The ridge had become a furnace. Waves of molten fire rolled across the rock, so hot that the stone hissed and split beneath Haein's feet. At the center of it all stood the ghostly shape of young Vincent, screaming without direction as he hurled blasts of white-hot flame at anything that moved.
He was not picky about his targets — the fire hit everyone. When it struck the shinigami, the bony creature let out a shriek of pain. Its pale, papery skin blistered and turned black under the heat. But it didn't slow down for long. With a wet crack of bone, its body knit itself back together within seconds, leaving only thin trails of smoke curling off its limbs.
It lunged at the phantom with its black claws slicing through the air. The strike tore straight through his chest. But Vincent's apparition did not bleed — instead it flickered violently, like a lantern flame about to go out, and static crackled through the air as the whole burning realm shook.
"Get away from him!" Fenral roared.
The huge dark wolf charged forward, slamming his frost-covered paws down to pin the creature against the stone. A blast of freezing mist shot from his jaws, locking the shinigami inside a jagged block of ice.
Haein moved before the ice had even finished forming. She lunged in, her cursed blade cutting a dark line through the air as she sliced clean through the frozen shape. It shattered into several icy chunks that scattered across the rock.
She barely had a chance to catch her breath. The broken pieces didn't stay still — they dissolved into black mist, pulled back together by some unseen force, and the shinigami reformed in midair.
The creature dropped down with a vicious kick. Haein raised her blade above her head and poured anima into her arms to absorb the blow. The impact drove her knees into the cracked stone, and before she could recover, the shinigami opened its jaw far wider than should have been possible and let out a screech that rattled straight through her bones.
The sound wave caught her at close range. It knocked her balance completely off, throwing her backward across the plateau.
"Haein!" Tsuyu shouted.
Pulling out both of her curved short swords, Tsuyu rushed in and leaped, driving a spinning kick into the creature's jaw. It felt like kicking a slab of iron. The shinigami didn't even flinch — it absorbed the hit and backhanded her hard across the chest, sending her sliding through the air toward the edge of the cliff.
Before she could fall into the sea of fire below, Fenral cut her off mid-air. His massive silver body caught her, and with one sweeping swipe of his paw, he knocked the shinigami back down into the burning wreckage.
Fenral threw his head back and let out a howl. His shadow wolves swarmed the pit below, sinking their icy fangs into the creature and dragging their freezing bodies across its limbs, buying whatever time they could.
"Kei," Haein gasped, pushing herself up using the tip of her blade, blood dripping from her lip. "Hurry."
Far from the noise of the fight, Kei finally broke through the last stretch of darkness.
The burning ruins of Westex faded away completely, replaced by a quiet white-stone hallway. At the far end stood an open doorway glowing with soft, warm light. Kei ran through it.
The smell of smoke and sulfur was gone. In its place was a faint, familiar scent.
He was now standing inside a private room in the Fabled Class headquarters.
Vincent lay resting on a plain cot, looking completely normal, breathing slowly in a deep and peaceful sleep. Beside him stood a woman in a spotless white dress, her eyes covered by a soft silk blindfold. Her bright red lips stood out sharply against all the white around her.
"I was waiting for you, Kei," Lady Sora said. Her voice was calm and steady, and it seemed to settle the whole room just by speaking.
Kei blinked and lowered his daggers. "Lady Sora? You're actually here?"
A faint, amused smile crossed her lips as she reached down to brush a loose strand of hair off Vincent's forehead. "Only my spirit, child. I felt the seal on Vincent's core start to come undone from clear across the continent. I crossed the spirit veil to stop him from tearing himself apart."
The tightness in Kei's chest eased, and he let out a long breath. "So you can wake him up? There's a shinigami loose out there. It broke into the domain and it's destroying everything."
"The harvester of souls," Sora said quietly. "Shinigami are meant to guide the dead to Moknon. They're drawn to spiritual shockwaves the way moths are drawn to flame — that's likely what pulled it here. Vincent can't wake up yet, child. I still need to finish repairing the binding, or his own fire will eventually consume his soul."
"Wait — does he even know about the seal?" Kei asked, moving closer to the bed. "He always talked like his power was completely under his control."
"He agreed to the seal not long after joining us. Of course, that was before you were even part of the group," Sora explained. "Like you, Vincent was born with his own pocket dimension — a spiritual reserve big enough to hold an ocean of prana. But his body isn't built to channel that much power safely — at least not yet. Without my binding holding the gates shut, he would burn himself down to nothing."
Kei looked down at his sleeping friend, thinking back to the horror of the Westex square and the guards pinned to the marble floor by ice. "I saw what happened to his home. The king, the soldiers... all of it."
"Then you understand why that memory carries so much weight," Sora said. She tilted her blindfolded face toward him. "Though... speaking of unusual things, Kei."
"What is it?"
"Your energy," she murmured, leaning in slightly. "The aura you give off feels... divine. What actually happened to you during your time in Iona?"
Kei froze. Before he could think of how to respond, Fenral's voice broke through his mind, faint and crackling like a bad connection: "Kei... the line... it's breaking... we can't hold much longer..."
"Lady Sora, we're out of time," Kei said, his voice tightening with urgency. "Haein, Tsuyu, and the others are trapped out there. The creature is overwhelming them. If we don't end this now, they won't make it."
"Haein is here?" Sora's brow creased. "Did you tether them to your domain?"
"No — Vincent's domain collapsed and accidentally pulled them in on its own while he was unconscious. We had to force our way in to reach them."
"An accidental pull..." Sora sighed and shook her head. "That must be from the instability in his core. It couldn't be helped. Come here, Kei."
Kei stepped forward without hesitating. Sora lifted her hands, pressing one finger gently to his forehead and another to Vincent's.
"Remember to send me a wisp message," she whispered.
The white room shattered like an eggshell. Gravity gave way, and everything dropped into a spinning, bottomless void.
Kei's eyes snapped open.
He gasped, pulling in the cool, clean air of the Goryeong infirmary. The wooden ceiling was whole again. The lanterns burned steady, casting their warm glow over the stone walls.
Before he could even get to his feet, a pair of arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
Yejin held onto him, her face pressed into his shoulder, shaking with relief. For a few long moments she didn't say a word — she just let the tightness of her grip speak for her.
"You're back," she finally whispered, pulling away just enough to look at his face. "You actually brought them back."
"We're alive!" Hajun shouted from the floor, laughing as he flopped onto his back. "The fortress — we're finally back in the fortress!"
The other retainers sagged against the wall, murmuring thanks to the goddess. On the cot next to Kei's, Vincent shot upright with a sharp gasp, his chest heaving and his shirt soaked through with sweat.
"Vincent!" Tsuyu stepped up beside him and placed a steadying hand on his shoulder. "Breathe. You're safe. Are you with us?"
Vincent blinked against the light, his eyes darting around the room until they landed on Kei and Haein. The panic in his eyes faded, replaced by his usual tired grin. "Man... felt like I got run over by an entire squad of earth-casters. What the hell happened?"
Heavy footsteps echoed outside, and Xiao Ziming pushed the door open, stepping to the side with a formal bow. "The Dae-Ryeong has arrived."
Choi Eunjoo stepped into the room. His deep blue robe was neatly pressed, and his sharp gaze swept over the gathered retainers before landing on his sister. "Yejin. What happened here? Ziming told me a shinigami broke through the veil."
"It's over now, brother," Yejin said, stepping toward him with a reassuring smile. "Everything's settled."
Lai Zhin Te gave a crisp bow from the corner. "Forgive the false alarm, Dae-Ryeong. It looked dire at first, but Lady Yejin's new recruit handled the spiritual breach on his own."
Eunjoo turned his dark blue eyes on Kei, studying him with quiet interest. "So you're the new retainer serving under my sister. I didn't expect to meet you for the first time in an infirmary, but it's an honor, Kei."
Kei bowed respectfully. "The honor is mine, Dae-Ryeong Choi. Vincent's core had a sudden flare-up and pulled our companions into his pocket dimension. We managed to stabilize him before any lasting harm was done."
"A pocket-dimension accident," Eunjoo said, a faint smile crossing his face. "A rare gift — and a dangerous one. I look forward to speaking with you properly at the Imperial Palace, once the commendations are handed out. But since everything seems good, I suppose my presence here is no longer needed."
He turned back to his sister. "Walk with me a moment."
Yejin nodded and followed him out into the quiet, lantern-lit courtyard. The night air was cool, carrying the faint rustle of pine trees around the infirmary.
"Thank you for coming so fast," Yejin said softly.
Eunjoo studied her face. "You look worn out, Yejin. The recent invasion has stretched everyone thin, but you take on too much yourself. Go home to the estate from time to time. Mother's been worried sick about you."
Yejin let out a tired little laugh. "I know. I'll visit her soon, I promise."
"Good." Eunjoo's expression turned serious. "I was told you were dining on the terrace pavilion right before High Priest Kizuki was killed."
"Yes, we were. Kei was with me at the time," Yejin admitted, her brow creasing. "We saw him sitting alone about an hour before they found the bodies. Is there any news on the killer?"
"Nothing that satisfies high command," Eunjoo said, folding his arms behind his back. "The Hwadosen order is furious. A high cleric murdered like a common thief inside our own walls makes our fortress security look incompetent. Father's taking most of the blame in council."
"It wasn't a common thief, Eunjoo," Yejin said, lowering her voice. "Kei examined the body. The killer burned a mark into the priest's palm — an eye with three sharp lashes curling from the upper lid. He thinks it's the signature of an underground group called the All-Seeing Eye. It was the first I had ever heard of them, so I left the crime scene in the watch officer's hands."
"The All-Seeing Eye, huh?" Eunjoo raised an eyebrow, "If western syndicates have penetrated our inner sanctums to butcher high priests, high command has far bigger problems than damaged warships. That new retainer of yours is unusually sharp. Based on the reports you gave me, he already helped a lot." He paused. "Speaking of him — Father is drafting an imperial letter to grant your new retainers access to Shengyowon. What exactly are they hoping to find in those vaults?"
"Answers that matter to all of us," Yejin replied. "Kei, Vincent, and Haein are part of the Fabled Class. They work across the West sealing the Gates of Abaddon. If they think something in Shengyowon could help stabilize the realm's barriers, we need to help them get there."
She leaned in a little. "Which is why I need your help, Eunjoo. Mistress Lizhan will probably ignore Father's letter. But with your help —"
"No." Eunjoo's answer came instantly, flat and final.
Yejin stared at him. "Huh? Eunjoo, please — just hear me out—"
"I'm not getting involved with Shengyowon, Yejin," he said, turning his head away.
"Why not?" A teasing smile broke through her serious expression. "Don't tell me you're still awkward around Maiden Raine. How many years has it been since that falling out?"
Eunjoo cleared his throat and straightened his collar. "It's late, and I have division reports waiting for me. Take care of yourself, little sister."
Without waiting for a reply, the Dae-Ryeong turned and strode off down the path.
Yejin watched him go, shaking her head fondly. When she turned back to the infirmary, Lai Zhin Te and Ziming were already stepping out into the yard to leave, letting her, Kei, and the rest of the recovering group have the room to themselves.