The stars dimmed for three nights.
Not from clouds.
But from fear.
The celestial balance had been broken when Kael was reborn in Arielle's body. Her presence—two souls merged into one—had become a beacon.
And something answered it.
Something ancient.
Something born in the silence between stars.
---
The Arrival of Veyrix
He came like a storm without thunder.
First, the sky cracked—just once—like a mirror shattering in slow motion.
Then shadows poured into the edges of Edenvale, curling around light, devouring sound.
At the edge of the lake where Kael fell, the air twisted, and he emerged.
Not a man. Not a god.
> A void wearing skin, with eyes that reflected nothing.
Veyrix.
The forgotten twin of the light.
A being forged in the moment Kael fell—born from the imbalance of one star's sacrifice.
---
A Warning from the Stars
Arielle collapsed in the forest, clutching her chest.
Visions—fractured, violent—rushed through her: fire raining from the sky, time reversing, Ayden screaming her name as the world crumbled.
> "He's here," she whispered.
Ayden knelt beside her, panic in his eyes.
"Who?"
Arielle looked up.
Her golden eyes now flickered black around the edges.
> "The dark half of everything. The star that should never have existed."
---
Aetheron's Return
The Circle of Dawn descended upon Edenvale once more.
This time, with fear etched on every face.
> "Veyrix is not just a celestial," Aetheron said. "He is consequence. Created by you, Starborn—by the life you saved that wasn't meant to be saved."
Elira stepped forward, defiant.
"Then we'll undo it."
"No," Ayden said quietly. "We'll finish it."
---
The Rise of the Shadow
That night, the wind stilled. The stars refused to shine.
And in the center of the old city, where time bent around old magic, Veyrix spoke for the first time:
"I am the space between Kael's heartbeats."
"I am the cost of your miracle."
"Give me the girl… or I will unmake the sky."