Darkness had swallowed him whole. No more sound, no more pain—nothing remained. Everything had vanished, as if his very existence had been wiped away. He couldn’t feel his body anymore, couldn’t even tell if he still had one. His mind floated in an endless void, weightless and numb. He tried to move, to speak, but nothing responded. Just that oppressive, absolute emptiness.

  And yet… he remembered. The Specter. The blades piercing his flesh. The cold, gnawing pain that consumed his being. Alynia, lying on the ground, unmoving.

  Suddenly, a sound broke the silence—a laugh. Deep, resonant, echoing through the void. A shiver ran through him, something primal stirring inside. He’d heard that laugh before. That voice… it was the same as in his dream.

  A blinding light tore through the darkness. He wanted to shut his eyes—but he had none. No eyes, no body, nothing. Just his mind, floating alone in a formless abyss.

  As the light dimmed, two enormous red eyes appeared before him. They hovered in the void, unblinking, piercing, as if searching every corner of his soul. An oppressive force radiated from them, pinning him down like an insect under glass.

  The laughter ceased abruptly.

  Then came a voice, rough and mocking, dripping with twisted satisfaction.

  “Pathetic… Weak…”

  A chill swept through what remained of Veil’s essence. He’d heard those words before.

  The voice continued, every word laced with cruel amusement.

  “A fragile little Summoned One… What a disappointment.”

  Summoned One? What was he talking about? Veil didn’t understand. Confusion twisted into fear—but he was helpless. He could do nothing but endure the suffocating presence.

  Another chuckle echoed around him, followed by a sharper, colder tone.

  “Needing to step in for you this early… It’s almost insulting.”

  Veil wanted to speak, to demand answers—but no sound came.

  As if reading his thoughts, the voice went on, calm and sinister.

  “Why? Because I need someone here. And it was your soul that answered the call.”

  Silence fell again, heavy as a death sentence.

  Veil fought to remember. Why me? What had he forgotten? But there was nothing. Only emptiness.

  The voice returned, harsher now—like a blade drawn across stone.

  “I’m giving you a second chance. But listen closely... Fail again, and I’ll let you die.”

  A crushing force settled over him, as if his existence now hung by a single, fraying thread.

  “If a useless thing like you has no reason to fight... then you might as well disappear.”

  Slowly, the red eyes faded, vanishing into the dark like a verdict rendered. The void closed in again, denser and colder than before.

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  Back in the chamber, the Specter still loomed, unmoving. Its eerie laughter echoed faintly across the stone walls. Its mist slithered forward, creeping toward Veil’s motionless body, reaching—ready to claim what was left of him.

  But just as the darkness was about to swallow him whole, a light erupted.

  At first, it was faint—a flickering greenish glow clinging to his body. But then it grew, brighter, more radiant... almost divine. The light seemed to pour from the gaping wound left by the Specter, illuminating every nerve, every muscle fiber, every torn strand of flesh as it reformed beneath its glow. Torn tissue knit itself back together. Dried blood vanished. His heart slid back into place, pulsing with pure energy.

  The Specter recoiled.

  Its crimson eyes narrowed, and its laughter died in a hiss of rage. It raised its tattered limbs, lashing out as if to banish the unbearable light—but it was powerless. A distorted scream rang out, followed by a shockwave that trembled through the chamber, shaking the columns and sending dust billowing into the air.

  But it changed nothing.

  Veil was coming back.

  The light swelled, driving the shadow further and further back. Then, with one final flash—brilliant and blinding—it struck the darkness head-on, forcing the Specter to retreat into the outer edges of the room, denied its dominion.

  Silence fell.

  Then—

  BOOM… BOOM…

  A heartbeat.

  BOOM… BOOM… BOOM BOOM.

  Veil’s heart thundered through the chamber—strong, fierce, alive.

  He jolted upright, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath, like a drowning man breaking the surface. His eyelids fluttered, then shot open. The light seared his eyes, unbearable after the void he’d been trapped in. He blinked rapidly, struggling to focus as the world around him wavered.

  The room was still there.

  And so was he.

  He pushed himself upright, stumbling slightly as his body adjusted to its sudden return. Every muscle felt light, buzzing with unfamiliar energy. He inhaled deeply, grounding himself, forcing his limbs to obey again. Then his gaze swept the room.

  Alynia.

  She was still lying there—motionless, exactly where he had seen her fall before the end.

  A knot formed in his throat. His first instinct was to run to her. But something deeper, older—instinct—screamed at him not to move.

  He stepped back instead.

  Just in time to see a shadowed hand burst from the floor, grasping for him.

  His breath caught.

  The Specter was still here.

  Without thinking, he reached for the dagger at his belt—but it was gone. Of course. He’d dropped it when he fell. He turned his head, scanning quickly—and spotted it a few meters away, right where his body had collapsed.

  Without hesitation, he lunged forward, dropped low, and grabbed the blade.

  When he turned back—the Specter was waiting.

  The darkness had reassembled around it. The violet flames still hovered along the walls, casting their spectral glow, but shadow now ruled the room once more.

  And this time, the Specter was silent.

  No more laughter.

  No more mockery.

  Its red eyes had narrowed into furious slits, pulsing with a hatred that vibrated in the air. The mist writhed around it, a cold vapor seeping from its faceless form like poison.

  Then, without warning—two sharp cracks echoed in the room.

  Veil’s jaw clenched. He knew that sound.

  Two shadow-blades exploded forth.

  But this time… they didn’t shoot toward him.

  They drove straight into the floor.

  Veil narrowed his eyes. His first reaction was to brace for an underground attack. He dodged to the side—just as pain tore through his leg.

  The blades hadn’t come from below.

  They had struck from above.

  A thin line of blood ran down his thigh. Shallow—just a scratch—but enough to expose his mistake.

  Veil tightened his grip on the dagger, raising his eyes to the shadow floating ahead. He hadn’t forgotten. He knew its weakness now.

  “If you want to play... fine. But I know how to get you now too,” Veil muttered with a defiant smirk.

  The Specter didn’t move.

  It didn’t react to his words.

  Not this time.

  Instead, the shadow spread.

  Its black mist stretched outward, thickening until it swallowed the entire chamber in a choking, oppressive darkness. The ghostly silhouette dissolved into its own veil, melting into the gloom as though it had never existed.

  Veil clenched his teeth.

  The violet flames still floated in place, but their glow had dimmed to a whisper—barely visible through the thick, creeping fog.

  He scanned the room, watching for any sign of movement.

  Nothing.

  Focusing his mana into his palm, he released it in a sudden burst of wind. The gust tore through the haze, freezing the mist on contact. Ice crystals bloomed in the air and fell heavily to the floor, scattering the shadow for a brief moment.

  Just long enough to catch a glimpse.

  Then, like a living thing, the darkness surged back in—engulfing him once again.

  Veil’s frustration flared.

  This monster was toying with him.

  “Go on, hide... How long do you plan to keep running?” he growled, his voice edged with anger.

  No answer.

  Of course.

  As if that thing would bother talking back.

  Then—

  A sound.

  Sharp. Low. Deep.

  A crack, vibrating through the very air, as if the chamber itself was splitting apart.

  Veil tensed. He saw nothing—only that haunting noise. That deep, rhythmic fracture that made it feel like something was breaking beneath his feet.

  He instinctively shifted sideways, several paces, trying to track the sound’s source. But it echoed from every direction. No point of reference. Nowhere to strike.

  Then, silence.

  The mist stopped spreading.

  Instead… it began to gather.

  As if drawn by an unseen force, the fog slithered across the floor toward a single point. Veil narrowed his eyes, watching as the shadows curled into thin streams, slipping through cracks in the stone.

  Cracks that now traced their way around him.

  He froze.

  They weren’t moving toward him.

  They were surrounding him.

  The darkness vanished completely, revealing the chamber once more. The walls, the torches, the silence.

  But the Specter…

  It was gone.

  Veil straightened, every muscle taut, scanning every inch of the room.

  “Where are you...?” he whispered warily.

  The answer came not in words—but in movement.

  The ground beneath his feet trembled.

  A cold shiver ran down his spine.

  The Specter wasn’t around him anymore.

  It was beneath him.