Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Kai remained kneeling on the forest floor, breathing unevenly, while Nancy stared at him like she'd seen a ghost wearing his face.
Which honestly wasn't far from the truth.
Leo looked between them carefully.
"…I'm assuming the silence means something terrible happened."
Nancy swallowed hard.
"It talked to me."
Kai's expression darkened immediately.
"What did it say?"
Nancy hesitated.
Because repeating it aloud somehow made it feel more real.
Then quietly:
"Open the door."
The forest fell still.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
Nyra's voice carried quiet urgency now.
The Veil grows impatient.
Evan rubbed both hands over his face.
"Fantastic. Love that for us."
Kai pushed himself upright slowly.
"I'm not opening anything."
The determination in his voice helped.
A little.
But Nancy could still feel it—
something moving beneath his calm.
The Veil pressing gently against the edges of his mind.
Testing weaknesses.
Searching for cracks.
Leo crossed his arms.
"So this First Gate thing. How far?"
Nyra answered through Nancy:
Far north. Buried beneath ice beyond human territory.
Evan blinked.
"…Can ancient evil ever exist somewhere warm and convenient?"
"No," Leo said immediately.
Kai steadied himself against a tree.
"Then we leave now."
Nancy frowned.
"You need rest."
"And you needed rest three near-death experiences ago."
Fair point.
Still—
she hated how pale he looked.
Hated the silver flickers appearing more frequently in his eyes.
The Veil was adapting quickly.
Too quickly.
Another pulse shook the ground beneath them.
This time cracks split nearby trees.
Black liquid seeped briefly through the roots before vanishing again.
Nyra's tone sharpened:
It is learning how to cross over physically.
Everyone went silent.
Because that changed everything.
If the Veil fully entered reality—
there would be nowhere left to run.
Kai straightened despite the pain clearly pulling at him.
"Then we move before it gets stronger."
Nancy looked at him carefully.
"You're shaking."
"I noticed."
Their eyes met.
And for one brief moment the others faded into the background completely.
Fear.
Exhaustion.
Everything unspoken between them.
Nancy stepped closer without thinking.
"You don't have to carry this alone."
Kai's expression softened instantly.
Dangerously soft.
Like those words mattered far too much to him.
"I know," he said quietly.
And somehow—
that felt bigger than it should've.
Evan loudly cleared his throat.
"I'm emotionally supportive of whatever this tension is, but perhaps we should leave the haunted forest before the earth explodes."
Leo pointed at him.
"First intelligent thing you've said all week."
"Rude."
A faint laugh escaped Nancy before she could stop it.
Kai looked at her immediately again.
There it was.
That tiny shift in his expression every time she laughed.
Like he forgot the apocalypse for half a second.
Then pain hit him again.
Hard.
Kai doubled over sharply, gripping his chest.
Silver cracks flashed beneath his skin.
"Nancy—" Leo started.
Too late.
The Veil surged outward from Kai in a violent pulse of dark energy.
The trees bent backward instantly.
The ground shattered.
And behind Kai—
something enormous began forcing its way through the air itself.
A shape.
Massive.
Distorted.
Covered in silver eyes opening one by one inside the fracture.
Everyone froze.
Because the Veil had stopped waiting.
It was coming through now.