The sound came again.
THUD.
Not loud.
But deep enough that the ground vibrated beneath their feet.
Evan immediately stepped away from the spot.
"Nope. Absolutely not. Whatever horror movie nonsense that is? I reject it."
Another knock echoed upward.
Closer this time.
Nancy felt Kai tense beside her.
The silver distortion flickered briefly across the trees again.
The Veil was searching.
Testing.
Trying to find a way fully through him.
Nyra's voice remained calm but urgent.
You have little time now.
Nancy swallowed hard.
"How little?"
Nyra hesitated.
That answer alone was enough.
Leo ran a hand through his hair.
"Okay. New plan. We stop standing in cursed forests and start solving things."
"For once," Evan added, "I completely support teamwork and survival."
Kai stayed quiet.
Too quiet.
Nancy looked at him again and noticed something she hadn't before—
He was holding his breath slightly.
Like he was concentrating on staying in control.
Fear twisted sharply in her chest.
"Kai…"
"I can feel it," he admitted softly.
Everyone froze.
The air grew heavier instantly.
Kai stared at his own hands.
"It's faint but…" His jaw tightened. "Something keeps pushing against my thoughts."
Nancy stepped toward him immediately.
"Don't listen to it."
A weak smile touched his face.
"I'm trying."
The silver flickered in his eyes again.
Longer this time.
Leo cursed under his breath.
Nyra spoke quickly.
The Veil cannot fully enter unless invited.
Nancy frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Fear.
Despair.
Isolation.
The exact things the Veil had used against her.
Kai understood immediately.
"It feeds on emotional collapse," he muttered.
Nyra confirmed:
Yes.
Evan pointed dramatically at everyone.
"Then good news. We simply do not mentally collapse."
Silence.
"…You hear how impossible that sounded?" Leo asked.
Another knock thundered beneath the ground.
Cracks of silver spread across the dirt.
The Veil was getting stronger faster than expected.
Nancy made a decision instantly.
"We end this now."
All eyes turned toward her.
"No more running. No more surviving one disaster at a time." Her voice hardened. "We find the source connecting the Veil to this world and destroy it."
Nyra went silent briefly.
Then:
There may be one place capable of severing the bond permanently.
Nancy's pulse quickened.
"Where?"
Images flashed through her mind suddenly—
Mountains.
Snow.
A massive black structure buried beneath ice.
Ancient symbols glowing silver across frozen walls.
Nyra's voice lowered carefully.
The First Gate.
Leo blinked.
"That sounds incredibly evil."
"It is," Nyra confirmed.
Evan sighed deeply.
"Of course it is."
Kai suddenly staggered.
Nancy caught him immediately before he hit the ground.
The moment she touched him—
she saw it.
A vision slammed into her mind.
Dark ocean.
Silver sky.
The Veil whispering through Kai's voice:
OPEN THE DOOR.
Nancy jerked back violently.
Kai collapsed to one knee breathing hard.
"Nancy—what happened?"
Her face had gone pale.
Because for one horrifying second—
the Veil had looked directly at her through him.
And smiled.