The night air hung heavy over Crestfall. Frost still clung stubbornly to the streets, but the wind carried whispers of destruction. Buildings were fractured, stone cracked, and entire plazas looked like the aftermath of a siege.

  Akitsu Shouga, Rhen Calder, Selene Vael, and Sir Jian Luocheng stood near the ruins of the eastern district, the bitter cold gnawing at their bones. Yurei moved with predatory calm amidst the devastation, devouring the remnants of fleeing civilians’ souls, feeding the endless hunger that never slept.

  “You’ve taken too much,” Akitsu muttered under his breath, clutching Joyeuse. “This can’t go on.”

  Rhen’s eyes narrowed, sensing the same dark pulse of power. “He’s stronger than ever. Every soul he absorbs… it amplifies him. He’s a nightmare waiting to solidify.”

  Selene Vael gritted her teeth. “And the civilians… they’re gone. Completely frozen. Anyone who wasn’t devoured is… they’re just statues now.”

  Sir Jian Luocheng’s hand tightened around the shaft of his spear, Spade. “We can’t let him reach the castle. Not after what’s already happened.”

  Yurei’s eyes flicked toward them, and for a heartbeat, everything froze. The wind halted, the frost stopped growing. Time seemed to condense into that moment.

  “You’ve come,” Yurei said, voice smooth and cold. “So… predictable.”

  Selene stepped forward. “Yurei, this ends tonight. You’re going to die, and it will be the only mercy you’ll ever know.”

  Yurei tilted his head. “Die? You… humans think in such finite ways. Death is… inconsequential. I hunger. That is all that matters.”

  Akitsu stepped closer, his Conjure aura flaring faintly as spirits began stirring around him. “We’ve stopped monsters before. We’ll do it again. Even you.”

  Yurei’s gaze darkened. “Even me?” He laughed, a sound like ice cracking under weight. “You will fall first.”

  Before anyone could react, Yurei surged forward. Absolute zero shattered the ground beneath him. Trees froze instantly, their branches shattering like glass. Selene’s arrows of songs responded, shooting out in harmonic waves that detonated near the frost, chaining the ice together and trying to suppress him—but Yurei shrugged it off, his wildlife powers animating roots and spectral beasts that lunged for them.

  Rhen phased through a wolf-like construct, reappearing behind Yurei with his fists ready. “I won’t let you kill anyone else!”

  “You can’t stop hunger,” Yurei whispered. His claws sliced through Rhen’s ghost form with uncanny precision, momentarily phasing into him, forcing him out of alignment, staggering him.

  Akitsu swung Joyeuse, cutting down a tree animated by Yurei. “Keep moving! Don’t let him corner us!”

  Sir Jian stepped forward, voice calm but resolute. “We need to stop him… now.”

  Selene’s arrows flew in a constant volley, binding roots, chains, and spectral wolves as best she could. “He’s too fast! Too strong! We need a plan—any plan!”

  Sir Jian’s eyes darted to the sky. Something shimmered—faint, like heat rippling in reverse. A wandering veil appeared, high above the shattered rooftops, twisting in midair like a gaping wound in reality. Its edges shimmered like molten glass, and the air around it vibrated unnaturally.

  “The Wandering Veil,” Sir Jian said under his breath. “…It appeared.”

  Akitsu looked up, tension tightening in his jaw. “A Wandering Veil… but how do we reach it?”

  Sir Jian’s gaze never left Yurei. “We don’t. Not normally.” His grip on Spade tightened. “But… there’s only one way to make this work.”

  Selene frowned. “Jian, what are you thinking?”

  “Sacrifice,” he said quietly. “The only one capable of pushing him into the veil… is me.”

  Akitsu froze. “You’re not saying—”

  “I’m saying exactly that,” Sir Jian interrupted. His eyes softened slightly toward them. “You three… get to the castle if I succeed. You three are the kingdom’s last hope. I’ll buy the time we need.”

  Rhen’s face hardened. “No. We can’t let you—”

  “It’s the only way,” Jian said. “I’ve calculated the trajectory. The veil appears randomly every twelve years, but its pull… its gravitational effect is strong enough. I can force him inside. But I will not survive the fall.”

  Selene’s hands tightened on her bow. “…You’re serious?”

  Jian nodded. “Completely. If I fail… the kingdom is gone. Half of Crestfall is already in ruins. And he will keep feeding.”

  Akitsu’s eyes narrowed. “…Then we do this together. At least I’ll help you make it count.”

  “Shouga—” Rhen began.

  “No,” Akitsu interrupted sharply. “You focus on holding him. I’ll support Jian.”

  Selene finally exhaled. “Then we do what must be done. I’ll cover Jian.”

  Yurei’s attention was now fully on them. “You plan to play heroes?” he sneered. “Fools.”

  Jian stepped forward, Spade glowing faintly under the moonlight. “Call me what you want. I’m the one sending you where you belong.”

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  With a sudden surge, Yurei attacked. Absolute zero swept through the plaza, freezing the shattered streets, splintering stone statues in half. Selene fired another Arrow of Songs; chains erupted from the ground, binding Yurei’s limbs and suppressing some of his powers.

  “NOW, JIAN!” Akitsu shouted.

  Sir Jian twisted Spade in his hands, forming a spear wall beneath Yurei’s feet. “Hold still, you wretched thing!” he barked. He leapt into the air, pushing off the icy streets and driving toward Yurei, who struggled against the chains.

  Rhen phased in front of Yurei, trying to contain him while Akitsu conjured spectral spirits, each clawing and slashing at Yurei, slowing him. “You won’t take anyone else!” Rhen shouted, fists flashing as they passed through Yurei, causing mental dissonance that disrupted his timing.

  Yurei roared, the cold intensifying to unbearable levels, absolute zero radiating outward. “I will eat everything!”

  Jian’s voice echoed across the plaza. “You’ll eat nothing! Into the veil!”

  With an explosive leap, Jian plunged Spade into the air, his trajectory pulling him higher and higher, dragging Yurei toward the shimmering Wandering Veil. The veil’s edges rippled violently, threatening to close, but Jian’s momentum kept Yurei pinned in its gravitational pull.

  Akitsu swung Joyeuse, deflecting frost constructs and spectral animals trying to claw at Jian. “He’s holding it! Don’t let him slip!”

  Selene fired arrow after arrow, binding Yurei further. Each chain burned with harmonic resonance, slowing Yurei just enough.

  “Keep it steady, Jian!” Selene shouted.

  “Almost… there!” Jian gritted his teeth. Sweat dripped down his face despite the cold, his muscles burning with exertion. “You… will… go!”

  Yurei’s eyes widened, rage overtaking him. “You think you can throw me into a hole? I will devour you first!”

  Jian faltered slightly under the force, and Yurei surged, claws cutting deep into Spade. “AGHH!” Jian cried. He twisted the spear with all his strength, swinging his entire body, using the momentum to maintain leverage.

  Akitsu shouted, summoning another wave of spirits—ethereal wolves, armored knights, ancestral warriors—all clawing, blocking, and tearing at Yurei, giving Jian the fraction of a second he needed.

  Rhen’s voice cut through the chaos. “Shouga, he’s straining! We need—”

  “I know!” Akitsu barked. “Focus on keeping him aligned!”

  Yurei’s howls filled the night as he was drawn closer to the veil. Absolute zero radiated outward in violent pulses, freezing the last surviving fragments of the east district. The spectral wildlife clawed desperately at the spirits surrounding him, each bite and strike turning to ice in mid-air.

  “Now!” Jian roared, swinging Spade one final time.

  The spear collided with Yurei’s chest, carrying every ounce of Jian’s weight and strength. With a violent pull, Yurei’s momentum carried him into the Wandering Veil. The portal shimmered, strained, and then closed abruptly behind him, leaving only a faint ripple in the air.

  Jian’s body tumbled downward. His fall was halted by nothing; gravity had been bypassed by the veil’s dimensional pull, but the stress of the act tore him apart. His hands slipped from Spade. “Go… protect… them…” he whispered, his voice fading.

  Akitsu caught Spade mid-air, but Jian did not. The red petals of Conjure drifted faintly from the black water in Akitsu’s mind, a reminder that one life had been lost—irreversibly.

  Selene knelt, checking Jian’s position. “…No… he’s gone.” Her voice broke.

  Rhen phased near the fallen knight’s spot, disbelief written across his face. “He… saved us. He saved us all.”

  Akitsu’s jaw tightened. “And now… the fight continues. He’s gone, but Yurei has gained power from every soul he consumed tonight. This… isn’t over.”

  Selene rose slowly, eyes steely. “We follow. For Jian. For the kingdom.”

  Rhen nodded. “He made the sacrifice so we could survive. We can’t waste it.”

  Akitsu looked up toward the last shimmer of the Wandering Veil. “…And we need to end this. For everyone. No more delays.”

  In the distance, the palace towers glimmered faintly. Three of the four high councillors had perished tonight in the chaos—Lord Harrow belm, Lady maelis Thorne, and high councillor eldric vaen—their deaths a tragic cost of Yurei’s hunger and the battle that had engulfed Crestfall. Only high chancellor Liora Dren remained, shaken but alive.

  Akitsu clenched his fists. “Then let’s finish this. For Jian. For the people. For the kingdom.”

  Rhen, Selene, and Akitsu advanced toward the heart of the ruined city, knowing that Yurei, hungry and strengthened, waited for them still—cold, calculating, and ready to devour anything that came near.

  The wind carried a whisper through the broken streets: the endless hunger was not yet sated.

  And the next battle would determine the fate of Crestfall itself.