CHAPTER 20 — The Second Veil: The Fear of Loss

The staircase of light rose endlessly into the darkness above.Ivan climbed it step by step, each breath sharp in his chest.The wound on his arm still bled, but he ignored it.
“I’m not stopping,” he whispered.
The Trial would not break him.
Not now.
Not when she was waiting for him.
As he stepped onto the next platform, the staircase dissolved behind him, leaving him suspended in a giant void of swirling black mist and faint blue stars.
Ivan’s instincts flared.
This place felt wrong.
Too quiet.Too still.Too heavy.
A voice echoed, colder this time:
“Welcome to the Second Veil.”
Ivan raised his sword.
“What now?!”
The voice whispered:
“Your greatest fear.”
The darkness rippled—
—and the world changed.
Suddenly, Ivan stood in a familiar place.
A grassy field.A gentle breeze.A calm sky.
His breath caught.
“No… no, this can’t be…”
This was the place where he first met Elen.
The flowers she picked.The tree she rested under.The hill they watched the sky from.
Everything was the same…
…but wrong.
No color.No warmth.A dead echo of the memory.
Ivan took a step forward.
“Elen…?”
His voice cracked.
Footsteps echoed behind him.
He turned—
—and she was there.
Elen.
But not the Elen he knew.
Her hair was pale, almost gray.Her eyes lifeless.Her expression empty.
A version of her without emotion, without hope, without him.
Ivan staggered back.
“No… this is an illusion.”
She stared at him, her voice monotone:
“Ivan.”
He froze.
She walked slowly toward him.
“You couldn’t protect me.”
Ivan’s heart dropped.
He shook his head violently.
“No. This isn’t real. This is the trial—”
She raised her hand.
The air around him froze.
“You failed me.”
Ivan gasped as pain pierced his chest.
The world began to twist — the sky darkening, the grass withering, the tree burning into ash.
Elen’s expression stayed blank.
“You left me.You promised you would come.You didn’t.”
Ivan fell to his knees.
“No! That’s not true—I’m fighting to reach you!”
She kept walking toward him, every step making the world crack like glass.
“You abandoned me.”
His hands trembled.
“I didn’t— I’m trying—”
“You’re too weak.”
Something inside him snapped.
“STOP!”
He tried to stand, but the ground swallowed his legs, locking him in place.
The fake Elen leaned down, her face inches from his.
Her voice was cold enough to kill.
“You will lose me.”
The sky shattered completely.
The world exploded into darkness.
Ivan screamed—
“ELEN!!”
But the darkness swallowed his voice.
He fell endlessly.
Weightless.
Helpless.
Alone.

---
The Real Fear
He landed on something hard.
The void lit up—and dozens of visions appeared around him like broken mirrors.
Visions of Elen in pain.Visions of Elen crying.Visions of Elen reaching for him.Visions of Elen falling.Visions of Elen fading away into nothing.
Every vision showed one thing:
Him failing her.
Ivan’s chest tightened so hard he couldn’t breathe.
“No… no… stop… STOP!”
The visions screamed her name.
“IVAN!”“HELP ME!”“WHERE ARE YOU?”“YOU PROMISED!”
He covered his ears.
But he couldn’t block her voice.
His soul cracked, his knees buckling.
Tears hit the cold floor.
“Please… I’m trying… I’m coming… I’m not giving up…”
The world trembled — the Trial sensing his weakness.
A massive shadow rose behind him — a monstrous figure representing his fear.
It whispered in a voice deeper than nightmares:
“She will forget you.”
Ivan froze.
The shadow grew larger, engulfing the visions.
“She will replace you.”
His heart pounded like it would tear apart.
“She will grow stronger without you.”
His breath shattered.
“And when you arrive…She won’t need you anymore.”
The shadow lunged forward—
And Ivan felt himself fully break.
His fear crushed him.His limbs trembled.He collapsed completely.
“I’m… afraid,” he whispered.
The shadow towered over him.
He whispered again, louder:
“I’m afraid to lose her…”
His fists tightened—
Then he slammed them into the ground.
“But fear doesn’t own me!”
The shadow froze.
Ivan forced himself to stand, even as tears ran down his face.
“I love her.”
Light erupted beneath his feet.
“I’m terrified…”
The light climbed his legs, burning away the darkness.
“But that fear makes me fight harder!”
The mirrors shattered.The visions dissolved.The shadow recoiled.
Ivan grabbed his sword—
and charged straight into the fear-made monster.
A roar tore from his throat, shaking the void.
“I WILL NOT LOSE HER!!!”
He slashed with everything he had—
His will.His heart.His pain.His love.
And the shadow exploded into light.

---
The Second Veil Breaks
The void calmed.
The darkness faded.
The gentle voice echoed again:
“Second Veil… Conquered.”
Ivan fell to one knee, breathing hard.
Sweat dripped from his face.Tears still clung to his lashes.His whole body shook.
But his eyes…
Burned with fierce, unbreakable determination.
He stood up slowly.
“Elen…”
He clenched his fist.
“I’m coming.No matter what these trials show me… or take from me…”
A new staircase of light formed.
Ivan placed his foot on the first step.
“…you are the reason I keep moving.”
He climbed upward.
And the Third Veil awakened.