While exploring the Veil, Kairo's team inadvertently triggered an awakening. The Primordial Warden, a colossal entity of pure energy and shadow, emerged from the Veil's core. Its presence bent time, fractured space, and emitted a resonance that made the Ember pulse violently.
"You trespass in realms beyond mortal comprehension," the Warden's voice thundered. "Only those who understand the fabric of existence may survive."
The ensuing battle was unlike anything Kairo, Ryo, and Ayla had faced. The Warden warped reality, creating duplicates of themselves, shifting dimensions mid-combat, and manipulating elemental forces to an extreme degree. Kairo's Ember resonated across planes, allowing them to counter the Warden's reality-warping attacks, but each strike drained immense energy.
Ryo's celestial strength shattered dimensional constructs, while Ayla moved across fractured realities, striking precise targets. Kairo realized brute force would not suffice—the Warden required strategy, unity, and mastery over both the Ember and the Veil itself.
By exploiting a resonance pulse, Kairo created a pocket of stable reality, allowing the trio to strike in perfect synchronization. The Warden recoiled but was not destroyed, retreating into the Veil with a chilling promise: "The next convergence will consume all."