Sleep never came.
Not for Adrian.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the gate again.
Black pillars stretching into nothing.
That impossible presence moving behind them.
Waiting.
He sat alone near the arena edge long after Kai had given up trying to make him rest.
The mark on his wrist pulsed softly in the dark.
Not hostile.
Almost patient.
That made it worse.
"You're still awake."
Adrian looked up.
Veyr stood in the shadows.
Of course he did.
Adrian leaned back on his hands. "Couldn't sleep."
Veyr walked closer. "Because of what you saw."
"Because it felt real."
A pause.
"It wasn't a dream."
"No."
Veyr didn't lie.
Adrian studied him.
"You know about the Threshold."
Veyr was quiet for so long Adrian thought he might walk away.
Instead—
"…I've heard of it."
Adrian raised a brow. "That sounds suspiciously incomplete."
Veyr ignored that.
"It is not a place one reaches physically."
"Then what is it?"
Veyr looked at Adrian's wrist.
"It is where bonds are judged."
That made Adrian sit up straighter.
Judged.
There was that cold word again.
Like his life had become a trial no one informed him about.
Adrian laughed dryly.
"Fantastic."
Veyr's expression didn't change.
"It is not meant for the living."
That made the air feel colder.
Adrian stared at him.
Then said quietly—
"But it showed itself to me."
"Yes."
Neither of them liked what that implied.
Silence stretched.
Then Adrian asked the question he had been circling.
"…Have you ever seen a Keeper before?"
Veyr hesitated.
That was enough warning.
"Yes."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"When?"
Veyr looked away.
"A long time ago."
That tone carried history.
And pain.
Adrian stood.
"You're going to have to give me more than mysterious fragments eventually."
Veyr met his gaze.
One breath.
Then—
"I lost someone to one."
The words landed like stone.
Adrian's sarcasm vanished.
Kai, who had apparently been listening from the entrance the entire time, stepped in quietly.
"…What?"
Veyr didn't look at him.
"My brother."
Silence.
Even the shadows seemed still.
Adrian had never seen Veyr vulnerable.
Not once.
And now—
For a moment—
He looked almost human.
"It marked him," Veyr said.
"He resisted.
It summoned him.
He answered."
Adrian's pulse quickened.
"The Threshold."
Veyr nodded.
"And?"
A long pause.
Too long.
Then—
"He never returned."
No one spoke.
Kai looked stunned.
Adrian felt something in his chest tighten.
That explained too much.
Veyr's warnings.
His fear.
His restraint.
This had never been theory to him.
It was memory.
Adrian lowered his voice.
"…Why didn't you tell me?"
Veyr answered without hesitation.
"Because I did not want you thinking you could survive what he did not."
That almost sounded like concern.
Coming from Veyr—
It practically was.
Kai ran a hand through his hair.
"So let me understand."
He pointed between them.
"There is a death dimension full of bond judges and Adrian is apparently invited?"
Adrian blinked.
"…When you say it like that, it sounds rude."
Kai glared.
Adrian smirked.
Briefly.
Then his expression changed.
Because a thought struck him.
Slow.
Sharp.
Dangerous.
"What if he didn't die?"
Veyr stilled.
Kai frowned.
"What?"
Adrian stepped closer.
"What if your brother didn't vanish."
A pause.
"What if he's there."
Silence.
Veyr's face hardened instantly.
"No."
Too fast.
Too defensive.
Adrian noticed.
"You don't know that."
Veyr's voice turned cold.
"And neither do you."
But Adrian saw it.
The crack.
The doubt.
The possibility Veyr had buried for years.
And once spoken—
It existed.
Kai looked between them.
"…You're not seriously thinking of going there."
Adrian didn't answer.
Which was answer enough.
Kai swore.
"No."
Adrian looked at his wrist.
The mark pulsed.
As if listening.
Then—
Pain lanced through it.
He sucked in a breath.
The arena darkened.
Not literally.
Perceptually.
For one impossible second—
The black gate stood before him.
Right there.
Towering.
Close.
A voice echoed through the bond.
Ancient.
Calm.
Unavoidable.
Come.
Adrian staggered back.
The vision shattered.
Kai grabbed him.
"What happened?"
Adrian stared ahead.
Breathing hard.
"It called me."
Veyr went still.
No denial.
No comfort.
Just dread.
Kai whispered—
"…It can do that?"
Veyr answered quietly.
"It just did."
Adrian straightened slowly.
Fear was there.
But so was something else.
Resolve.
Dangerous resolve.
He looked at Veyr.
"If the Threshold is calling me…"
A pause.
"…then maybe it isn't a trap."
Kai stared.
"You cannot possibly believe that."
Adrian looked at him.
"I believe answers are there."
Veyr's jaw tightened.
"And death may be there too."
Adrian gave a faint smile.
"Usually is."
Kai nearly groaned.
Then—
A deep tremor ran through the arena floor.
All three froze.
Another tremor.
Stronger.
Dust fell from above.
The shadows along the walls bent inward.
Toward Adrian.
Toward the mark.
Veyr's eyes widened.
"That shouldn't be happening."
A crack split across the far wall.
Darkness seeped through it.
Alive.
Watching.
The Keeper.
Not projecting this time.
Arriving.
Kai stepped into stance instantly.
Adrian's pulse thundered.
The crack widened.
And from within it—
A hand of living shadow reached through.
Veyr whispered one word.
Run.