Haruaki's breath came in ragged gasps, his body screaming as he ducked another burst of flame from Rina's staff. The Veil's training ground—a cracked, open plaza ringed by jagged obsidian spires—felt like a cage, its bruised-purple sky pressing down like a judgment. Sweat stung his eyes, mixing with the dust that clung to his skin, and the Gatekey in his pocket pulsed with every heartbeat, as if urging him to fight harder. Rina stood across from him, her red-streaked hair wild, her fire-red eyes blazing with impatience. "Again," she snapped, twirling her staff. "You're too slow, rookie. Feel the time zones, don't just flail at them."
Haruaki gritted his teeth, his hands trembling from the effort. Two days had passed since the Veil Market, since Lord Varyn's cold gaze and the hunter's attack had made it clear how deep he was in this mess. Two days of Rina's relentless training, pushing him to sense the Veil's time currents, to bend them without fracturing himself—or reality. Every attempt felt like reaching into a storm, the jagged rhythm of the Veil's pulse slipping through his fingers, and each failure brought pain: a stab in his chest, a tightening of his skin, a fleeting sense of years slipping away.
"I'm trying," he growled, wiping sweat from his brow. His jacket was torn from the hunter's claws, his sneakers caked with the Veil's strange, glittering dust. Yumi sat on a nearby spire, her long dark hair catching the eerie light, her eyes fixed on him with a mix of worry and something he couldn't name. Kuro perched beside her, his black feathers blending with the shadows, muttering commentary that was equal parts helpful and infuriating.
"Trying's not enough," Rina said, her staff sparking as she paced. "You're Fractureborn, Haruaki. You don't get to half-ass this. You lose control, you die—or worse, you rip a hole in the Veil and let something really nasty through." She pointed her staff at him, a flame flickering at its tip. "Focus. Feel the current. Pull it, don't push."
Haruaki closed his eyes, shutting out the plaza's oppressive weight. The Veil's pulse was there, just beneath the surface, a chaotic rhythm that thrummed in his bones. He reached for it, his mind straining, and for a moment, he caught it—a thread of time, sharp and electric. The air around him slowed, the dust motes hanging in place, Rina's flame frozen mid-flicker. His heart surged, a rush of power flooding him, but then the pain hit—white-hot, searing through his chest, his joints, his very soul. He gasped, losing his grip, and time snapped back, the world lurching into motion.
He collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest. His skin felt tighter, his breath shallower, like he'd aged a decade in seconds. Rina was at his side in an instant, her hand on his shoulder, her voice sharp but steady. "Breathe, rookie. You held it too long. You've gotta let go before it takes you."
Yumi slid off the spire, her boots hitting the ground softly. "He's not ready," she said, her voice low but firm. "You're pushing him too hard, Rina. He's going to burn out."
Rina's eyes flashed. "And if I don't push him, he's dead. You saw what happened at the Market. Varyn knows something, and that hunter wasn't random. The elite are circling, Yumi. He needs to be ready."
"Ready for what?" Haruaki rasped, forcing himself to stand. His legs shook, but he refused to stay down. "You keep talking about the elite, about things coming for me. What's out there? What's worse than that hunter?"
Yumi's expression darkened, her hands clenching into fists. "You don't understand, Haruaki. The Veil's not just monsters. It's a system—a hierarchy. The elite, people like Varyn, they don't just want power. They want control. Over the Veil, over reality, over you. And the things stirring now… they're worse than hunters. They're old, older than the Veil itself."
Kuro cawed, hopping onto Haruaki's shoulder. "She's not wrong, kid. I've seen shadows moving in the deep Veil—things that make Veilspawn look like puppies. Something's waking up, and your key's got everything to do with it."
Haruaki's hand went to his pocket, the Gatekey's warmth grounding him. "The old man said the Veil's breaking. Is that what you mean? Something's… coming through?"
Yumi hesitated, her eyes flicking to Rina, then back to him. "The Veil's always been fragile," she said. "It's a membrane between our world and… something else. Fractureborn like you, you're part of that balance. Your power can stabilize it—or tear it apart. The elite know that. They'll use you, or they'll kill you to keep anyone else from doing it."
Rina snorted, leaning on her staff. "And here I thought you were just a cryptic tagalong. You know more than you're letting on, don't you?"
Yumi's jaw tightened, but she didn't respond. Haruaki's head throbbed, the weight of their words piling onto the ache in his body. He didn't know Yumi, not really, despite the fragments of memory her presence stirred—a playground, her laugh, a life he couldn't quite grasp. But her warnings felt real, and the fear in her eyes was undeniable.
"Enough talk," Rina said, straightening. "We're wasting time. Haruaki, you need to try again. Smaller this time. Just nudge the current, don't grab it."
He wanted to argue, to demand answers, but the memory of the hunter's scream and Varyn's predatory smile kept him quiet. He nodded, closing his eyes again. The Veil's pulse was there, fainter now, like a heartbeat after a sprint. He reached for it, lighter this time, imagining his touch as a brush rather than a grip. The air shivered, and he felt it—a subtle shift, like slowing a song's tempo. Rina's breathing slowed, Yumi's hair swayed in a breeze that wasn't there. No pain, just control, fleeting but real.
He opened his eyes, and the world snapped back. Rina's smirk was almost approving. "Better," she said. "You didn't fracture. Keep practicing, and you might not die."
Kuro cawed, his claws tightening. "Don't get cocky, kid. That was baby steps. The real test's coming."
Before Haruaki could ask what he meant, a low hum vibrated through the plaza, like the ground itself was groaning. The air grew heavy, the sky darkening to a deeper purple, streaked with cracks of gold. Rina's staff flared, and Yumi stepped closer, her hand brushing his. "It's happening," she whispered, her voice tight. "They're here."
Haruaki's heart pounded. "Who?"
Rina's eyes scanned the spires, her flames licking higher. "Not hunters. Something worse. Stay behind me."
A shadow moved at the plaza's edge, not one but many—shapes that flickered like static, their forms humanoid but wrong, their eyes glowing a sickly green. They didn't move like Veilspawn; they glided, silent, their presence a violation of the Veil's already warped reality. Haruaki's chest tightened, the Gatekey pulsing wildly.
"Wraiths," Rina spat, her staff blazing. "Old magic. Someone sent them."
Yumi's hand gripped Haruaki's arm, her voice urgent. "They're after the key. We need to run, now."
But there was nowhere to go. The wraiths closed in, their green eyes locking onto Haruaki. He felt the Veil's pulse again, stronger, chaotic, and without thinking, he reached for it. Pain seared through him, but he held on, slowing time just enough to give Rina an opening. Her flames roared, engulfing the nearest wraith, but more appeared, their numbers growing.
"Stop!" Yumi shouted, pulling him back. "You're fracturing again!"
The pain was unbearable, his vision blurring as his body aged, his skin tightening, his breath hitching. But he couldn't let go—not yet. Rina's flames pushed the wraiths back, and Yumi dragged him toward a spire, its base shimmering with a hidden door. "Through here!" she yelled, shoving him forward.
Kuro swooped ahead, his caw a warning. "Move, kid! They're not stopping!"
Haruaki stumbled through the door, the Veil's pulse fading as reality shifted. They emerged in an alley in Eldridge City, the real world's neon and rain a jarring contrast. His knees buckled, and he collapsed, the Gatekey burning in his pocket. Rina slammed the door shut, her flames sealing it with a hiss. Yumi knelt beside him, her hands steadying him. "You can't keep doing that," she said, her voice breaking. "You'll lose yourself."
Rina's expression was grim. "She's right. But those wraiths—they weren't random. Someone's hunting you, rookie. Someone with power."
Haruaki's vision swam, Varyn's cold smile flashing in his mind. The Veil's elite, the dark forces Yumi warned about—they were closing in. He didn't know his place in this world, but he knew one thing: he had to learn fast, or the Veil would swallow him whole.