The sky above was a twisted gray—neither day nor night, like the world itself couldn't decide if it wanted to wake or fall asleep forever. Squad Umbra stood silently at the edge of the ruin, a forgotten temple half-swallowed by creeping moss and coiling vines. A bitter, metallic scent rode the wind. Kaizen narrowed his eyes.
"This place... it doesn't feel right," he muttered.
Ayaka glanced toward the entrance. "The coordinates are exact. If there's any trace of the shard energy, it's here."
They entered as one.
The interior was colder. The air grew thick, like breathing through soaked cloth. The walls were lined with scripture none could read, yet each member of the squad felt a strange familiarity—as if the writing already lived in their bones.
Lira suddenly stopped. Her eyes widened.
"Do you hear that?" she whispered.
The rest froze. Silence. But Lira tilted her head, eyes shimmering.
"It's him… my brother. He's calling me."
Kaizen's brow furrowed. "Lira, your brother… he died in the Battle of Crimson Vale, didn't he?"
She didn't answer. Her feet moved on their own, leading her down a side passage, deeper into the temple's abyss.
"Stay with her," Kaizen ordered Vorn. "Something's wrong."
---
Lira's breath caught in her throat. At the end of the corridor, sunlight poured through a shattered ceiling. A field of poppies bloomed—impossible, but real. And in the center, a boy waited. Black hair. A scar under his right eye.
"Aiden...?"
The boy smiled. "You took so long, Lira. I kept the promise... I never crossed over."
Tears welled up in her eyes. She ran forward, embracing him.
But from Vorn's eyes, she was hugging a skeleton, its jaw twisted in a silent scream.
"Lira! What the hell are you doing?!"
She turned slowly, eyes glassy, voice calm. "Don't you see him? It's Aiden. He's warm. He's real."
Vorn backed away. "Kaizen… we have a problem."
---
Elsewhere in the ruin, Kaizen felt it too—a pulse. Not a heartbeat. Something older. Something hungrier. A presence brushing the back of his skull like spider legs.
And then… a whisper.
"She bleeds because she remembers. You forget because you must."
He turned sharply, sword drawn—but no one was there. Just that scent. Blood and old ash.
---
Ayaka knelt near one of the murals, tracing the image of a horned figure holding three burning shards. Her fingers trembled.
"This wasn't just a temple," she whispered. "It was a prison. They tried to lock him away."
"Him?"
She nodded, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"The First Veinborn. The true Shard King."
---
Lira screamed.
Kaizen and Ayaka rushed to the corridor, only to find Vorn dragging her back. Blood dripped from Lira's forearms—runic carvings etched by her own hands.
"She said... I could bring him back," she sobbed. "I just had to bleed a little more."
Kaizen looked past her—and froze.
On the wall, written in blood, was a single line: "You are all remembering the wrong past."
Ayaka whispered, "He's testing us. Twisting memories."
Kaizen's hands clenched into fists. "Nerovar."
They had never seen him. Never heard his voice clearly. But his fingerprints were everywhere—etching madness into their minds.
Lira stared at Kaizen through tear-soaked eyes.
"That skeleton you saw me with, Kaizen… that was my brother. I swear it. He spoke to me."
Kaizen looked into her eyes and saw no lie—only grief.
And in the silence, the whisper returned.
"Nerovar isn't coming for you. He's already inside you."
---
Back in the field of poppies, now deserted, a figure stood where Aiden once had. Black veins curled around his body like armor, eyes burning like coals. Nerovar tilted his head.
"The game begins."
He vanished into shadow.
TO BE CONTINUED...