The air inside the Veinwalker Command Office was still yet heavy with reverence.

Morning light cut through the crystal panels, scattering gold and violet patterns across the polished floor. Each glimmer carried the faint hum of Shinrei, the life-force of the world itself.

At the center of that light stood Khael Corzedar, calm but uncertain. His long dark hair fell over his storm-carved eyes as he faced the man behind the obsidian desk, Master Isen, the Supreme Commander of the Veinwalker Corps, the Keiryuu himself.

Around Khael stood his comrades — Kaen Suro, Rael Eluron, Ceyla Nox, Juno Arkai, Kenji Gas, Saya Kurenai, Lira Valenne, and Shigeo Motome.

All had survived Tildaroot. All had unlocked their Eclipse Gates. But what came next was something none of them expected.

Khael's voice broke the silence first.

He clenched his fist slightly and looked up at his master.

"Master… is it true that I am… a Crimson Veinwalker?"

The words struck like thunder.

Kaen's eyes widened, flames flickering faintly around his hands.

Rael froze, his composed demeanor cracking for the first time.

Ceyla's lightning aura flared out, unstable.

Lira gasped softly, while Saya nearly dropped the sheath she was polishing.

Even Kenji normally grinning stood speechless.

Only Shigeo Motome remained still, arms folded, gaze unreadable.

He exhaled lazily.

"Predicted outcome number twelve… confirmed."

Kaen turned sharply toward him.

"You knew?!"

"Khael's Shinrei pattern changed after Tildaroot," Shigeo said simply.

"His resonance now reads like a stabilized hybrid bloodline. It was only a matter of time."

Master Isen smiled, his calm blue eyes reflecting the faint ripple of Shinrei flowing through the room.

He stood slowly, his black and silver robes moving like water under light.

"Ah…" he said softly, his tone playful yet deep, "I forgot to tell you, Khael."

He smiled brightly,the kind of smile that carried both warmth and gravity.

"Yes. You have ascended. You are now a Crimson Veinwalker."

The title echoed in their hearts like the toll of a sacred bell.

Crimson Veinwalker, the rank of elite warriors who had not only opened their Eclipse Gate, but had synchronized their emotion, body, and Shinrei into one flawless current.

Kaen took a step forward, his fists trembling.

"Wait… that's the same rank as Shigeo! You're telling me this guy—"

He jabbed a thumb at Khael, half-laughing in disbelief.

"—just skipped a full rank?!"

Rael, still stunned, muttered under his breath,

"It seems the heavens favor dragons… or fools."

Ceyla crossed her arms, trying to hide a faint smile.

"Guess he's both."

Khael didn't reply. His eyes were fixed on Isen and something deeper stirred within his chest. The faint heartbeat of the Dragon Vein, resonating in rhythm with his own.

Master Isen stepped closer, his tone softening.

"Do you know what it means to be a Crimson Veinwalker, Khael?"

Khael shook his head slightly.

Isen placed a hand over his shoulder and in that instant, the air vibrated with quiet power.

"It means your soul has survived its own storm. You've mastered your emotion without losing yourself to it. The Dragon within you has accepted your heart."

Khael felt a sharp warmth through his veins as if the words themselves carried Shinrei.

"Crimson," Isen continued, "is not the color of rage, but of resolve. It is the hue of blood that still flows after battle… the proof that one's heart endures."

Lira clasped her hands together, smiling with pride.

"That's… beautiful, Master."

Kenji nodded, still wide-eyed.

"So Khael's officially above all of us now? Great. Can't wait for him to order us around."

Saya smirked.

"He already does that without the rank."

Kaen burst out laughing.

"Yeah, but now he has papers to prove it!"

Ceyla rolled her eyes but her voice softened.

"You earned it, Khael. Don't let it get to your head."

Khael smiled faintly, bowing slightly.

"Thank you… all of you. I wouldn't be here without my team."

Shigeo closed his notebook and sighed.

"And thus begins another anomaly in the equation."

He turned to Master Isen.

"Sir, what's next for us?"

Isen's gaze turned toward the great world map shimmering behind him. Lines of light pulsed across continents some bright, some fractured.

"The world is shifting," he said quietly. "The Hollows are stirring faster than expected. The Lunar Sages are already preparing."

He turned back to the group.

"You are no longer students. You are Veyl's new generation of Veinwalkers — the shield between emotion and oblivion."

Then, his gaze settled once more on Khael.

"And you, Crimson Veinwalker Khael Corzedar… your path will not be easy. The Dragon within your veins is ancient older than the Veinwalker order itself. It will test you."

Khael met his master's eyes and nodded firmly.

"Then I'll endure it. If my heart can burn for others… it can tame the storm inside me."

Isen smiled.

"Good. That's the spirit of a true Veinwalker."

He turned, raising his hand slightly. The air shimmered, and eight glowing badges appeared before them each with a symbol of their rank.

🟢 Green for the newly initiated.

🔵 Blue for the seasoned warriors.

🔴 Crimson pulsing softly, alive for one.

Isen placed the crimson insignia in Khael's hand.

"Carry this not as pride… but as burden."

Khael closed his hand over it, feeling its pulse align with his heartbeat.

A faint whisper echoed in his mind not from Isen, but from the ancient voice within.

(Awaken, my heir. The Dragon Vein stirs once more.)

His eyes briefly flashed gold just for a moment.

Kaen looked around the group and smirked.

"So… guess the real story starts now, huh?"

Rael lifted his chin.

"Then let it be written that we stood together — under one storm, one flame, one heart."

Ceyla smirked.

"Try not to get poetic, Rael. It's weird."

Everyone laughed softly. Even Isen chuckled.

The room filled not with power but with warmth.

And for the first time since Tildaroot…

they all allowed themselves to breathe.

Deep beneath the crumbled bones of the old world, far below where light could touch, the hollow pulsed.

The underground chamber stretched for miles, carved from black stone that breathed faint embers. The walls were lined with crystal veins, each glowing faintly red, pulsing like a thousand slumbering hearts. The air was thick with void pressure, the kind that made mortals' souls scream if they lingered too long.

And at the center of that living abyss stood Lucere, leader of the Hollow Nine.

He was smiling.

But not with warmth.

His pink wolf-cut hair shimmered faintly in the glow of the shards that surrounded him, and his grin sharp, crooked, too calm didn't quite reach his eyes.

Those eyes…

Orange. Red. Black.

Swirled together like fractured suns, layered as though a thousand gazes had been stitched into one.

Every blink felt wrong.

Every breath near him froze.

Before him floated a circle of massive crystal shards, suspended midair by threads of corrupted Shinrei.

Each fragment pulsed in rhythm with a heart that no longer beat.

Some contained shapes, silhouettes men and women trapped inside, frozen in an endless sleep.

The largest shard towered above the rest, and within it lay a woman ethereal, beautiful, but terrifying in her stillness.

Her hair was pale as the moon, her hands crossed upon her chest, and faint tendrils of darkness moved like smoke beneath her translucent skin.

Across from her, in another crystal cocoon, rested a man with long silver hair, his face serene, his chest faintly aglow with crimson cracks that refused to heal.

They were the first and last of something ancient remnants of a time the world had buried.

Lucere stepped closer.

Each echo of his boots on the obsidian floor sent waves through the Shinrei streams around him. The fragments hummed in reply, reacting to his presence like prey to a predator.

He tilted his head, voice soft, reverent.

"Master…"

His grin widened, but his tone softened to a whisper.

"Wait for me. I will revive you… without fail."

He raised his hand pale, trembling slightly, but burning with purpose. A black flame flickered at his fingertips, and the shards pulsed in response.

The entire cavern groaned, as if alive.

"They think the Veinwalker Order still holds dominion," Lucere murmured, eyes narrowing. "They think emotion will save them from oblivion."

His laughter was quiet at first then rose, echoing through the dark like glass breaking in still water.

"But emotion is the seed of chaos. It was never balance. It was never peace."

The crystals shuddered violently, faint cracks running through them.

From the largest shard, the one containing the woman came a low, haunting hum, like a lullaby being sung by something vast and forgotten.

Lucere dropped to one knee, placing a hand against the shard. His smile turned… almost gentle."Your dream ended once, my master."

"But the new Veinwalkers… they've opened the Crimson Gate again."

"Your time is near."

He leaned closer, whispering like a prayer:

"Sleep just a little longer, My beloved Master."

To be continue