impossible balance. The room fell silent.
Outside, the Unseen Ones shrieked, their voices like wind through bone.
And then, as the first one crossed into their world fully, Nkosana whispered:
"Let them come."
—