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CHAPTER 28— THROUGH THE VEIL OF TIME
The visions did not arrive gently.
They tore through Lee Kung like a storm ripping through an unguarded village.
One moment, he was standing—breathing, listening to the wind whisper through unseen leaves—and the next, his mind was no longer his own. Time fractured. Reality split into layers that folded over one another, each screaming for his attention.
He saw fire.
He saw blood.
He saw cities rising and collapsing into dust.
The past bled into the future, the future into the present, until there was no longer a line separating any of them. Every mistake. Every victory. Every death that had been and could be unfolded before his eyes at once.
Lee Kung cried out.
His knees struck the ground before he realized he was falling. The weight of the visions crushed the breath from his lungs. His hands clawed uselessly at the earth as though it might anchor him, keep him from being dragged apart by what he was seeing.
"Lee Kung!" Mia's voice rang out in panic.
He barely heard it.
Pain exploded behind his eyes—sharp, burning, relentless. His vision blurred as his body finally gave in, collapsing fully to the ground. Darkness swallowed the edges of his sight.
Mia was at his side instantly.
She dropped to her knees, hands already glowing as her healing magic surged to life. Warm light poured from her palms and sank into Lee Kung's chest, wrapping around his heart, his veins, his shattered thoughts.
"Stay with me," she whispered desperately. "Please… don't leave me."
The magic steadied his breathing, slowed the frantic storm raging inside him—but it could not erase what he had seen.
Nearby, the air rippled.
Something fell from above.
Sio Jun spun around instantly, feet sliding into position as her body shifted into a combat stance. Her hands hovered near her weapons, muscles coiled and ready.
A figure lay where it had landed—small, unmoving.
For half a heartbeat, no one spoke.
Then the figure stirred.
She opened her eyes.
Moonlight reflected faintly against skin far too smooth, far too unmarked to belong to any ordinary being. Slowly, the woman sat up, brushing dust from herself as though falling from the sky were an inconvenience rather than a miracle.
Sio Jun raised her hands, palms outward—but her posture was anything but peaceful.
"Who are you," she demanded sharply, "and what did you do to him?"
The woman looked up at her, unbothered.
"I did nothing to him," she replied calmly. Her voice was light, almost gentle. "And I am not a threat."
Mia glanced over her shoulder, fear tightening her chest. "She just—she fell out of the air!"
The woman stood, straightening her simple attire. For a moment, something shimmered beneath her skin—an echo of wings that were no longer there.
"I do not have my magic right now," she explained. "So I take a human form."
Her gaze shifted to Lee Kung.
"I am Okachu."
Lee Kung stirred beneath Mia's hands.
His eyelids fluttered.
With a sharp inhale, he sucked in air as though he had been drowning. His eyes flew open, unfocused at first, then slowly sharpening as the present returned to him piece by piece.
Mia gasped in relief. "Lee Kung—thank the realms."
He turned his head weakly toward her. "Mia…"
She smiled shakily, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. "You scared me."
Lee Kung tried to sit up, but a sudden wave of dizziness forced him to stop. He pressed a hand to his temple, breathing slowly.
Then he noticed her.
Okachu stood a few steps away, hands folded behind her back, watching him with an expression he could not immediately decipher.
Not pity.
Not fear.
Understanding.
"That's a very heavy burden you carry," she said softly.
Lee Kung frowned. "What…?"
"The present," Okachu continued. "The past. The future." Her eyes glowed faintly as she spoke. "They are not separate to you anymore. I could see them all when your mind opened."
She lowered her hands gently, as if setting something fragile down.
Lee Kung swallowed.
He remembered.
The burning cities. The faces. His brother. Dehaska. Choices he hadn't made yet—and ones he feared he already had.
Sio Jun relaxed her stance slightly but did not lower her guard. "You said you're called Okachu," she said. "Explain. Slowly."
Before Okachu could answer, footsteps approached from the edge of the clearing.
Armin emerged from the shadows.
Unlike the others, he showed no sign of panic or surprise. His expression was calm, thoughtful—as though this moment had been expected.
He approached them and reached into his coat.
"What you are about to do," Armin said, "cannot be done without preparation."
He held out several small objects—metallic emblems, each engraved with unfamiliar symbols that shimmered faintly under the moonlight.
"These," he continued, handing them out one by one, "will allow you to exist in the modern world."
Lee Kung accepted his emblem, turning it over in his palm. The metal was warm.
"Pin these to your clothing," Armin instructed. "They will grant you access… and power. Enough to survive."
Mia pinned hers immediately. Sio Jun hesitated, then did the same.
Lee Kung looked up. "So… what do I do now?"
Okachu stepped forward.
"You already have the sword," she said simply. "Now, you must go through time."
Lee Kung stood.
The weight in his body remained, but something else had joined it—resolve.
He reached for his sword.
The moment his fingers wrapped around the hilt, the blade reacted.
A low hum filled the air.
Energy pulsed along the edge, glowing red—then shifting, flowing into green. The colors intertwined like living veins of light.
Lee Kung raised the sword.
And slashed.
The air screamed.
Reality split open like torn fabric, revealing a swirling portal of distorted color and motion. Wind roared outward as the opening stabilized, showing glimpses of towering structures, blinding lights, and endless motion beyond.
The modern world.
As the portal stabilized, the colors around it bled into the clearing—red and green light washing over the trees, the ground, their faces.
Lee Kung turned.
Armin met his gaze.
For the first time, Armin smiled.
They reached for each other's hands.
Mia took Lee Kung's left. Sio Jun took his right.
Together, they stepped forward.
And vanished.
They arrived at night.
Cold air rushed into Lee Kung's lungs as his feet hit solid ground. Neon lights burned overhead. Strange humming sounds filled the air—engines, electricity, distant voices layered atop one another.
Mia's eyes widened. "So… this is real."
Lee Kung nodded slowly. "It's real."
They stood still for a moment, absorbing it.
Buildings stretched into the sky like metallic mountains. The ground beneath them was smooth and hard. Lights blinked and flashed from every direction.
"Where exactly are we moving to, huh?" Mia asked quietly.
Lee Kung opened his mouth to answer—
A flash of light cut through the night.
"Hey!" a voice shouted. "What are you kids doing here?"
Lee Kung froze.
Figures emerged from the darkness, uniforms unfamiliar but threatening. More appeared quickly, surrounding them.
Sio Jun stepped forward instinctively. "Calm down," she said firmly. "We can't hurt you."
The men shouted orders Lee Kung barely understood.
Panic surged.
"Then what do we do?" Mia whispered.
Lee Kung didn't think.
"I think we running!" he shouted.
They turned and ran.
Sirens wailed.
The sound of a helicopter thundered overhead, light flooding down upon them like a spotlight from the heavens.
"Put your hands up!" a voice boomed. "Lower your weapon!"
Lee Kung stopped.
Slowly, he raised his hands.
Metal clicked.
Cold cuffs snapped around their wrists.
They were shoved into a vehicle.
The doors slammed shut.
And just like that, the heroes of the realms were no longer warriors—
They were prisoners.
As the vehicle drove away, Lee Kung stared through the window at the passing lights, his reflection staring back at him.
The journey through time had begun.
And there would be no turning back.