The world stopped breathing.
Nyra stood frozen at the edge of the collapsing corridor while the gigantic crimson eye stared upward from the abyss beneath Moonfang Academy.
Watching her.
Only her.
The darkness below looked endless.
Ancient.
Alive.
Cold wind rose from the crack carrying thousands of whispers together.
Some crying.
Some begging.
Some laughing.
And beneath them all—
That voice.
“COME HOME, SERAPHINE.”
Nyra’s body trembled violently.
The name no longer felt unfamiliar.
Every time the creature spoke it, something deep inside her chest responded.
Like a locked door slowly beginning to open.
Kael immediately stepped in front of her.
Silver flames burned brighter around him now, illuminating the broken corridor in ghostly light.
“Don’t listen to it.”
His voice sounded sharp.
Desperate.
The crimson eye beneath the academy slowly narrowed.
Then the creature laughed softly.
A terrible sound.
“Still protecting her after all this time?”
The walls around them cracked further.
Students screamed and ran deeper into the academy while teachers desperately tried sealing the abyss with glowing symbols.
None of the spells worked.
The darkness below swallowed every rune instantly.
Like consuming light itself.
Liora grabbed Nyra’s arm again.
“We need to leave NOW.”
But Nyra still couldn’t move.
Her eyes remained fixed on the eye beneath the academy.
And suddenly—
She saw something inside it.
Not hatred.
Not rage.
Loneliness.
An endless lonely hunger buried beneath centuries of darkness.
The realization made her chest ache painfully.
The creature noticed.
Its voice softened.
“You remember me… don’t you?”
Nyra gasped.
Fragments exploded through her mind again—
A gigantic underground chamber.
Chains wrapped around a monstrous body hidden in darkness.
Golden flames.
Her own voice crying.
And a younger Kael screaming her name while blood covered his hands.
The vision vanished instantly.
Nyra nearly collapsed.
Kael caught her immediately.
“Nyra.”
His cold hands held her carefully.
Too carefully.
Like she might break apart.
The crimson eye watched them silently.
“He lied to you.”
Kael’s expression darkened instantly.
“Enough.”
Silver fire erupted violently around him.
The abyss shook.
But the creature only laughed again.
“Tell her the truth, Kael.”
The academy suddenly went silent.
Even the storm outside stopped.
Only the whispers beneath the mountain remained.
Kael’s jaw tightened.
Nyra looked up at him shakily.
“What truth?”
He didn’t answer.
And that silence terrified her more than anything else tonight.
The creature beneath the academy spoke again.
Slow.
Cruel.
“Tell her who killed her.”
Nyra froze.
The words hit Kael like a blade.
Pain crossed his face instantly.
Real pain.
Not physical.
Something deeper.
Liora’s eyes widened in horror.
“No…”
Nyra stared at Kael.
“What is it talking about?”
Kael looked away.
For the first time since meeting him—
He couldn’t look at her.
The silence became unbearable.
Then the creature whispered softly:
“He was the one who ended your life.”
Everything inside Nyra stopped.
“No…”
Kael’s silver eyes shut briefly.
And that alone answered her.
Nyra stepped backward slowly.
Her heartbeat pounded painfully.
“What…?”
Kael finally spoke.
Quietly.
“I didn’t have a choice.”
The corridor trembled violently again.
But Nyra barely noticed.
“You killed me?”
Kael looked devastated.
“You were dying already.”
“That’s not an answer!”
His silver eyes finally met hers again.
And Nyra wished they hadn’t.
Because the grief inside them looked endless.
“The Hollow Flame consumed your soul,” he whispered painfully.
“The Vein King was breaking free through you.”
Fragments returned again suddenly—
Kael holding her in burning ruins.
Her body covered in black cracks.
Herself crying against his chest while the world burned around them.
“Please…”
Her own voice.
Weak.
Dying.
Nyra gasped sharply.
More memories flooded in.
Kael shaking violently while holding a silver blade.
His hands trembling too hard to breathe properly.
And herself—
Smiling sadly at him.
“It’s okay.”
The memory shattered.
Nyra stumbled backward, tears burning her eyes.
“No…”
Kael moved toward her instinctively.
But she stepped away.
The movement visibly hurt him.
“You promised,” he whispered softly.
Nyra froze.
Another memory surfaced immediately.
Snow falling softly around them centuries ago.
Kael wrapping a silver thread around her wrist.
“In every lifetime,” he whispered against her forehead, “I’ll find you again.”
Nyra pressed her hands against her head painfully.
Everything felt broken.
Confused.
Too many emotions that didn’t belong to her.
Or maybe they did.
The creature beneath the academy suddenly laughed louder.
The crack in the floor widened further.
Black tendrils began crawling upward again.
“Look how fragile humans are,” it whispered.
“Even after centuries… all it took was one truth.”
Kael’s expression hardened instantly.
He stepped protectively before Nyra again despite everything.
“Stay away from her.”
The eye below widened slightly.
Then narrowed with amusement.
“You still love her.”
Silence.
Kael didn’t answer.
Because he didn’t need to.
Nyra already saw it.
In the way he protected her.
Looked at her.
Stayed beside her even after death itself.
The realization hurt strangely.
The Vein King’s voice became softer.
More dangerous.
“And she will destroy you again.”
The academy shook violently.
A horrifying roar echoed from somewhere beneath the mountain.
The seal was breaking faster now.
Teachers downstairs screamed warnings.
Students ran through collapsing corridors.
Outside—
The wolves suddenly began howling desperately.
Then every single window in the academy exploded inward at once.
Cold wind flooded the corridor violently.
And standing at the far end of the hall—
Was the eyeless girl from the train.
Water dripped from her pale dress as darkness spread beneath her bare feet.
She looked directly at Nyra.
And whispered:
“It’s starting again.”