The morning mist hadn’t yet lifted when Kazuki, Elara, Garron, Rinara, and Drake gathered at the guild hall. A courier had delivered a sealed letter bearing the Duke’s personal insignia. Inside was a mission—one kept away from the public eye.

  > Objective: Investigate the rift phenomenon occurring near the ruins of Vael’Tharil, known as the Shattered Veil. All signs point to magical instability, dimensional bleeding, and unknown presences crossing through. Proceed with extreme caution.

  As the group rode out toward the eastern outskirts of the Duke’s territory, the landscape twisted into one of eerie silence. Trees drooped unnaturally, and birds avoided the skies. Even Rinara, who usually masked tension with a calm smile, was quiet.

  “I’ve heard about the Veil before,” she finally spoke. “It’s said to be where ancient gods sealed the door to another realm. A realm of madness and void.”

  When they arrived, the earth was cracked and scorched. Floating stones levitated above an obsidian crater, and faint whispers echoed without a source. A violet mist hovered in the air, chilling their bones.

  Kazuki stepped forward. “This… is dimensional erosion.”

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  “How can you tell?” Drake asked, instinctively gripping his blade.

  Kazuki’s eyes glowed faintly, [Analysis] active. “This place bleeds mana from both realms. And something is trying to break through from the other side.”

  A pulse surged outward, forcing the group back. In the center of the Veil, a jagged black rift began to open wider. Out stepped a distorted beast—its body an amalgamation of flesh and shadow, half-existent.

  Garron raised his sword. “What is that?!”

  “A Rift Beast,” Kazuki replied coldly. “Born between two realities.”

  Rinara raised her staff. “If we let it stabilize, more will come through.”

  Kazuki nodded. “Then let’s make sure this rift never opens again.”

  With coordinated precision, the group launched their assault. Kazuki’s elemental mastery surged as he summoned an interweaving spell of light and shadow. Rinara provided magic barriers while Drake and Garron took the frontlines, keeping the beast distracted. Elara’s fire magic flared in the skies, bombarding the ground around the rift.

  As the battle peaked, Kazuki stepped directly in front of the rift. His aura exploded. “I’ll seal it—stand back.”

  He whispered an incantation in a forgotten language, one only the Abyss-born could utter. A massive glyph appeared beneath him, draining mana from the very air.

  “Dimensional Lock: Eternal Gate Seal.”

  A vortex of light and shadow erupted, sucking the rift closed. The earth trembled. The Rift Beast screeched and was pulled into the collapsing portal, vanishing in an instant.

  Silence.

  The mist slowly faded.

  But Kazuki stood still, his body dimly glowing.

  Garron approached cautiously. “You okay…?”

  Kazuki turned, his voice quiet. “It’s not over. Something wants this realm opened. And that was only a probe.”

  The group looked to him, unsure of what lay ahead.

  Far behind them, deep within the guild’s records, a forgotten book pulsed with a dark glow. One word on its sealed cover:

  “Prophecy.”