The sky remained red.
Not fading.Not weakening.
It spread like a wound across the heavens, pulsing with an unnatural rhythm—as if the world itself had developed a heartbeat it was never meant to have.
Across the city—
People stopped.
Cars halted in the middle of roads.Pedestrians froze, staring upward.Phones were raised. Cameras recorded.
Fear spread faster than the anomaly itself.
"What… is that…?"
"Is it another Gate?"
"No… it's too big…"
Across the country—
Emergency broadcasts activated.
"⚠️ This is a national emergency. All civilians are advised to remain indoors—"
The signal distorted.
Cut.
Replaced by static.
Inside a government command center—
Screens flickered violently.
Dozens of operators scrambled, shouting over one another.
"Mana levels are exceeding measurable limits!"
"We're losing satellite visibility—!"
"Something is interfering with the System network!"
At the center of the room—
A man stood in silence.
Watching.
"…Zoom in."
The main screen adjusted.
The red sky focused—
And at its center—
A single location.
The ruined city.
"…What the hell is happening there…?"
No one answered.
Because no one knew.
Back at the battlefield—
The pressure had only grown heavier.
The Hunters were on their knees.
Some unconscious.
Some barely holding on.
The leader clenched his teeth, forcing himself to stay conscious.
"…This… isn't a Gate…"
His instincts screamed the truth.
"This is something else entirely."
Above them—
Kael floated.
Darkness gathered around him like a storm.
Obeying him.
Responding to him.
His eyes remained locked on the sky.
On that presence—
Descending.
"…You feel it too, don't you?"
The entity stood opposite him.
Still.
Silent.
Watching.
Then—
It spoke.
"A fragment… of the Origin."
Kael's brows furrowed.
"…Origin?"
No explanation came.
Instead—
The sky cracked.
Not like before.
Not like a Gate.
This time—
It shattered.
A piece of the red sky broke apart—
And something began to fall.
Slowly.
Gracefully.
Like a feather.
But the moment it appeared—
Everything changed.
The pressure multiplied.
The ground beneath the city sank further.
Buildings groaned.
Glass shattered.
Even the entity took a step back.
Kael's eyes widened slightly.
"…That thing…"
It wasn't large.
Not like the Sentinel.
Not like the entity.
It was small.
A humanoid figure.
Wrapped in darkness.
Its form incomplete—like a silhouette that hadn't fully taken shape.
But its presence—
Was overwhelming.
"…"
It didn't speak.
Didn't move.
It simply—
Existed.
And that was enough.
The system reacted violently.
[ERROR][ERROR][ERROR]
[Entity Cannot Be Recognized][System Authority… Overridden]
Kael felt it.
Deep inside him.
Something responded.
The Abyss within him—
Reacted.
His chest tightened.
His heartbeat accelerated.
"…Why does it feel… familiar?"
The entity beside him lowered its head slightly.
"Do not approach."
Kael glanced at it.
"…Scared?"
No response.
But its stance had changed.
Cautious.
Respectful.
That alone told Kael everything.
"…So even you don't want to mess with it."
The falling figure stopped.
Midair.
Then—
Its head tilted.
Toward Kael.
Silence.
Then—
It moved.
Not fast.
Not slow.
Just—
Instant.
It appeared in front of him.
No sound.
No motion.
Just—
There.
Kael's instincts screamed.
He moved immediately.
Shadow Step.
He vanished.
Reappearing dozens of meters away.
But—
It was already there.
Waiting.
Kael's eyes widened.
"…What—"
Before he could react—
A hand reached out.
And touched his chest.
Everything stopped.
Time.
Sound.
Thought.
Gone.
Kael's vision turned black.
Then—
White.
Then—
Nothing.
He stood somewhere else.
A void.
Endless.
Silent.
"…Where am I?"
No answer.
Then—
Footsteps.
Kael turned.
The figure stood behind him.
Fully formed now.
No longer incomplete.
Its shape was clear.
Humanoid.
Tall.
Clad in darkness.
Its face—
Still unseen.
But its presence—
Was absolute.
"…What are you?"
Silence.
Then—
It spoke.
Not like before.
Not into his mind.
But directly.
Soft.
Calm.
"You carry it."
Kael frowned.
"…Carry what?"
The figure stepped closer.
"The Abyss."
Kael's expression darkened.
"…Yeah."
A pause.
"…So?"
The figure stopped in front of him.
Close.
Too close.
Then—
It raised its hand.
And placed it over Kael's heart.
"…!"
Pain exploded.
But not physical.
Something deeper.
Memories.
Visions.
Fragments.
A world of darkness.
Endless.
Consuming.
Countless beings—
Falling.
Disappearing.
Becoming nothing.
And at the center—
Something watched.
Waiting.
Hungry.
Kael staggered back.
Breathing heavily.
"…What… was that…?"
The figure lowered its hand.
"A glimpse."
Kael clenched his fists.
"…Of what?"
Silence.
Then—
"Your future."
Everything froze.
"…My… future?"
The figure didn't answer.
Instead—
It stepped back.
And began to fade.
"…Wait—!"
Kael reached out—
But the void collapsed.
Reality returned.
The rain.
The battlefield.
The red sky.
Everything came back at once.
Kael gasped.
Falling to one knee.
"…What… was that…?"
The figure still stood in front of him.
Unmoving.
Silent.
As if nothing had happened.
But something had changed.
Inside Kael.
Deep within—
The Abyss stirred.
Not violently.
But knowingly.
Like it had been acknowledged.
Recognized.
Chosen.
Kael slowly stood.
His eyes locked onto the figure.
"…You showed me something."
No response.
"…Why?"
Silence.
Then—
The figure spoke one last time.
"Grow."
A single word.
Then—
It vanished.
Just like that.
Gone.
The red sky began to fade.
Slowly.
The pressure lifted.
The Gate trembled—
Then collapsed.
The entity remained.
But it no longer moved.
It simply looked at Kael.
Then—
Lowered its head.
And stepped back.
Retreating.
Returning to the Gate—
Before disappearing completely.
Silence returned.
Heavy.
Unreal.
The Hunters lay scattered.
Barely conscious.
The leader looked up.
At Kael.
"…What… are you…?"
Kael didn't answer.
He couldn't.
Because for the first time—
He wasn't sure.
He looked at his hand.
Then at the sky.
Now slowly returning to normal.
"…My future…"
His eyes darkened.
"…I won't let it end like that."
Far away—
Something watched.
Still.
Waiting.
Because now—
It knew.
The anomaly wasn't just a mistake.
It was—
A possibility.
And that—
Was far more dangerous.