The barrier shattered with a sound like the sky itself splitting apart.
Blue fragments of magic rained across Lunareth like falling stars, dissolving before they touched the ground. The palace trembled violently as alarms echoed through every district of the kingdom.
Shoko stood frozen in the center of the sanctum, his chest tightening.
He could feel it.
The Herald was closed.
Closer than ever before.
But something else was there too.
Something colder.
Something hungry.
Ariandel immediately stepped in front of him despite her injuries. Flames curled around her fingers as she stared toward the chamber entrance.
"Everyone stay focused," she said. "If this thing wants another fight, we'll give it hell."
King Thalanar drew his radiant blade. The weapon illuminated the room with silver light. "Guards, secure the lower sanctums. Protect the civilians at all costs."
The guards rushed out instantly.
Queen Lysa looked toward the cracked ceiling above them. "No. This is different."
Another impact shook the palace.
This time the tremor was followed by screams from outside.
Elyndra flinched.
Shoko looked at her. "Elyndra."
Her breathing had become uneven.
She looked terrified.
Not surprised.
Terrified.
"You know what is happening," Shoko said quietly.
Elyndra shook her head rapidly. "No. No, this should not be happening yet."
Ariandel narrowed her eyes. "Yet?"
Elyndra covered her mouth immediately.
The room went silent.
Shoko stepped toward her carefully. "Please. Stop hiding things from us."
Her silver eyes trembled.
Then another scream echoed through the palace.
This one is closer.
The king moved immediately. "We'll talk later. Move."
The group rushed from the sanctum into the palace halls. The moment they emerged, the atmosphere hit them like a wave.
Smoke filled the air.
Guards sprinted through corridors.
Mages shouted orders.
The moonlit beauty of Lunareth had become chaos.
A shattered section of the outer palace wall revealed the night sky beyond. Dark mist poured through the opening like living fog.
And standing inside it were figures.
Tall.
Thin.
Humanoid.
Each one wore cracked white masks.
Shoko stopped breathing for a second.
They looked like distorted reflections of the Herald.
One of the creatures slowly tilted its head toward him.
Then smiled beneath the broken mask.
The thing lunged.
Ariandel reacted instantly. A wave of fire exploded from her hand, crashing into the creature and hurling it backward through a pillar.
The monster screeched.
Not like an animal.
Like a person in agony.
"What are those?" Ariandel shouted.
The queen's face had gone pale. "Impossible…"
The Herald stepped through the mist behind them.
Perfectly calm.
Perfectly silent.
Its damaged arm hung motionless at its side, wrapped in glowing threads of gold and silver.
"You wounded me," the Herald said softly. "So I adapted."
The masked creatures began crawling into the palace behind it.
Dozens of them.
Shoko immediately summoned his threads. Silver and gold spiraled around his hands.
The Herald's covered gaze fixed onto him.
"Come, Shoko."
King Thalanar stepped forward. "You do not command him."
The Herald ignored him completely.
Its voice remained focused only on Shoko.
"You seek answers. I offer truth."
Shoko clenched his fists. "You attacked innocent people."
"I am forcing evolution."
Ariandel scoffed. "You are insane."
The Herald finally turned toward her.
For the first time, its voice carried emotion.
Sadness.
"You saved him from chains only to bind him again."
Ariandel froze.
Shoko's eyes widened.
The Herald slowly lifted its good arm toward Shoko.
"He was never meant to live as they do."
"Stop talking," Shoko snapped.
The palace floor exploded.
One of the masked creatures burst upward from beneath the stone, slamming into Shoko and sending him crashing through the corridor wall.
"Shoko!" Elyndra screamed.
Dust erupted everywhere.
The creature pinned Shoko to the ground with unnatural strength. Up close, he could see its face beneath the cracked mask.
No eyes.
No skin.
Just glowing threads woven into a human shape.
The thing opened its mouth.
And whispered in Shoko's own voice.
"Come back."
Shoko's stomach twisted.
He drove his threads upward, slicing the creature apart into fragments of black mist.
But more rushed toward him instantly.
The corridor became a battlefield.
Ariandel's flames illuminated the darkness as she fought beside the king and queen. Elyndra used silver magic to reinforce barriers around fleeing civilians.
But the creatures kept coming.
Every time one fell, another emerged from the mist.
The Herald simply watched.
Like this was all a test.
Shoko cut through another creature, breathing heavily.
Then another.
And another.
The numbness began creeping back in.
His heartbeat slowed.
The noise around him faded.
He felt it happening.
Again.
"No…" he whispered.
The Herald took a step forward.
"Do not resist your nature."
Shoko's threads trembled violently.
Elyndra saw it immediately.
"Shoko!"
He ignored her.
Another creature rushed him.
Shoko split it apart effortlessly.
No hesitation.
No emotion.
The Herald's voice echoed through the corridor.
"You feel peace in emptiness."
Ariandel turned sharply toward him.
And her heart dropped.
Shoko's eyes had gone cold again.
Not hateful.
Not angry.
Empty.
He stepped forward mechanically.
One creature lunged toward Elyndra from behind.
Shoko moved instantly.
His thread sliced the creature apart before anyone else could react.
Elyndra looked relieved for only a moment.
Then fear replaced it.
Because Shoko had not looked at her once.
Ariandel ran toward him. "Shoko. Listen to me."
No response.
The Herald extended its hand.
"Yes. Become complete."
Shoko took another step.
Then another.
The mist around the Herald began swirling violently as if responding to him.
King Thalanar shouted, "Stop him!"
The queen cast chains of light toward Shoko, but his threads destroyed them instantly.
Everyone froze.
Even Shoko seemed unaware he had done it.
The Herald's voice softened.
"Your suffering ends when you let go."
Shoko stopped directly in front of it.
The two now looked almost identical beneath the moonlight.
White hair.
Purple eyes.
Thread magic.
The Herald reached toward his face.
Then Elyndra screamed.
"THAT IS NOT WHO YOU ARE!"
The entire corridor shook.
Shoko's fingers twitched.
Elyndra's eyes filled with tears.
"You are not a weapon! You are not some monster from fate!" she cried. "You are Shoko! The boy who learned how to smile! The idiot who almost burned soup because he forgot water! The person Ariandel saved!"
Shoko's empty gaze flickered.
The Herald slowly turned toward Elyndra.
"You interfere with destiny."
She stepped forward anyway, terrified but refusing to back down.
"I do not care."
The Herald raised its hand.
A blast of golden force erupted toward her.
Shoko moved instantly.
The explosion slammed into him instead.
He crashed into the far wall hard enough to crack the stone.
"SHOKO!" Ariandel screamed.
Silence followed.
Dust drifted through the ruined corridor.
For a terrifying moment, Shoko did not move.
Then slowly…
He stood.
Blood dripped from his forehead.
His breathing was uneven.
But his eyes were no longer empty.
They were furious.
The Herald tilted its head.
Interesting.
Shoko wiped blood from his face.
Then looked directly at the Herald.
"You do not get to decide who I am."
The air exploded with power.
Silver and gold threads erupted around him like a storm.
The palace shook violently.
Even the Herald stepped back slightly.
For the first time…
It looked uncertain.
Shoko pointed toward the broken gates behind the Herald.
"Get out of my kingdom."
The emotional weight in his voice stunned everyone into silence.
Ariandel stared at him with watery eyes.
Elyndra almost collapsed in relief.
And the Herald…
Smiled beneath the mask.
"Good."
Then the battle truly began.