The bck sands burned under Kael’s boots, stretching endlessly toward the horizon. Above, the Great Veil loomed, its obsidian surface crackling with ghostly faces, their hollow eyes glowing white. The single star he’d sworn to reach pierced its edge, a faint hope in the dark. The Living Veil Sea growled behind him, bck waves spitting red embers that hissed as they died. Kael’s scarred arm throbbed, embered veins pulsing orange, the memory of his first Veilspawn kill still fresh. He adjusted his tattered red scarf, his sleeveless shirt clinging to sweat-soaked skin, and fixed his glowing orange eyes on the strange glow ahead—a steady orange light, warm, alive.

  “Keep moving,” Kael growled, his voice rough. Mira’s hollow eyes fshed in his mind, her ughter silenced by the Veil’s curse. His chest tightened, but he forced a wild grin. “I’ll fix this, Mira. I swear.” The Veil’s whispers cwed at him. Turn back, child of ember… You’ll bring ruin… Kael shook his head, but they grew louder, a storm of ghosts. She’s gone… Burn, and we’ll feast… The Veil pulsed, faces pressing closer, mouths screaming silently. Kael’s fmes surged uncontrolbly, his arm bzing, the heat searing his skin. He gasped, clutching his wrist, the phoenix scar on his chest glowing like a sun. “Shut up!” he roared, smming his fist down. A fiery spiral erupted, scorching the sand into gss, the whispers hissing as they retreated. Kael panted, forcing the fmes down, his arm trembling. The glow was closer now, flickering through the dunes. He climbed a jagged crest, sand cascading around him, and froze. The sea surged, a wave splitting to reveal three Veilspawn—writhing bck tendrils, red ember eyes glowing with malice. “More of you?” Kael’s grin widened, fists raised, fmes fring. But the whispers returned, a cacophony showing visions—Mira’s hollow eyes, Gray Town in fmes, his body consumed by the Veil. “Get out!” Kael shouted, unleashing a torrent of phoenix fmes. The fire smmed into one Veilspawn, its shrieks echoing as it burned, but the others grew rger, feeding on the heat. Kael’s grin faltered, his breath ragged. He couldn’t control it—the fmes, the whispers, the Veil. He was losing. A sharp crack rang out, a fsh of blue-white light striking the second Veilspawn. It screeched, colpsing into bck water as an obsidian shard, glowing with fiery runes, hit its core. Kael turned, fmes dimming. The orange glow was right behind him—a young woman with tousled brown hair, sharp green eyes, and a leather coat stood atop a dune, another shard in hand. “Down!” she barked, hurling it at the third Veilspawn. The creature dissolved, whispers fading. “Who are you?” Kael rasped, exhaustion hitting hard. The woman slid down the dune, her satchel bouncing, and studied his embered veins, then the Veil. “Era,” she said, her tone sharp but steady. “And you’re either brave or stupid. Which is it?” She extended a hand, her green eyes glinting.Kael’s grin returned, a spark of hope igniting. “Let’s find out,” he said, taking her hand. The star shone brighter, and with Era beside him, it felt closer. ? Sensei of Story, 2025. All rights reserved.