The halls of Umbra HQ had never felt this silent.
Kaizen Ryouma walked slowly down the stone corridor, his boots echoing louder than usual, as if the building itself was listening. The battle with Krovar had left deep scars—not just on the land, but within every survivor. The memory of burning corpses and torn veins haunted even the strongest among them.
Squad Umbra had returned with less than half their original number.
Inside the operations chamber, the black shard recovered from the battlefield pulsed dimly in its containment vessel. It looked almost... alive. Scientists and Arcanists surrounded it, their faces pale with uncertainty. Even Ayaka Himari, bandaged and bruised, couldn't tear her gaze from it.
"It whispers," she muttered, her voice hoarse. "Every time I close my eyes, it speaks. Not words... but hunger."
Kaizen placed a hand on the glass. The shard pulsed in sync with the veins on his palm, glowing faintly red for a moment.
Everyone in the room froze.
Dr. Halen, lead researcher, rushed forward. "Step back, Kaizen. That thing might be resonating with your bloodline. It's dangerous."
Kaizen didn't argue. He stepped away, but his eyes remained locked on the core.
---
Elsewhere, in the lower archives...
Ayaka descended into the forbidden section of the Umbra Library. Ancient tomes lined the walls, bound in leather and bone. She followed the notes left by her mother—a former cult researcher who had vanished years ago.
One book was missing. In its place was a torn page:
> "The Shattered Flame shall rise again. The Veinborn will be our key. His blood is the lock, his fury the door."
She heard something.
A faint whisper.
She turned.
No one.
The candle beside her flickered violently.
---
Meanwhile, far beyond Umbra walls...
A figure walked among the ruins of an abandoned village.
Tall. Cloaked in crimson. Face hidden beneath a bone mask. Where he walked, the ground cracked and veins of red energy burst forth.
He stopped beside a dead tree and placed his hand on its bark. The tree shriveled further, whispering as it turned to ash.
"Soon, Kaizen... soon," the figure said. His voice was calm. Almost gentle. But behind it was madness.
The name whispered back from the air itself.
Nerovar.
---
Back in HQ, Kaizen stood alone in the dark corridor. His vision blurred for a moment. He blinked.
And suddenly he wasn't in the corridor anymore.
He was floating. Surrounded by endless darkness.
In the distance, something stood. A mirror. No... not a mirror. A man. With his face. But older. Broken. Covered in black veins, his eyes glowing with the same crimson as the shard.
The man smiled.
"You are late."
Kaizen screamed.
---
To Be Continued...