The forest air was heavy with unease. Even though the night sky above sparkled with a thousand stars, none of them seemed to shine with warmth. Kaito sat by the crackling campfire, his mind racing through everything that had happened so far—Noah's sudden collapse, the mysterious emblem burned into his arm, and the growing whispers about a power tied to the Guardians that no one fully understood.
Ava, usually sharp with her words, remained silent as she cleaned her blade. Every scrape of the whetstone echoed in the tense silence.
"Something's not right," Kaito finally muttered, staring into the fire. "That attack wasn't random. Whoever sent those hunters knew we'd be there."
Ava looked up, her crimson eyes glinting. "You're suggesting a traitor?"
Kaito hesitated. The word itself felt poisonous, but it refused to leave his mind. "I don't know. But someone is watching us… someone who knows our movements too well."
Noah stirred weakly nearby, the strange mark on his arm glowing faintly under the firelight. His breathing had steadied, but the sight of that symbol unsettled them all. It wasn't just a wound—it was alive, pulsing with an energy that didn't belong to this world.
"Maybe it's not about us," Ava whispered, her voice softer now. "Maybe it's about him." She nodded toward Noah. "That mark… I've only seen something similar once, in the ruins of Altherion. The priests called it the Veil's Brand. They said it belonged to a power that existed before the Guardians themselves."
Kaito's chest tightened. "Before the Guardians? But the Guardians were supposed to be the first—"
A sharp cracking sound interrupted him. The fire snapped violently, sending sparks into the air as if reacting to their words.
Before either of them could move, Noah jolted upright, his eyes glowing a deep violet. His voice, layered with something ancient, thundered across the camp:
"The Veil is thinning. He is coming."
The ground trembled. Trees bent as if bowing to an unseen force, and the night sky flickered like shattered glass. Ava leapt to her feet, blade drawn, while Kaito rushed to Noah's side, gripping his shoulders.
"Noah! Wake up! It's me—Kaito!"
But Noah's gaze wasn't his own. The violet glow in his eyes seemed to pierce through Kaito as though staring at someone—or something—far beyond him. Then, just as suddenly as it started, Noah collapsed back into unconsciousness, leaving only silence and the faint hiss of the dying fire.
Ava exhaled sharply. "The Veil… it's real."
Kaito frowned. "Explain."
She sheathed her blade slowly. "Legends spoke of a boundary, a thin wall between our world and something far darker. They said if the Veil ever shattered, the Guardians would no longer be protectors—they'd become prisoners."
Her words weighed heavily in the air. For the first time, Kaito felt the enormity of what they were up against. This wasn't just about surviving battles or outsmarting enemies. The very fabric of their world was beginning to tear.
As he processed Ava's words, a sudden rustle came from the shadows. Kaito turned sharply, hand on his weapon.
"Show yourself!"
From the trees stepped a cloaked figure, face hidden under a hood. The figure's voice was low, almost serpentine. "You've already felt it, haven't you? The stirrings of the Forgotten One."
Ava's blade was instantly at the stranger's throat. "Who are you?"
The figure chuckled darkly. "Names mean little. What matters is this—you are all pawns, dancing on strings you cannot see. The boy," he pointed a pale hand toward Noah, "is no mere Guardian reborn. He is the key to the Shattered Veil."
Kaito's grip on his sword tightened. "What do you want with him?"
The stranger leaned closer, and even through the shadow of the hood, Kaito could feel the weight of his smirk. "I want nothing. But He does. And when the Veil breaks, you'll understand just how small you really are."
Before Ava could strike, the figure vanished into smoke, leaving behind only the echo of his words and the lingering stench of ash.
Kaito and Ava exchanged a glance, the fire between them replaced with cold determination.
"This isn't just a fight anymore," Kaito said quietly. "It's a countdown."
Ava nodded, her expression grim. "Then we'd better learn the rules before the game ends."
Far above, the stars dimmed slightly, as if the heavens themselves had overheard the warning. And though Noah lay unconscious, the mark on his arm glowed brighter—an ominous reminder that the Veil was not just a myth, but a destiny waiting to be unleashed.
END OF CHAPTER 38