The Choir's Echo

The flickering torchlights within the Sanctum's underground chambers cast long, uneven shadows on the stone walls, mirroring the uncertainty that now crept into every corner of the Order. It was here, in one of the deepest corridors, that Master Rhain paced silently, his fingers interlocked behind his back.

Rhain paused before an ancient stone door—one marked by a sigil long erased from official records: the emblem of the Null Veyl. With a sharp breath, he pressed his palm against the cold stone. The door rumbled, responding to his Stone Aspect, and swung open, revealing a hidden chamber filled with relics and sealed scrolls.

"Still no signs of control," came a soft voice from behind him.

Rhain turned to see Eira standing at the entrance, her white robes softly glowing under the torchlight. She carried a worn journal in her arms.

"Kaien's Veyl isn't merely reacting anymore," she continued, "it's beginning to anticipate."

Rhain's face tightened. "That's what I feared."

Above, the morning sun spilled across the Sanctum Academy's training fields. Kaien stood amid the stone-paved yard, sweat trailing down his brow as he faced off against three combat dummies.

Zedd lounged nearby, munching on a pear.

"Still obsessing over precision?" Zedd asked, his voice light.

Kaien fired a blast of light from his palm—it disintegrated the dummy's leg instead of the head. He let out a groan of frustration.

"If I can't hit what I aim at, I'm a danger to everyone around me."

Zedd tossed the pear core over his shoulder. "You're always a danger. That's what makes you fun."

Kaien cracked a smirk but it faded quickly.

Lyra approached, her flame-coated boots quiet against the stone. "You're late for Focus Theory," she said, arms crossed.

Kaien looked up. "Didn't feel like sitting in a room listening to some elder drone about Veyl streams."

"You'd understand them better if you paid attention."

Kaien looked away. "I don't know if understanding would help anymore."

Within the Archive Tower, Eira, Rhain, and several senior Veylbound poured over a constellation map. Threads of Veyl energy danced over the parchment, showing weak points in the Veil between realms.

"These tears are increasing in frequency," Rhain said. "And in places with heavy emotional residue. The Choir's influence is no longer theoretical."

Eira pointed to a mark on the map. "A small township called Hollowmere reported visions of Wretches in daylight. That's impossible without sustained Blight."

Rhain's expression darkened. "We send a team."

Two days later, Kaien, Lyra, Zedd, and Eira stood at the outskirts of Hollowmere. The air was unnaturally cold. The skies overhead shimmered with a violet hue.

"Feel that?" Kaien asked.

"Tension," Eira said. "The Veyl here is screaming."

The village was abandoned—no signs of life, only overturned carts, broken doors, and dark stains on the cobblestone.

They moved carefully through the streets. Zedd's hand was constantly at his side, ready to unleash his gale fists. Lyra's flames danced silently around her fingertips.

In the town square, they found a statue—an old priestess, her face defaced by gouged markings. On the base of the pedestal, the same symbol they saw in the hidden Sanctum chambers: the emblem of the Null Veyl.

"It's a summoning sigil," Lyra whispered. "But fractured... incomplete."

Kaien stepped forward. "I know this symbol. I've seen it before."

Eira's eyes widened. "Where?"

"In my dreams."

Suddenly, the air split. A scream tore through the silence, and from the alleyways, they came—Wretches. Dozens. Their shapes were grotesque, malformed, dripping Blight from gaping wounds.

"Positions!" Lyra called.

Kaien raised his hand and blasted one, but again, the beam struck off-center. The creature's arm disintegrated but it kept moving.

Zedd met the charge head-on, spinning in a whirlwind of fists and wind. Eira drew healing barriers, shielding the others. Lyra became a dance of fire and shadow.

Kaien tried to steady his breathing. "Focus. Don't panic."

One of the Wretches lunged for Eira. Kaien leapt forward, grabbing its face. A burst of white light flared—and the Wretch crumbled to dust.

"I'm getting better," he muttered.

But then came the chant.

Low. Melodic. Dissonant.

From the temple ruins at the far edge of town, a figure emerged—robed in deep violet, a mask of bone covering his face.

"Children of Veyl," the figure spoke, "you trespass upon sacred reawakening."

"Identify yourself!" Lyra demanded.

"I am Serin Voss."

Kaien froze. "What did you say?"

"I am the song reborn. Brother of the one who shall cleanse the world. The Hollow Veyl stirs again."

Kaien's voice was barely a whisper. "Brother…?"

Serin raised his hand. From his palm flowed a black flame, twisting with the unmistakable hue of corrupted Veyl. The ground beneath them cracked.

"Flee," Rhain had once warned Kaien. "If you hear the Choir sing… flee."

But Kaien didn't flee. He stepped forward.

"Not this time."

He charged. The others followed.

The battle was chaos. Wretches poured from the ruins. The masked cultist Serin sang, his voice shifting the very essence of the Veyl. Kaien's light flared, wild and unpredictable. Every time it struck Serin, the cultist's form shimmered and reformed.

"You don't understand what you are," Serin told Kaien.

"I don't care. I know what you are. A threat."

Serin's voice was soft now. "No. I am your past."

With that, the cultist vanished in a ripple of black energy. The Wretches collapsed with him.

Kaien stood amid the ashes, panting.

"Brother?" Zedd asked.

Kaien said nothing.

---

Back at the Sanctum, Master Rhain listened to their report with a grave expression.

"The Choir is escalating," he said. "And if that was truly your brother, Kaien, then we are dealing with a legacy far more dangerous than we knew."

Kaien clenched his fists. "I need answers."

"You will have them," Rhain said. "But only if you are ready."

Kaien looked at his hands—light flickered weakly between his fingers.

"I'm tired of being afraid of what's inside me."

Lyra stepped forward. "Then let us find the truth. Together."

As they left the chamber, Eira lingered.

"The Hollow Veyl… it's waking, isn't it?"

Rhain nodded. "And Kaien may be the only one who can stop it—or become it."

Eira looked up at the ceiling, as if the stars beyond could offer hope.

"We need more time."

"We may not have it," Rhain whispered.

Outside, thunder rolled, though no storm could be seen.

The Choir had begun its next verse.