The Cairo Veil temple loomed like a wound in the obsidian desert, its black stone spires jagged against the bruised-purple sky. Haruaki's frail body trembled with every step, his white hair plastered to his wrinkled forehead, his sunken eyes burning with determination despite the pain. At seventeen, he looked closer to sixty, his skin etched with deep lines from the fractures he'd sealed, each one stealing decades he couldn't reclaim. The twin Gatekey in his left hand pulsed in sync with the original in his pocket, their warmth a searing reminder of the cost of his Fractureborn power. Mira's amulet hung around his neck, its runes glowing faintly, slowing his decay but not stopping the entity's whisper—You are ours—that clawed at his mind.
Rina led the way into the temple's shadowed interior, her staff casting flickering flames across walls etched with glowing runes, her red-streaked hair wild in the dry air. Yumi stayed close to Haruaki, her dark eyes filled with fear and resolve, her runed dagger ready at her side. Her silence carried the weight of their shared past—his parents, Fractureborn, taken—and the secrets she still held. Kael Draven followed, his crimson robes pristine, his silver staff radiating a power that felt more possessive than protective. Kuro perched on Haruaki's shoulder, his golden eyes scanning the darkness, muttering about "greedy traps and darker gods."
The temple's air was thick with the Veil's pulse, chaotic and cold, laced with the entity's malice. The space Gatekey's presence warped reality—corridors bent at impossible angles, shadows moved without light, and time stuttered in brief, disorienting flashes. Haruaki's chest ached, the amulet's warmth barely easing the pain of his last fracture. The elite—Varyn, Seris, and their ilk—were a storm of wealth and ambition closing in, but the entity was a deeper threat, its ancient hunger driving every fracture.
"This place is a maze," Rina said, her voice sharp, her flames illuminating a chamber where the walls seemed to breathe. "The space key's close—I can feel it twisting things."
Yumi's hand brushed Haruaki's, her voice low. "You're barely holding on, Haruaki. We need to find it fast, before you have to fracture again."
Kuro cawed, his claws digging into Haruaki's shoulder. "Fast ain't the problem, girl. This temple's alive, and it's hungry. The entity's got its claws deep here."
Kael's jade eyes glinted, his smile thin. "The rogue mages who guard the key are fanatics, Fractureborn. They'll die before they let us take it. But the wards are yours to break—only your power can open the vault."
Haruaki's stomach twisted, the twin key burning in his hand. "And if I break, too? I'm running out of time, Kael."
Kael's voice was smooth, edged with danger. "Then you'll die a hero, Fractureborn. The space key bends reality itself. With it, we can outmaneuver Varyn, Seris—even the entity. Choose your legacy."
Rina's flames flared, her staff sparking. "Enough with the speeches, rich boy. Point us to the vault, or I'll burn your fancy robes."
Yumi's dagger gleamed, her voice sharp. "He's not your tool, Kael. We're here for the key, not your empire."
Haruaki nodded, his voice weak but resolute. "Show me the vault."
The chamber opened into a spiral staircase descending into darkness, its steps etched with runes that pulsed in sync with the Gatekeys. At the bottom was a vault door, its surface a mosaic of glowing crystals, its wards shimmering with power. Haruaki felt the space key's presence, a distortion that made the air ripple, his vision warping as if reality was a fragile pane of glass.
As they approached, the temple shook, a low rumble that sent dust cascading. Shadows moved—humanoid, robed, their eyes glowing with fanatic zeal. The rogue mages emerged, their staffs crackling with energy, their voices chanting in a language that hurt Haruaki's ears. "The key stays," their leader hissed, a woman with scars crisscrossing her face. "The Fractureborn dies."
Rina's flames roared, clashing with a mage's lightning. "Try it, zealot!" she shouted, her staff swinging.
Kael's silver light flared, a shield deflecting a mage's energy bolt, while Yumi's dagger slashed through another, her movements precise. Haruaki reached for the vault's wards, the pain igniting as he touched the Veil's pulse, slowing time. The mages froze, their spells hanging mid-air, but the wards resisted, their power tied to the space key, warping reality around him.
The entity's presence surged, a shadow coalescing in the vault, its whisper a blade in his mind. Fractureborn. The keys are ours. Haruaki screamed, pulling at the wards, unraveling their spatial locks. His body aged—his skin tightening, his hair thinning, his breath shallow. The amulet burned, stabilizing the pain, but it wasn't enough. His vision blurred, the vault door shimmering as it began to open.
Yumi grabbed his arm, her voice desperate. "Haruaki, stop! You're fading!"
"I have to," he gasped, his voice raw. The vault door swung open, revealing a pedestal with the space Gatekey—a silver orb pulsing with blue light, its surface etched with shifting runes. The shadow loomed larger, its form filling the vault, its malice crushing.
Rina's flames and Kael's light held the mages at bay, their bodies falling under the onslaught, but the shadow was untouched, its tendrils reaching for the key. Haruaki lunged, grabbing the space key, its power surging through him, warping his senses—space folding, distances collapsing, the temple's walls bending. The entity screamed, a sound that tore at his mind, and fractures tore open around the vault, wraiths and sandwraiths pouring through.
"Seal them!" Kael shouted, his silver light clashing with the shadow's tendrils.
Haruaki clutched the space key, its power amplifying his own, but the pain was blinding. He reached for the Veil's pulse, slowing time and space, the fractures' edges pulsing wildly. The shadow pressed forward, its whisper overwhelming. You cannot hold us. His body broke—his hands skeletal, his vision fading, his heart stuttering. Yumi's voice was a lifeline, her arms around him. "Stay with me, Haruaki!"
He pulled at the fractures, stitching them closed, the space key's power guiding his will, but the cost was unbearable. His body aged decades in seconds, his hair falling out, his skin paper-thin. The fractures snapped shut, the shadow's scream echoing as it vanished, the wraiths dissolving.
Haruaki collapsed, Yumi catching him, his frail body trembling. The space key burned in his hand, the twin and original keys pulsing in sync, their warmth fading. "You did it," Yumi whispered, tears streaming down her face. "But you're dying."
Rina knelt beside him, her flames flickering out, her voice low. "Damn it, rookie. You're too stubborn for your own good."
Kael's expression was unreadable, his staff dimming. "Three keys, Fractureborn. You're rewriting the Veil's rules. But the cost…"
Kuro landed nearby, his eyes glinting. "Told you, kid. The entity's not done, and the elite are coming. You've got three keys—two more. Hope you've got enough left."
Haruaki's breath was a ragged gasp, his body a husk. The temple's runes glowed around them, the elite's wealth—Kael's power, Varyn's ambition—a storm he couldn't escape. But the entity was a void, its hunger endless. Yumi's eyes, fierce with hope, grounded him. "What now?" he whispered, his voice barely audible.
Kael's smile was thin. "We return to the market. The energy key is next—rumored to be in Moscow. But the entity knows you now, Fractureborn. The war is coming."
Rina stood, her staff sparking. "Then we fight. But you're not fracturing again, rookie. We find another way."
As they left the temple, the Veil's pulse lingered, a warning of the fractures to come. Haruaki clutched the space key, its power a curse he couldn't outrun, and knew the cost of power was more than he could bear.