Tokyo's neon jungle pulsed beyond the safehouse window, a chaotic symphony of light and sound that felt both familiar and alien after Eldridge City. Haruaki stood by the glass, the Gatekey in his pocket a relentless pulse against his thigh, its warmth a reminder of the truths Yumi had finally begun to unravel. His parents—Fractureborn, like him, hunted for the Gatekeys, taken by forces he didn't yet understand. The weight of it pressed on his chest, heavier than the ache in his aging body. At seventeen, his hands bore the faint wrinkles of a man twice his age, his joints creaking from the fractures he'd sealed, each one stealing years he couldn't afford to lose.
Rina sat at a rickety table, her staff glowing faintly as she studied a Veil map, its glowing markers indicating fracture points across Tokyo. Her red-streaked hair was pulled back, her fire-red eyes sharp with focus, but Haruaki could see the tension in her jaw. Yumi leaned against the wall, her dark hair half-hiding her face, her silence louder than ever after her confession about his parents. Kuro perched on a chair, his golden eyes glinting as he muttered about "elite vultures and reckless kids," his snark a thin veil over his unease.
The air in the safehouse crackled with unspoken questions, but Haruaki's mind was stuck on Yumi's words: They were taken. Marked. He wanted to press her, to demand every detail, but the memory of Lady Seris's cold smile and the wraiths' green eyes kept him quiet. The Veil's elite—Varyn, Seris, maybe even Kael Draven—were closing in, and the race for the Gatekeys was a noose tightening around his neck.
"We're running out of time," Rina said, breaking the silence. She tapped the map, where a red marker pulsed in Tokyo's Shibuya district. "Taro's contact says the twin key's in a Veil shrine there, but the fractures are getting worse. Seris's attack wasn't just a warning—she's trying to flush us out."
Haruaki's hand tightened around the Gatekey. "Flush us out? Or flush the key out?"
Kuro cawed, his wings ruffling. "Both, kid. You're the prize, and that key's the bait. The elite want control, and they'll burn Tokyo to get it."
Yumi's voice was soft but firm. "It's not just the elite. The shadows in the deep Veil—they're drawn to the fractures. Every time you use your power, Haruaki, you're opening the door a little wider."
He turned to her, frustration flaring. "Then what am I supposed to do? Let the fractures tear everything apart? You saw what happened in Eldridge. People died."
Yumi's eyes met his, pain flickering in their depths. "I'm not saying stop. I'm saying be careful. Your parents… they thought they could control the keys, too. Look what happened to them."
The words stung, but before Haruaki could respond, the safehouse shook violently, the windows rattling as a low hum vibrated through the floor. The neon outside flickered, then dimmed, the city's pulse stuttering. Rina was on her feet, her staff blazing. "Fracture," she said, her voice sharp. "Big one."
Kuro swooped to Haruaki's shoulder, his claws digging in. "Shibuya. It's happening now. You ready to bleed again, kid?"
Haruaki's heart pounded, the Gatekey pulsing wildly. He didn't wait for Rina's orders, bolting for the door with Yumi and Rina close behind. The streets of Tokyo were chaos—people screaming, cars stalled as the air grew thick, the Veil's bruised-purple sky bleeding into reality. Shibuya's iconic crossing was a nightmare, its giant screens flickering with static, the crowd scattering as fractures tore open like wounds in the air. Veilspawn poured through, their ember eyes glowing, but they weren't alone. Wraiths glided among them, and above, a massive rift pulsed, its gold-streaked edges unraveling time itself.
Haruaki's chest burned, the Veil's pulse overwhelming, chaotic, like a heart in its death throes. He saw it in flashes—people frozen mid-step, others aging in seconds, their hair graying, their skin wrinkling as the time zone fractured. A child stood alone, her eyes wide as a Veilspawn lunged, only to be incinerated by Rina's flames. "Haruaki!" Rina shouted, her staff swinging. "Seal it, now!"
He reached for the Veil's current, the familiar pain igniting in his bones. The world slowed, the Veilspawn's claws hanging mid-air, Rina's flames frozen in arcs of fire. Yumi fought beside him, a dagger in her hand glowing with runes, her movements precise as she slashed through a wraith. But the rift was different—larger, wilder, its edges resisting his pull. He gripped the current, stitching time together, but the pain was unbearable, his body aging with every second. His vision blurred, his hands trembling, the wrinkles deepening.
"Haruaki, stop!" Yumi's voice cut through, desperate. She grabbed his arm, her dagger still dripping with wraith ichor. "You're going too far!"
"I can't stop," he gasped, his voice raw. The rift was shrinking, but the time zone was unraveling faster, buildings warping, the ground cracking as reality buckled. He saw it in glimpses—people trapped in loops, others crumbling to dust, the city itself fracturing. The Gatekey burned, its pulse urging him on, but his body was failing, his breath shallow, his heart stuttering.
Rina's flames roared, clearing a path, but the wraiths kept coming, their green eyes locked on Haruaki. Above, the shadow from Kael's mansion loomed in the rift, its formless malice pressing against the tear. "Fractureborn," it whispered, its voice a violation in his mind. "Give us the key."
Haruaki screamed, pushing harder, the pain blinding. The rift began to close, the shadow retreating, but his body was breaking. His hair grayed at the edges, his hands skeletal, his vision fading. Yumi's arms were around him, holding him upright, her voice breaking. "You're enough, Haruaki. Let go!"
He didn't want to, couldn't. The city—his city, even if it wasn't Eldridge—was at stake. He pulled one last time, the rift snapping shut with a sound like breaking glass. The wraiths dissolved, the Veilspawn vanished, and the time zone stabilized, Shibuya's neon flickering back to life. Haruaki collapsed, Yumi catching him, his body a wreck of pain and age.
Rina knelt beside him, her face grim. "You did it, rookie," she said, her voice low. "But you're killing yourself."
Kuro landed nearby, his golden eyes narrowed. "Told you, kid. The key's a curse. You can't keep this up."
Haruaki's breath came in shallow gasps, his hands shaking as he touched his face, feeling deep lines etched into his skin. He looked at Yumi, her eyes wet with tears, and felt a surge of anger—not at her, but at the Veil, the elite, the shadows that had stolen his life. "Why?" he whispered, his voice barely audible. "Why me?"
Yumi's hand tightened on his. "Because you're Fractureborn," she said, her voice soft but fierce. "Because you're the only one who can stop them. But you don't have to do it alone."
Rina stood, her staff sparking. "We need to move. The elite'll know about this. Varyn, Seris—they're not done. And that shadow? It's not gone."
Haruaki forced himself to sit up, his body screaming in protest. The Gatekey pulsed, its warmth a faint comfort. He thought of Kael Draven's offer—an empire, wealth, power—and the elite's relentless pursuit. They were the super rich of the Veil, their fortunes built on magic and blood, and he was their target. But as he looked at Yumi, her eyes fierce with determination, and Rina, her flames still flickering, he knew he couldn't run. The shrine, the twin key—it was their next step, and he'd fight for it, even if it cost him everything.
"We go to the shrine," he said, his voice steady despite the pain. "We find the key."
Yumi nodded, her hand still in his. "Together."
Kuro cawed, his wings ruffling. "Hope you're ready to bleed some more, kid. This is just the beginning."
The neon of Shibuya glowed around them, but the Veil's pulse lingered, a warning of the war to come.