The Hunter Academy basked in the glow of a deceptively calm afternoon. Students roamed the training fields, unaware of the shift stirring beneath the world's surface. Yet to Kaen, every shadow felt heavier—every breeze carried a whisper from a past too ancient for memory.
He stood atop the eastern tower, staring into the horizon. His crimson eyes weren't looking at the present but at a place far beyond the sky—where the white tree stood in slumber, hidden in Deepa's heaven. No one else knew of its existence. Not Zian. Not Lirien. Not even the angels who claimed dominion over the skies. Only Kaen.
The white tree did not stir—not yet. Its roots were still dormant. Its branches unmoving. But Kaen could feel it… the pulse of its soul beating slowly, like a heart dreaming of waking.
Behind him, Zian approached.
"You've been distant," she said softly, the wind catching strands of her silver hair.
Kaen didn't answer immediately. "I'm just… listening."
"To what?"
He turned to her, his voice low. "To the world. It's not screaming yet—but it's holding its breath."
Zian frowned. Her instincts as a fallen angel sensed it too, though not as clearly. Something was changing. But Kaen kept the truth sealed behind his gaze. Even now, he couldn't reveal the tree—not yet.
Suddenly, a crimson flare shot into the sky, illuminating the clouds. The academy's emergency bell rang out. From every corner of the campus, elite students and instructors rushed to the war hall.
In the war room, holographic maps flared to life. A new gate—massive, unstable, and unlike anything seen—had appeared near the remnants of a city lost to time.
"A triple-layered rift," Lirien muttered. "This shouldn't be possible."
"The structure is unnatural," Rin said. "It's not a gate—it's an invitation."
Kaen's fists clenched. He knew that place. He had walked there with someone whose name no longer echoed in mortal memory. The god who had sealed it—for him.
Later that night, Kaen stood alone on the tower again. A single white feather drifted down from the sky, landing in his palm. It dissolved into shadow the moment he touched it.
"She's not awake yet," he whispered. "But soon."
And with that, Kaen turned to the darkened horizon, where destiny waited like a storm just beyond the shore.