The sky split open.
Not metaphorically.
Actually split.
A massive crack tore across the air behind Kai, silver light pouring from it like bleeding stars. The creature forcing itself through barely looked real—its body shifting constantly between shadow, bone, and something far worse.
Eyes opened across its form.
Dozens.
All staring directly at Nancy.
Evan whispered faintly,
"…I would like to resign from existence."
Leo grabbed him by the jacket and shoved him backward.
"MOVE."
The creature's arm pushed halfway through the fracture.
Trees snapped instantly around it.
The forest groaned like it was alive and terrified.
Kai fell to one knee again, choking on a sharp breath as silver cracks spread farther beneath his skin.
The connection.
The creature was using him as an anchor.
Nyra's voice became urgent.
If it fully crosses through him, the bond becomes permanent.
Nancy's pulse spiked.
"How do we stop it?!"
Nyra hesitated.
Kai answered instead.
"You sever the link."
Nancy looked at him sharply.
"Kai—"
"If I'm the doorway," he said, forcing the words out through pain, "then close it."
The implication hit everyone immediately.
Leo swore.
"No."
Kai ignored him and looked only at Nancy.
"You know what to do."
"No."
The word came instantly.
Sharp.
Terrified.
The creature forced another arm through the fracture. Silver-black energy exploded across the forest floor, killing the grass instantly.
Evan stumbled backward.
"Okay that thing is VERY against boundaries—"
"Kai," Nancy whispered.
His eyes found hers again.
Still him.
Still completely him despite the darkness crawling beneath his skin.
But fading.
The Veil was consuming more of him every second.
"You said I wouldn't carry this alone," he said softly. "I'm holding you to that."
Nancy's chest hurt.
Because he wasn't asking her to save him.
He was asking her to make the impossible choice with him.
The creature opened its mouth.
Thousands of whispers poured out at once:
LET US IN.
The sound hit like knives inside their heads.
Evan screamed.
Leo nearly collapsed.
Nancy felt blood run from her nose again.
Only Kai remained standing.
Barely.
The Veil had adapted to him frighteningly fast.
Nyra spoke urgently.
Nancy. Listen carefully.
Silver light began gathering faintly around Nancy's hands.
You cannot destroy the bond from outside him.
Realization hit instantly.
"No."
Nyra continued anyway.
You must enter the connection directly.
"No."
Inside his mind.
The creature shoved itself farther through the fracture.
Reality warped around it violently now.
The forest was dying.
Kai looked at Nancy calmly despite the chaos.
Too calmly.
And that terrified her most.
"If you hesitate," he said quietly, "people die."
Nancy hated him a little for being right.
She stepped toward him slowly.
The silver cracks beneath his skin pulsed harder the closer she got.
The Veil noticed.
The creature shrieked instantly.
Protective.
Possessive.
Wrong.
Nancy cupped Kai's face with trembling hands.
The moment she touched him—
the world vanished.