The air hung heavy—so heavy it felt as though an unseen giant pressed its palm against the world. Space trembled. The sky quivered. The ground groaned under the weight of a power that did not belong to mortals, or even to this era.
Veer knelt amid the ruin, cradling Eleana against him. Her breaths were thin, fragile… each one a fraying thread threatening to snap. His vision blurred; tears slipped down in silence before the scream finally tore out of him—raw, guttural, something ripped from the deepest place inside.
Why… why…
The battlefield around him had become a fever-dream of horror. Corpses rose like a crimson mountain—twisted, stacked, and faintly pulsing with the remnants of stolen consciousness. The air thrummed with a parasitic hum, like insects crawling beneath the skin of reality.
Far beyond the horizon, a colossal void clawed at the sky—ripping, repairing, refusing to let the world settle.And to the north, Drudar's kingdom flickered behind layers of blue shields, trembling under the tidal advance of soulless puppets.
Veer looked down.Eleana's fingers twitched—a small, desperate motion—and a thin blue veil flickered around them.
"Eleana—what are you doing?! Stop!" His voice cracked.
She smiled faintly, silver-white hair sticking to her blood-spattered cheek."Veer… d-don't… worry…"
A cough shook her. Blood traced down her chin.
"It was you… wasn't it? Back then… you saved me… from him…"
Veer stiffened."What?"
"If you weren't there… I'd have died. Father too…""I wanted revenge but… I was too weak…"
Her voice shrank to a whisper."Veer… stay safe…"
Her eyes slid shut. The barrier dissolved like mist under sunlight.
Veer pressed his forehead to hers, trembling."I'll protect you," he whispered. "No matter what it costs."
His mind cracked—half terror, half burning rage. Clayren and the Grey Knight were nowhere in sight, but distant shockwaves and collapsing earth told him the war raged on without mercy.
From afar, Noelle watched with a mocking smirk—until she saw Veer's expression shift, felt the air twist around him—and something cold crawled up her spine.
...
Kerin rushed to Veer's side, voice tight."Veer. She can be saved—but only the King or maybe princess Eryssa knows the method. Her wounds… the residual energy inside her is beyond even Grey Knights. We cannot stay here."
John strode forward, armor cracked but aura blazing."Sythris and I will hold the darkness. Will join you guys shortly. You take her and move."
He drove his flaming sword into the ground.
A sun-like inferno erupted outward—devouring shadows, reducing puppets to drifting ash.
Knights shielded their eyes."Is he… human?" one whispered.
Far back, Noelle's expression froze.
"No… don't tell me—he's really—"
A blur snapped across the battlefield.
Crack.
Half her skull caved in.She survived only because her puppet-defense bronchet activated in the split second before death.
But as she staggered, as the broken pieces of her trump card flickered and died—she understood.
It was gone.Her advantage.
And the attacker—someone she knew—had already vanished.
Panic seized her. She turned to flee—
But the void rippled once.
And Noelle was swallowed by the distortion unnoticed .
Nyelle, broken and barely conscious, witnessed the impossible—her sister's terror, the unknown attacker, the flickering void—before darkness consumed her too.
Moments later Sethsi descended in a streak of violet steel, cutting down puppets and lifting Nyelle gently.
"Nothing fits…" she muttered. "Merissa… what have you done?"
"This presence here.... hmm ... wasn't she dead....."
…
Veer and Kerin charged toward the northern shields, Eleana secured in Veer's gentle hands on his horse. Behind them, John, Sythris, and the remaining knights fought their way back toward the walls of Drudar.
The back was covered by darkness rising the front before the walls by a blue thin veil and dust settled everywhere.
A knight from behind asked Kerin stammering,"Kerin, Who is the enemy ?"
Another knight chimed in,"Is this a farce....first the enemy was Breavan...the so many of us died in the knight for no reason... later we see commander and veer both injured....we know nothing...Now there is some unexplainable hand of darkness and puppet army of undead,..."
Kerin sighed as he said,"I have no idea what is going on..."
He looked at Veer who had his eyes on Eleana as Veer nodded,"Most probably multiple very powerful people's conspiracy is involved.....here..." as he looked somewhere and he shook his head...what was that he wondered....
He asked Kerin,"Did you see that old man who helped me?"
Kerin nodded as the other knights also listened attentively while riding the horses," His presence was concentrated but its as vasst as the purple sea..."
Kerin shivered as he said looking at the sky covered by dust.....the walls faintly visible,"Lots of things are not making sense at all Veer..."
Veer nodded as he said,"the gates are closed now... so how are we going inside..."
Kerin retrieved a badge as he said,"Just have to throw that out.."
Veer looked at the intricate badge covered with the symbol of the familiar Eryssa look alike woman with a bow as he muttered,"Emerald bow...."
As they neared the gates Temur, a knight asked KErin,"Leader I don't feel any presences atop the bridge.. who will respond... It seems after the blue screens erected they went somewhere else..."
Kerin muttered,"Strange ..." as he looked at Veer...whose eyes were piercing now....
As Kerin focussed where Veer was staring Veer shouted,"Move ,everyone" ....as he quickly gave Eleana to Kerin as he said ,"Go...."
Kerin and others had just moved a bit far when there was a bang sound.
A massive blast,... Something crashed into Veer. It moved at astonishing speed from the above the walls. Completely Black armor ..The rest of team barely was out of the crash as the area there broke and Veer and the knight gone somewhere deep underground....
Kerin was dumbly looking there as he shouted ,"Veerrrrr...."
He started running to get there but was stopped by Temur, Rarel and other knights .
Rarel composed him and said,"Veer is not weak..He will not die easily... we focus on the task he gave us.."
Kerin struggled to go underground and then sighed as he looked at Eleana.
After a while Kerin moved with Eleana and others to treat her....
....
Veer was in a dark room as he groaned. His whole body were covered with blood. He looked st his hand. It seemed he was in a land of blood. He looked around.Everywhere were dead bodies. As he barely stood up, A huge knight was standing infront of him.It was the same knight standing behind the king. One of the two grey knights of Drudar.
Veer was overwhelmed by the surroundings as though it many people were killed here. The ends of the room extended far away in every direction so likely there was an underground arena throughout Drudar. Just what was happening ? The ground was red as the knight approached him slowly pulling two swords as two more hands stretched from his back. He had dual swords red and blue just like that lady who attacked him and Eleana with Noelle in the underground.
His head throbbed as the knight suddenly jumped high and a downward cut from red sword Veer parried barely ,next immediately he kicked with his leg and Veer jumped to avoid that. Veer didn't get a moment gain as the knight jumped and attacked again with both swords as he parried that with his Katana but bang....the force of that push sent him tumbling away.
The knight threw his weapon as it came straight as though trying to pierce Veer's head. Veer screamed as he stopped himself from the backward momentum using his feet and shoved is katana with both hands and and blocked it.There was heavy clank as he was sent few pillars back again. This time he had difficulty getting up as the knight again came near him as it spoke in a ridicule voice "Such a weak person claiming to be a variable....Let's end this"
Veer knew the guy ahead was miles ahead him in terms of strength and unless he had the power of that projection Veer he had no chance. So he decided to gamble.Recently he had barely formed the complete core. He focussed and emptied the wholly of his fully formed star chakra core into his hands as he closed his eyes.
The star energy flowed through his Nadis as his veins in hands veins bulged. His Katana started to shimmer for the first time. The Katana was twinkling a little bit in the dark underground.
It was in contrast with the darkness and also the faint glow from ice and red sword in the knight's hands. A subtle name came to his mind , Starweaver's singularity Slash .....Veer was trying to replicate the unavoidable move.
Veer after contemplation knew that the projection Veer had performed that move so that he could gain insight. All his trainings had bore fruit. The whole area stilled in silence as the knight's eyes squinted.
The knight ahead suddenly exclaimed,"Oh I see starweaver huh.... so you are not a fraud... a real starweaver....still exists...very well ...."
The knight put both his sword upward and the drove them into the pool of blood in a criss cross position as though preparing for something.
Veer said in a tiring voice,"You all are really heartless... just how many innocents were killed..."
The knight just made a tsk.
Veer suddenly felt very exhausted.He knew he had to release the move now. He executed the move. He was actually continously remembering he scene how the projection did the move.
He could feel a subtle connection to enemy's weakness as though his sword connected to that portion of knight. The Katana itself seemed to come alive.
Very faint starlights seem to converge at the grey knight's heart position as his pupils dilated .Next seconds four puppets from somewhere attacked Veer from all directions as the grey knight said,"Kill him...."
But there was no Veer.The was a clicking sound and flash of starlight. He moved so fast that none of the attacks hit him. He was already behind the knight now whose heart chest armor was damaged.His armor dropped one by one and blood started coming out as Veer had a satisfied look. At least some damage was made. Veer thought.
He then sighed and collapsed unconscious into the pool of blood as he muttered,"Be safe Eleana...."
The grey knight screamed,"Bastard... this attack even penetrated my impenetrable defense...he really is a variable.. "
He raised his blue sword as iciciles started to form It became huge and it slashed towards Veer.
Just as the attack was to land on Veer, then two daintly hands caught the sword. The knight was stunned to see a figure in red smiling at him .