Everything happens at once.
Golden light.
Silver shadow.
Nathel's voice tearing through the cracks of reality like a blade.
And May—
caught at the center—
feels the world shudder beneath her feet.
Kael lifts his hand again.
The shadows around him thicken, spiraling like a storm.
"You cannot hide behind guardians forever, Little Half-Heart."
May stumbles backward as the golden being shoves itself between them, radiant form flickering under Kael's pressure.
"Kael, stop this!" it commands.
"The Veil is already unstable—if you force another fracture—"
Kael smiles.
A soft, patient, terrifying smile.
"I'm counting on that."
He snaps his fingers.
The world screams.
A black crack splits the air from the ground to the sky—
not like the ones before.
This one is wider.
Hungrier.
Living.
And the Veil begins to tear open.
May gasps as gravity shifts, pulling her toward the rift like a magnetic heartbeat.
Nathel's voice bursts through again—
"MAY, HOLD ON! I'M ALMOST THROUGH—"
But his voice cuts out, swallowed by the rising shadow.
She clutches her chest, her power beating like a trapped star.
"No—no, not again—"
Kael steps closer to the widening rift, unbothered by the chaos.
The smaller shadow creature bows low beside him.
"Do you hear it?" Kael asks softly.
May shakes her head.
"Hear what—?"
"The Veil calling your name."
The rift pulses—
once, twice—
and suddenly a voice she has never heard before whispers through her mind:
"Return."
Her entire body jolts.
She falls to her knees.
Her vision whites out.
The golden being grabs her arm, glowing fiercely.
"May, resist it! You are not ready—"
Kael's eyes flash silver.
"She is more ready than you think."
He flicks his wrist.
The golden guardian is thrown back again, crashing into its own light, weakening.
Its radiance flickers like a dying flame.
May tries to stand—
but the rift pulls harder.
Her hands slide across nothingness, slipping.
"No—please—"
Kael crouches in front of her, so close he could touch her.
He doesn't.
He doesn't need to.
"You belong to the Veil, May."
A beat.
"And to me."
A roar splits the air.
Nathel.
No longer a voice—
A presence.
A burst of white-gold fire explodes from the far side of the fracture, ripping a hole big enough for him to plunge through.
He stumbles into the half-lit realm, panting, eyes blazing with determination and fury.
His gaze locks onto Kael instantly.
"Step away from her."
Kael rises slowly, amused.
"Ah. The loyal half-soul."
Nathel doesn't look threatened.
He looks murderous.
White-gold power arcs around him like lightning.
"Touch her," Nathel growls, "and I will rip your entire shadow realm apart."
Kael lifts one brow.
"Adorable."
Nathel moves first.
Faster than May has ever seen him move.
White-gold collides with silver-black—
a shockwave slamming through the fractured world.
The golden guardian grabs May, dragging her backward as the two forces clash.
BOOM.
Kael barely steps back.
Nathel skids three feet across the ground—but he doesn't fall.
He wipes blood from his lip, glaring.
Kael studies him with… curiosity.
"Your bond to her is interfering with your design."
Nathel's jaw clenches.
"I don't care what I was 'designed' for. I care about her."
He points at May.
"She's not yours."
Kael's expression shifts—
just slightly.
Interest?
Annoyance?
Recognition?
"She is destined—"
"NO," Nathel snaps.
"Destiny doesn't get to decide that."
The rift expands violently, dragging May closer.
Nathel lunges, grabbing her wrist.
"May—hang on—"
Her fingers curl into his.
Her eyes sting.
"I—I can't hold—Nathel, I can't—"
"You can," he says fiercely.
"You always can."
Kael's shadows surge toward them.
The golden guardian shouts:
"Nathel—MOVE!"
He does.
Barely.
A spear of shadow cleaves the air between them.
Nathel lifts May into his arms as the pull intensifies.
She clings to him, trembling.
"Nathel—what's happening—?"
He holds her tighter.
"The Veil is trying to reclaim you."
May's breath catches.
"What do we do?"
Nathel looks at the rift—
then at Kael—
then at May.
His eyes soften.
And he whispers something that freezes her blood:
"We go into the Veil."
May's heart stops.
"What—Nathel, no—"
"We don't have a choice. If it takes you, I go with you."
Kael smirks, stepping aside like a king allowing his guests entry.
"Wise."
Nathel glares at him.
"This isn't for you."
Kael's silver eyes glint.
"Everything about her is for me."
Nathel's power flares dangerously.
But May grabs his face, forcing him to look at her.
Her voice breaks.
"Nathel… if we go in—what if we can't come back?"
He leans his forehead against hers.
"We will. I swear it."
The rift roars—
wider
wilder
unstable
—and begins to collapse inward.
May screams as the pull becomes unbearable.
Nathel wraps both arms around her and whispers—
"I've got you. Always."
Then—
the ground vanishes.
The world flips.
Shadow and gold collide.
And the rift swallows them whole.
Kael watches them disappear, smiling faintly.
The golden guardian collapses, dimming.
And as the rift seals behind May and Nathel…
Kael whispers into the quiet:
"Welcome home, Half-Heart."