Chapter 63 – The First Breach

The sky split apart.
From the wound in reality, darkness poured like a tide. Shapes twisted in the void—beasts without form, voices without words, shadows that bled hunger.

The earth itself groaned as the first wave spilled into the realm.

A soldier at Kael’s side dropped his spear, eyes wide with terror. “Gods above…”

“No gods will help us now,” Kael said, stepping forward, his voice steady. “Only us.”

The rift shrieked, and then—like a dam bursting—the first creatures surged through. Claws struck stone, wings tore the air, and the battlefield exploded into chaos.

“Hold the line!” Seris cried, slamming her staff into the ground. A barrier of pale light stretched outward, slowing the tide but shattering under the sheer weight of the invaders.

Mira’s blade flashed beside Kael, severing a beast in one swift motion. “They’re endless!” she hissed.

“Then we’ll cut them down until they’re not,” Kael replied, already moving.

He waded into the darkness like a storm. Shadows lunged, but each strike of his blade burned with unnatural force. The air rippled around him, power spilling free as if the void itself feared him.

Every step he took, soldiers rallied. Every enemy he struck, fear turned into fire.

But amidst the chaos, a deeper sound stirred.
A low hum.
A vibration that did not belong to the battlefield, but to something far greater.

The rift pulsed. The creatures hesitated. Then they retreated, slinking back as though making way for something else.

Kael froze, blade dripping black ichor. He could feel it—like a gaze pressing against his very soul.

The first true adversary was coming.

And this time, it would not be a mindless beast.