The morning after the feast smelled like burnt wood and hangovers.
Sunlight streamed through the cabin windows, cutting through the faint haze of smoke from the night before. Someone was snoring on the floor. Someone else was still arguing in their sleep.
At the head of the long table, Morian sat cross-legged on it — shirtless, still grinning, his tattoos faintly glowing from residual energy.
"You know," he said cheerfully, "I think last night was one of our finer moments. Laughter, insults, emotional trauma — truly, the classics."
Kaenmor rubbed his temples. "Your idea of recovery is louder than your idea of battle."
Deyr groaned from the corner. "Why is the sun so loud?"
"Because you drank the entire northern stockpile of rum," Sera muttered.
Suvarn, quietly meditating near the window, exhaled slowly. "I told you moderation is key."
Morian pointed at him dramatically. "And I told you moderation is for monks and vegetables!"
The team burst into laughter again despite their fatigue.
Even Aria smiled softly — for once, feeling less like a summoned hero and more like part of a family.
But laughter, as always, couldn't last.
"Join Us"
When the noise faded, Aria spoke, her voice firm.
"Morian. You've seen it — the signs. The demons are gathering again. We need you."
The room went quiet.
Morian blinked once. Then he grinned.
"Ah, there it is. The recruitment pitch."
Suvarn sighed. "This isn't a joke."
"Of course it's not," Morian said, hopping down from the table. "But you know the rule — I don't move unless he does."
Kaenmor's expression darkened slightly. "You can't wait forever."
Morian shrugged, spreading his arms. "Watch me."
Deyr clicked his tongue. "You're frustrating."
"Compliment accepted."
He dropped back into his chair, stretching lazily. "Look, I'll fight when the whole band's back together. I'm not doing this halfheartedly. You want the Titan, you bring the Shadow."
Aria frowned. "But none of us know how to find him."
Morian's grin faded — just slightly. "I know. But I need the part of him the world buried. Until he digs that up again, I'm staying put."
....
Before anyone could argue further, the door creaked open.
The wind shifted. The air grew lighter.
And then she entered.
Elira.
Cloaked in pale blue, her silver hair catching the sun, eyes calm but knowing.
Every Aetherbound in the room straightened instinctively.
Kaenmor rose. "Elira. You got my message?"
"Yes, your wind helped me reach here." she said softly. "Looks like all of you are still alive."
"Barely," Deyr muttered, earning a glare from Sera.
Morian's grin widened instantly. "If it isn't the timeless beauty herself!"
He jumped to his feet, nearly knocking the table over. "You still owe me a drink from two centuries ago, you know that?"
Elira's eyes softened with amusement. "You still talk as if silence is poison, Morian."
"Because it is!" Morian declared proudly. "You go quiet for too long and next thing you know — people start calling you wise. Terrifying."
She smiled faintly. "You haven't changed."
Morian replied quickly. "I still remember the way you loved...."
Kaenmor coughed and interrupted discreetly. "Morian."
"What?"
"Don't."
"What don't?"
Elira's expression turned patient. "You were about to mention something you shouldn't."
Morian froze mid-word, grinning sheepishly. "Was I?"
Kaenmor's tone was firm. "Yes."
Morian crossed his arms like a scolded child. "Fine."
A long pause. Then he cracked a grin again. "...but you can't stop me forever."
Kaenmor sighed, muttering under his breath, "I've been trying for millennia."
Aria spoke up confused. "How do you know Elira? She also mentioned something like this before."
Kaenmore replied. "It's a long story, Aria. We will tell you once it is time."
Aria nodded once slowly.
Elira stepped closer to the group, her presence calm but commanding. "You're all waiting for him, aren't you?"
No one answered. They didn't have to.
"I can find him."
The words hit like thunder.
Morian straightened instantly, his grin faltering. "You what?"
"I can find Dravon."
Kaenmor's eyes flickered sharply. "Elira—"
She cut him off gently. "Don't stop me this time. I've walked the threads of this world long enough and you know that. The Shadow doesn't move aimlessly — he leaves traces. I know where to begin."
Morian blinked, processing — then his grin exploded back into existence. "Well, why didn't you start with that?!"
He turned, sprinted toward his back room, and reemerged seconds later holding a massive travel bag. "Where are we going?!"
Suvarn groaned. "You could at least pretend to think this through."
"I am thinking," Morian said proudly. "Step one: go. Step two: punch him if he's still brooding. Step three: hug him after."
Aria laughed softly. "You sound like brothers."
Morian smirked. "We are. Just… the kind who hit each other instead of saying sorry."
Elira speaks conclusively. "We are first going back to Luminera."
....
The laughter didn't last.
Hours later, the team stood at the outer gates of Luminera, where the horizon was red with smoke.
Demons had begun to gather — a horde unlike anything the kingdom had seen in centuries.
The air smelled of ash and iron.
Morian's face darkened as he took in the sight. "Disappointing. I expected "The Shadow". Not this mess of shadows and teeth."
Aria stepped forward, summoning light to her hands. "We'll hold the line until reinforcements arrive."
Kaenmor turned toward her. "Reinforcements won't arrive in time. This is ours to end."
The guards at the gates stared at them — confused, unsure who they were.
One of the captains stepped forward. "Who are you people? Civilians aren't allowed beyond—"
He stopped mid-sentence as Morian laughed loudly.
"Civilians?! That's adorable."
Suvarn sighed. "Morian—"
But it was too late.
Morian stepped past the line of soldiers, cracking his neck.
"You boys might want to stand back."
The captain frowned. "Excuse me—?"
Then the ground exploded. "I hope I didn't scare you, kittens."
Kaenmor gasps in embarrassment. "Show off..."
...
The first wave of demons charged — a black tide surging across the field, snarling, clawing, shrieking.
Morian grinned like a man welcoming a storm.
Kaenmor raised his hand, and the air itself shifted — a wall of invisible force slicing through the charge.
Suvarn followed, his blade igniting, carving arcs of fire that split the night.
Deyr spun forward, his chains flashing like lightning, cutting through creatures before they even reached him.
Aria's light from the summoning mark in her chest got brighter— pure, radiant, defiant. "I feel something. I can't name it, but it is radiating immense power."
Elira pats her shoulder. "You are the hero afterall. That will bind the legends together."
And together, for the first time in centuries, the Aetherbounds moved as one.
The ground trembled under their combined presence.
Demons disintegrated into ash before they even touched them.
Wind, flame, chaos, strength, and light — each heartbeat of battle a symphony of destruction and grace.
The soldiers on the walls could only stare, mouths agape.
"What—what are they?" whispered one.
The captain's voice broke. "They're… they're stories."
The realization spread like wildfire across the ranks.
"It's them."
"The Five."
"The Veins of Elyndra."
Even the demons began to hesitate, their monstrous howls faltering under the sheer magnitude of what stood before them.
...
When the dust finally settled, the field was silent.
The demons were gone — reduced to embers scattered in the wind.
Morian cracked his knuckles. "Well. That was disappointing."
Deyr stretched lazily. "You're getting old."
"Old?" Morian barked a laugh. "That was me warming up!"
Kaenmor shook his head with quiet amusement. "You haven't changed at all."
"Thank the gods," Morian said.
The soldiers still hadn't moved. They stood frozen — staring at the four legends before them.
Suvarn turned slightly toward them, his voice calm. "Tell your king the world isn't fighting alone anymore."
No one answered. No one could.
One of the younger soldiers finally dropped to his knees, whispering, "They're real."
And like a wave, the rest followed.
The legend had returned.
.....
Back in the quiet of the palace, Elayne was tending to the linens when Lena burst into the room, breathless.
"Elayne—! You need to come—"
"What's wrong?"
Lena's eyes were wide with disbelief and joy.
"They're here."
Elayne blinked. "Who?"
Lena grabbed her hand, trembling.
"The Aetherbounds. They've returned. They're fighting at the borders right now."
Elayne froze.
Her heart pounded, her breath caught.
"The… Aetherbounds?"
Lena nodded frantically. "The same ones from your books!"
Elayne's gaze drifted toward the window, toward the horizon where faint red light flickered against the clouds.
The book The Vein of Shadow still sat on her desk, its pages glowing faintly in the dim candlelight.
She whispered, voice trembling, "Then… he's coming too."