Chapter 12—The Last Ones Left

Echidna's breath caught as she turned back just in time to see Garren's final moments.

For a second, it looked like he was holding his own. He fought like a man with nothing left to lose, his axe flashing in wide, brutal arcs, forcing the Veyrith back. But it wasn't enough. It was never going to be enough.

The Veyrith tore through him like he was nothing.

One second, Garren was standing, swinging with all the force of a desperate man. The next, his entire body jerked violently as the beast's claws sank into his chest. The impact sent him flying against the cavern wall like a broken doll, his axe slipping from his fingers as blood trailed through the air.

He crumpled to the ground.

Echidna felt her throat tighten. Her fingers twitched, but she didn't move, didn't scream, didn't do anything. It was over.

It was just her now, trapped in a cave with this vicious beast and a mad man.

She turned to Chael, her chest still heaving from exhaustion and her pulse still hammering in her ears. He was sat with his back against a boulder, his entire body ruined, and yet, he looked completely at peace.

The Veyrith turned toward them, tilting its grotesque head, sniffing the air. Its jagged claws clicked against the stone as it took a slow step forward. It was done playing. It had killed every other moving thing in this cavern.

Chael was next.

And still, he did not move beside the shaking of his chest from his furious laughter.

A slow, cold grin stretched across his lips, something sharp and unbreakable behind his eyes. He lifted his chin slightly and straightened his posture, as if standing to greet an old friend.

And then he opened his arms.

"I permit you to take my life."

His voice was raw, hoarse from laughter, but there was no fear in it.

Echidna's breath hitched. 'What the hell is he doing?!'

His laughter had long faded, but the smirk remained as he watched the Veyrith lunge toward him, its massive form blotting out the dim light.

He closed his eyes. It was the last act of a man who had nothing left to lose.

Then he heard it again.

"You are the reflection of what was and what will be!"

The voice wasn't a whisper this time. It was a command, almost as if it was an undeniable force that filled every inch of his mind. It vibrated through his very bones. It wasn't just sound. It was something more and it resonated with his existence itself, almost like it had always been there, waiting for him to hear it.

His body seized, the weight of the words crashing into him like a tidal wave. His vision darkened at the edges, his limbs went numb.

Chael blacked out completely.

****

When he opened his eyes, the world was wrong.

Everything was cast in an unnatural purple glow and the very air thick and humming with something unseen but present. It was like the entire space was breathing. Chael was lying on cold stone, but when he tried to push himself up, pain shot through his body. It appeared that his wounds were still there.

That was the first thing that felt off.

If he was dead and this was some kind of limbo on his way to the afterlife, shouldn't the pain be gone?

His body still ached, his ribs still felt fractured, and his fingers still refused to move properly. The stab wound in his side throbbed in sync with his heartbeat and every breath felt like dragging knives through his chest.

This wasn't death. Chael was sure of it now.

Chael forced himself to stand. Crystals jutted out from the earth like jagged spikes - some as small as his hand, others towering over him like ancient monuments.

They were all mirrors. Because when he looked into them, there was no reflection of himself. They reflected everything else in front of them - just not him for some reason almost as if they refused to acknowledge his existence.

A chill ran through him, but he ignored it. His gaze lifted to the sky, and that was the second thing that felt off.

Two moons hung above him, glowing with the same eerie purple light that bathed the landscape. They looked impossibly close, their surfaces cracked like old stone, radiating a faint pulse like a heartbeat. The sight sent a strange unease crawling up his spine. This place wasn't real.

And yet, it was.

He began walking.

There was no direction, no clear path, just endless stone and mirrored spires reflecting everything but him. Every step echoed unnaturally, the sound swallowed too quickly by the vast emptiness. His wounds still burned, but they no longer felt like they belonged to the world he had left behind. Like they were echoes of pain rather than real injuries.

Then he saw it.

A gate.

It stood alone. I gave an ominous and foreboding aura. its towering frame was made of obsidian-like stone and it was carved with shifting patterns that seemed to move when he wasn't looking directly at them. The top curled into jagged points, almost spiked like a crown, and across its surface, veins of violet light pulsed faintly. It looked somewhat alive.

The entrance itself was concealed by a veil of thin, fog-like mist.

Chael exhaled, steadying himself. His hands twitched at his sides, aching, but there was no turning back. He had no idea where he was or why he was here, but there was one undeniable truth.

He hadn't been given a choice.

And whatever was beyond that gate was expecting him. Chael let out a deep sigh and walked through the veil.

****

Stepping through the gate, Chael found himself in an empty courtyard.

The air felt heavier here as if it was thick with something unseen and ancient. The sky above remained the same. The two massive purple moons hung low, their eerie glow drenching everything in violet light.

The strange mirrors lined the courtyard walls and like before, they reflected everything except him. 

He saw an altar at the centre of the courtyard.

Chael took another step forward.

And a surge of power slammed into him like a tidal wave.

His entire body seized, his breath hitching as an overwhelming force spread through his veins. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Not strength from training. Not the rush of adrenaline in battle. This was something, completely unnatural to him.

For a moment, even his pain had vanished.

The agony in his broken arm, the burning throb of his gunshot wound, the deep ache of his shattered fingers - all of it dulled beneath this newfound energy. He felt stronger than he ever had before. Stronger than he had any right to be given his condition.

His eyes widened in shock.

"The hell…?"

He turned around, looking back toward the gate he had walked through.

But it was gone.

Not just closed. Not just hidden. It was gone like it simply did not exist and it was as if he had always been in this courtyard.

Chael took a step back, staring at the empty space where the gate should have been. His heart pounded in his chest.

A realization crashed into him like a hammer to the skull.

"This… this is the Veiled Realm."

It wasn't just some fever dream. It wasn't an illusion. He had stepped through a veil - and now he was here.

As a Harbinger.