The corridor erupted into screams.
Students stumbled backward in terror as the creature slowly pulled itself out of the abyss beneath Moonfang Academy.
It wore Nyra’s face.
Almost perfectly.
The same dark hair.
The same pale skin.
The same eyes.
But wrong.
Everything about it was wrong.
Its smile stretched too wide.
Its limbs bent unnaturally.
And beneath its skin—
Thousands of tiny moving eyes opened and closed endlessly.
Nyra’s entire body froze.
The creature tilted its head slowly.
Exactly the way she did.
Then it smiled wider.
“You abandoned me again.”
The voice sounded like Nyra’s own voice twisted through something ancient and hungry.
Cold terror crawled down her spine.
Kael immediately stepped in front of her.
Silver fire exploded violently around him.
“Get away from her.”
The creature laughed softly.
The sound echoed from every wall of the academy.
“You still think she belongs to you?”
Black smoke spread through the corridor instantly.
Students screamed and ran while teachers desperately tried holding protective barriers around the abyss crack.
Nothing worked.
The darkness consumed every spell touching it.
The creature slowly climbed fully into the corridor.
Its bare feet touched the stone floor softly.
And the entire academy trembled.
The Vein King spoke through it now.
Using her face.
Using her voice.
“Look at her, Kael.”
The creature smiled at Nyra.
“She remembers the pain now.”
Kael’s jaw tightened sharply.
“Stop talking.”
The creature ignored him completely.
Instead, it walked slowly toward Nyra.
Not threatening.
Almost gentle.
And somehow—
That terrified Nyra more than if it had attacked.
“You were lonely,” it whispered softly.
Nyra’s heartbeat quickened.
“You cried every night after they died.”
Fragments exploded through her mind instantly—
A younger Seraphine sitting alone beside a frozen lake.
Hands covered in blood.
Whispering apologies to dead students.
Nyra gasped painfully.
The creature smiled wider.
“You begged the darkness to take your pain away.”
Kael’s silver flames suddenly intensified.
“ENOUGH.”
The hallway exploded with light.
Students covered their eyes screaming.
The creature stopped walking.
And for the first time—
The Vein King’s voice deepened.
“You dare threaten me?”
Silver wolves outside howled violently together.
The academy walls cracked further.
Kael stepped forward slowly.
Every shadow in the corridor recoiled from him.
“You’re not touching her again.”
The creature stared at him silently for a moment.
Then laughed quietly.
“Again?”
Its eyes slowly shifted toward Nyra.
“Did he tell you how many times you died for him?”
Kael froze.
Nyra’s breath caught painfully.
“What…?”
The creature smiled sadly now.
Almost pitying.
“Every lifetime ends the same way.”
The whispers inside Nyra’s head screamed violently.
“REMEMBER.”
“THE FALL.”
“THE LAKE.”
Pain shot through her skull.
Another memory surfaced.
Snow fell softly around a frozen lake.
A different lifetime.
Different clothes.
Different names.
Yet the same silver eyes.
Kael holding her hand while laughing quietly.
Human.
Alive.
Happy.
Then blood suddenly stained the snow.
Shadow creatures surrounded them.
Kael screaming her name.
And herself—
Dying again in his arms.
Nyra stumbled backward.
“No…”
The creature nodded slowly.
“Again and again and again.”
Another memory.
A battlefield beneath burning skies.
Kael reaching toward her while chains dragged her into darkness.
Another death.
Another ending.
Another lifetime lost.
Nyra’s chest tightened painfully.
Tears burned her eyes.
The creature moved closer carefully.
“Do you understand now?”
Its voice became softer.
“He is your curse.”
Kael’s face looked shattered.
But he said nothing.
Because deep down—
He feared it was true.
The creature raised one hand toward Nyra gently.
“Come with me.”
Black tendrils curled around its fingers lovingly.
“You’re tired of suffering, aren’t you?”
Nyra froze. New chapters come out on g.com first.
Because part of her wanted to say yes.
The loneliness inside the creature felt familiar.
Like staring into a reflection of her own pain.
The Vein King continued whispering:
“I can end your grief.”
The shadows around the corridor pulsed slowly.
Students nearby collapsed unconscious.
The academy itself groaned painfully.
And then—
Mira suddenly stepped forward.
“No!”
Everyone turned sharply.
The eyeless girl stood trembling now.
Dark tears poured endlessly from her empty sockets.
“You promised you wouldn’t listen to him again!”
The creature’s expression darkened instantly.
“You failed to save her before.”
Mira visibly flinched.
The Vein King smiled cruelly.
“And you drowned because of it.”
Nyra’s eyes widened.
Drowned?
Another memory flashed instantly—
Mira screaming beneath dark water.
Chains wrapped around her ankles pulling her deeper into a black lake.
Seraphine trying desperately to save her.
Too late.
Nyra gasped sharply.
Mira looked devastated.
“I tried to stop the ritual,” she whispered brokenly.
Kael’s silver eyes lowered painfully.
The creature laughed again.
“All of you failed her.”
The academy suddenly shook violently.
A deafening crack echoed beneath the mountain.
The abyss widened further.
And deep below—
Something massive began rising.
Not a hand this time.
Not an eye.
An entire body.
The Vein King was awakening fully.
Teachers throughout the academy screamed warnings.
Protective barriers shattered one by one.
Students cried while wolves howled desperately outside.
Kael immediately turned toward Nyra.
His expression became urgent.
“We need to reach the underground seal chamber NOW.”
Liora stared at him in disbelief.
“You want to bring HER there?!”
“She’s the only one who can stop this.”
The creature wearing Nyra’s face smiled slowly.
“Or finish it.”
Then suddenly—
The entire corridor went dark.
Every light died instantly.
Silence swallowed the academy.
And from somewhere deep beneath the earth—
A gigantic heartbeat echoed upward.
THUMP.
THUMP.
THUMP.
Nyra’s blood ran cold.
Because something beneath Moonfang Academy…
Had finally awakened.