(Meaning: the last time these characters will ever see their old world before Tyser claims them)
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The sky broke first.
It wasn't thunder. It wasn't lightning. It was something else. A jagged crack of white light split the clouds over Greyvein Mine, as if the heavens were a pane of glass someone had decided to shatter.
Kael Dravien froze mid-swing of his pickaxe. Every muscle in his body tightened as the old miners began to murmur, backing away from the light. He had heard the stories — whispered in the dark — of the day it came.
And the day his mother vanished.
The ground hummed. The rails came next — silver-white lines of light etching themselves into the air, bending across the valley without touching the ground. Then, silently, impossibly, the train appeared — black metal swallowing the sunlight, crowned with silver fire.
The Celestial Rail.
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Kael Dravien — The Survivor
Kael's right eye began to burn, the golden ring within it glowing faintly. His grip tightened on the Riftbreaker Spear strapped to his back — a weapon he swore he'd only use again when the past came to claim him.
It just had.
The train slowed, stopping before him without a single wheel touching earth. The door opened.
And without thinking — without wanting to — Kael stepped inside.
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Lyra Veylan — The Skyblade
Far above, the Crimson Gale — an outlaw airship — pitched violently in a storm. Its captain, Lyra Veylan, yanked the wheel, teeth clenched as lightning speared the sky around her. One wrong move, and the storm would tear the ship apart.
Her crew screamed, but she laughed — a sharp, fearless sound that cut through the chaos. "Hold on! I'm not dying in some petty cloud tantrum!"
Then the storm split open — not from wind, but from light. Rails of silver fire sliced the air, heading straight toward her. The crew vanished into mist before her eyes. The ship dissolved.
And Lyra was standing in a gleaming corridor, rain still dripping from her gloves, her storm-glass goggles reflecting the dim carriage lights. "Huh," she muttered. "Either I'm dead… or I just won the strangest pirate prize in history."
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Darius Crowne — The Unbreakable
On the edge of the Blackspan Desert, Darius Crowne knelt beside a dying caravan guard, shielding the man's face from the blistering wind. His armor was dented, dust-caked, and heavy with years of battle. He had seen too much death — but never accepted it quietly.
He poured the last of his water into the man's lips. "Not today. Not like this."
The wind stopped. The air froze. Sand hung suspended like stars in the night. Then the rails appeared, glowing brighter than the sun.
A train emerged from nothing, its shadow stretching across the dunes. The door opened.
Darius looked once at the man he had tried to save — already still. He rose, tightened the straps of his armor, and stepped aboard without hesitation.
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Selith Raine — The Core Witch
In the crumbling Tower of Myrren, Selith Raine traced her fingers across a stone map depicting Tyser's creatures. Every inch of her study was littered with notes, sketches, and Core diagrams — years of obsession.
Tonight, something was different. Symbols on the map began to glow. Her ink bottle trembled. The air felt charged, like the breath before lightning.
Behind her, the wall split silently, revealing a train door framed in steam.
Selith's lips curved into the faintest smile. "Finally." She stepped through as if she had been waiting her entire life.
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Inside the Celestial Rail
The four found themselves together in a carriage lined with black wood and brass. Through the windows, the world outside was a blur of shifting colors and shadows.
At the far end stood the Conductor — tall, faceless, crowned with a slow-turning halo of bronze gears.
> "All who board," the voice rumbled, deep and grinding, "are bound for Tyser."
The name sent a shiver down Kael's spine.
> "You will face the Core. You will face yourselves. And most will not return."
The train surged forward. The windows shifted again, now showing a world of blood-red clouds and mountains that moved.
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Arrival in Tyser
The train screamed to a halt on bone-white tracks. The doors opened.
Heat and the stench of rot rolled in. In the distance, a massive winged beast — wings shredded like torn sails — circled a tower. The sky was alive with smaller flying horrors, each howling in voices too human.
Selith's eyes widened. "Type-III Core Beast," she breathed. "We're dead."
The creature dived. Claws like spears struck the ground, shaking it. Kael glimpsed a faint orange glow deep within its chest.
"The Core!" Kael shouted. "It's the only way to kill it!"
Lightning cracked as Lyra dashed forward. Darius stepped into the strike path, skin turning to stone. Selith's hands glowed with an unnatural light.
Kael lunged with his spear — but the glow slid deeper into the beast, vanishing.
The Conductor's voice whispered from nowhere:
> "If you cannot find the true Core… you will never reach the Heartspire."
The beast's shadow rose over them.
And the chapter ends.
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To be continued....