Wind scraped across the destroyed courtyard like a whisper from another world. Broken stones, shattered pillars, and the fading scent of the shadow creatures lingered in the air. Students trembled behind protective barriers; teachers struggled to stay upright. But Eiryn stood silent, the world around him seemingly distant—almost blurred.
The silver-haired girl kept her palm on his cheek, her voice barely a breath.
"You saved me… once. And because of that… everything else fell apart."
Eiryn didn't move.
Didn't blink.
Didn't breathe for a moment.
Jay, still lying on the cracked floor like a dying potato, raised his hand weakly.
"Bro… explain… what… does that mean…"
The girl flinched at Jay's voice. She backed away, clutching her temple as if hearing too many sounds at once hurt her.
Eiryn lowered his hand from his chest.
His heartbeat was slow.
Too slow.
Inhumanly calm.
He stepped toward the girl, shadows under his feet tightening into firm lines.
"What do you mean… I saved you?"
The girl swallowed. "Eiryn Vassir… that's who you are now. But before… you were someone else. Someone… terrifying. Someone powerful enough that even the higher realms sealed their eyes when you walked."
Jay whispered, "So… basically… my bro was a raid boss."
Eiryn ignored him.
The girl continued, voice shaking, "You… broke fate once before. And when you did… the world tried to erase you."
Eiryn's eyes darkened. "Why?"
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
"Because you chose me over destiny."
Eiryn blinked slowly.
Jay sat up. "Bro WHAT?! YOU HAD A GIRLFRIEND IN YOUR PAST LIFE?!"
The girl jerked. "WHAT—NO—! IT'S NOT LIKE THAT—!!"
"Don't lie," Jay pointed dramatically, "your whole vibe is 'tragic love story but also apocalypse.'"
She covered her face in embarrassment, then glared at him. "Can you STOP TALKING?!"
"No," Jay replied. "My trauma needs comedy."
But her expression slowly relaxed when she looked at Eiryn again. "We were connected. By choice… and by force. You promised you wouldn't let go. But you did… when everything burned."
Eiryn felt pressure in his skull—a faint ringing, like someone tapping a fork against glass inside his mind.
Jay looked at him with concern. "Bro… you okay?"
Eiryn didn't answer.
Because a whisper echoed again:
"…don't let go."
His knees weakened for half a second.
The girl caught him before he fell.
Her voice broke. "You're remembering too fast. If you recall everything now… your body will collapse."
Eiryn gently pushed her back.
"I don't understand…"
"You're not meant to—not yet," she whispered.
Jay stood up shakily. "Okay okay WAIT! Everyone pause! Who even ARE you?! Why are you attached to my best friend like a WiFi signal?!"
The girl blinked. "Wi…Fi?"
Jay groaned. "Oh no… she's ancient AND clueless…"
The girl sighed and turned to Eiryn. "My name is Rei Asteris. And we were—"
Before she could finish—
A DEAFENING EXPLOSION shook the academy.
The roof of the main hall cracked.
Students screamed.
Teachers activated arrays.
Jay froze mid-comment.
Eiryn snapped his head toward the sound.
Rei paled. "No… no no no—already?!"
The far mountain behind the academy split open.
Not naturally.
Like a blade sliced it from inside.
A massive pulse erupted—waves of silver dust exploding from the mountain's core. It spread across the sky like glittering ash. Students inhaled the air and gagged.
Eiryn felt the dust settle on his skin.
It burned.
Jay screamed, "WHAT IS THIS—SKY DANDRUFF?!"
Rei pulled Eiryn close. "It's searching for you!"
"Why?"
"Because your awakening earlier… it called them!"
Another explosion.
The mountain collapsed into itself.
Then…
A colossal figure rose from the rubble.
Nine eyes.
Dozens of limbs.
A body shaped like a collapsing star.
And in the center—
A gaping mouth of swirling galaxies.
Jay fell back. "BRO—BRO—THAT'S NOT EVEN A CREATURE—THAT'S AN ENTIRE DEMON SOLAR SYSTEM—"
Rei trembled. "It's the Seeker. One of the watchers of your past. It came because the thread connected us again."
Shouts echoed across the academy.
"DEFENSIVE FORMATION!"
"ALL SENIOR RANKS TO THE FRONT!"
"PROTECT THE STUDENTS!"
Dean Arvyn floated into the sky, his cloak blazing with golden runes.
"Forces of the Veiled Realms—stand down!"
The creature didn't even look at him.
It only looked at one person.
Eiryn.
With all nine of its eyes.
Eiryn's breath hitched.
Jay hid behind him. "Bro… bro why is it looking at YOU? Why aren't you looking away? WHY IS NOBODY LOOKING AWAY—?!"
Rei pulled both of them to cover. "Once it locks on, it doesn't stop. It will follow him until he's dead or… until he awakens fully."
Jay's voice cracked. "No offense… but option B is terrifying."
The Seeker raised one of its massive arms.
The sky warped.
Space bent.
A beam of pure cosmic force sliced downward at Eiryn.
Rei screamed.
Jay screamed.
Teachers screamed.
The dean screamed something academic.
Eiryn simply raised his hand.
A single gesture.
The cosmic beam curved—
Bent—
Folded—
And shattered like glass.
Jay fainted for exactly two seconds, then woke up screaming again.
Rei stared at Eiryn with shock. "That… that wasn't supposed to be possible for your current state…"
Eiryn stepped forward.
His shadow stretched behind him, no longer still, no longer silent.
It split into tendrils, rising like living arms.
The Seeker roared.
Eiryn didn't blink.
Something deep inside him whispered:
"Take it back."
His eyes darkened.
The shadow tendrils struck forward, grabbing the falling cosmic fragments—
absorbing them—
consuming them—
as if tasting something familiar.
Rei backed away in fear. "No… no… don't use THAT… your body can't handle—"
Too late.
The shadows fused into his spine.
Eiryn gasped.
A surge exploded inside him.
He remembered—
Blood.
Sky burning.
A girl crying.
A blade of light striking him.
A promise.
"Don't let go—!"
Eiryn collapsed to his knees.
Jay caught him. "BRO—BRO! STAY WITH ME—! If you die I'll have nobody to cheat from in exams!!"
Rei knelt beside them, glowing silver sigils forming around her hands. "He's absorbing his past essence! This is too early—he wasn't supposed to awaken until the second Veil opened!"
"The second what?!" Jay squeaked.
"No time!"
The Seeker charged, the ground shaking with every step.
Eiryn forced himself up.
"Stay… back."
His voice echoed, deeper than his own.
Rei flinched. "That's not your voice…"
Jay whispered, "Bro… something is inside you…"
Eiryn staggered forward.
The Seeker unleashed a vortex of gravity.
The courtyard distorted—
Gravity stretched—
Students cried out as the ground tried to pull them upward.
"BRO!!!" Jay screamed as he was sucked into the air.
Eiryn snapped his fingers.
Gravity shattered.
Jay fell on his face. "I still love you bro— OW—!"
The Seeker lunged again.
Eiryn raised his palm.
The air turned silent.
Still.
Dead.
Everything froze.
Dust hung mid-air.
Light stopped moving.
Even the Seeker halted—trapped in time like a painting.
Rei's eyes widened. "Temporal stopping… Eiryn… this isn't magic… this is—"
Eiryn walked forward slowly, breathing heavily, a crack forming along his wrist like dark lightning.
Jay crawled behind him. "STOP—BRO—YOU'LL BREAK YOURSELF!"
Eiryn touched the Seeker's forehead.
The creature shuddered even in frozen time.
Eiryn whispered.
Not in human language.
But in the old tongue of the forgotten star-folk:
"Return to the void that birthed you."
Time resumed.
The Seeker exploded into dust, vanishing without a scream.
Rei covered her mouth.
The entire academy stared in horror.
Jay whispered:
"…bro… what are you…"
Eiryn didn't answer.
Because his knees buckled.
His breath cut short.
His vision flickered.
Rei caught him urgently. "You're not ready! You forced a forbidden technique—you'll tear yourself apart!"
Blood dripped from Eiryn's nose.
But he remained conscious.
Barely.
Jay trembled. "Bro—BRO—don't sleep! If anime taught me anything, THIS is the moment the MC dies!"
Rei pressed glowing hands to Eiryn's chest. "Stay awake! Your essence is destabilizing—!"
Eiryn's fingers twitched.
Another memory hit him—
A burning world.
A throne of shadows.
A crown forming around his head.
A voice crying:
"If you choose me… the world will break."
His eyes shot open.
The courtyard was silent.
Terrified.
Watching him.
Rei whispered, "Eiryn… you were never meant to exist again. Your presence is a paradox. A threat to the Veils… and the fate of every living realm."
Jay held his shoulder. "Bro… don't listen to her! You're just… Eiryn. My bro. My best friend. The guy who doesn't know how to smile properly."
Eiryn's gaze softened.
But Rei shook her head, tears forming. "He doesn't understand… Eiryn isn't just Eiryn."
She looked into his eyes.
"You were once the Veilbreaker."
The ground vibrated with the weight of the name.
Students gasped.
Teachers fell silent.
Jay whispered, "Bro… that sounds like the final boss name…"
Rei continued, voice trembling:
"The one who defied fate itself.
The one destiny tried to erase.
The one sealed away in the deepest shadow of the cosmos."
Eiryn's heartbeat echoed in his skull.
Rei held his hand tightly.
"And you came back… because I couldn't bear to die alone."
A tear fell onto his hand.
Jay watched, speechless.
Eiryn finally whispered:
"…Rei… what do you want from me?"
Her voice cracked.
"I want you to remember me.
And I want you to choose again."
A pause.
"A new fate.
Or the same destruction."
Eiryn inhaled shakily.
The shadows behind him shifted into the shape of wings.
The sky trembled.
Rei's fingers intertwined with his.
Jay yelled, "BRO DON'T PICK DESTRUCTION PLEASE—!"
Eiryn closed his eyes.
The shadows whispered to him.
Rei whispered to him.
His past whispered to him.
He made his choice.
He opened his eyes—
and the air trembled.
---
END OF CHAPTER 8 — PART 2