The dust hadn't even settled when the golden light dimmed.
The air inside the warehouse expanded hot and cold at the same time making the entire room feel like a giant pair of lungs drawing in a breath.
Kael lay sprawled on the floor, face pale, hands trembling as he clutched a half-scorched resonance meter.
Rhen stood in a defensive stance; his sword remained raised, but his fingers twitched with uncertainty even a soldier of his caliber could sense that something in the room was far beyond logic.
And at the center of the rubble
stood Mira.
Or… something wearing Mira's body.
Her eyes were no longer the eyes of a Shaolin student.
Not even human eyes.
They were the eyes of Eden: deep gold, glowing like sunlight dipped into night.
The aura made Rhen step back without realizing it.
Kael held his breath.
Only Eren remained still like he'd been waiting for this moment for years.
"Mira?" Kael called softly. "Mira, can you hear me…?"
But Mira didn't respond.
The light around her body pulsed gently, like a second heart that had just come alive.
Then, for the first time, the voice spoke.
Not a human voice.
Not something external.
It came from inside Mira woven into her breath.
"Awareness… restored."
Kael jerked. "Th-that's not Mira's voice!"
Rhen tightened his grip on his sword. "Who's in her body?!"
Eren stepped forward, cold but steady.
"Ensaria."
The voice inside Mira spoke again clearer, older.
"I have not taken this body."
"I was born with it."
"I awakened because she was recognized."
Mira's Ensaria's eyes slowly shifted toward Eren.
That gaze cut through bone, reading every layer of a person's soul.
"Descendant of the old Guardians… You've finally arrived."
Eren lowered his head slightly a rare gesture of respect toward anyone.
"Ensaria. Core Keeper of Eden. I've been searching for you."
"I know."
The glow around Mira dimmed slightly, revealing her face yet still wrapped in an aura that bent reason.
"Mira?" Rhen called. "Can you still hear us?"
Mira opened her mouth, voice trembling:
"I… I can hear you… but the voice… she's… inside…"
Ensaria's tone overlapped lightly:
"This body is not in danger."
"You do not need to fear, Mira."
Mira leaned against the wall, breath shaking.
"Don't tell me I'm… like… two people in one body now?"
Ensaria replied coldly:
"No. We are one core with two consciousnesses."
Kael clutched his head. "Bro this is crazier than any WHSD protocol…"
Eren stepped closer only two meters away from her.
"Ensaria. Why awaken now? The Gate isn't ready."
Ensaria's aura vibrated, making the dust spiral in the air.
"The Gate has cracked."
Rhen straightened instantly. "Cracked? Meaning"
"Whatever attacked Eden before… has returned."
The words shook the room like a small earthquake.
Kael stared at Eren. "So the legend of Eden's destruction… is real?"
Eren nodded. "Yes. Eden's enemy creatures that cannot be killed return when the Gate weakens."
Ensaria added:
"And they are already in this world."
The temperature in the warehouse dropped.
A silent omen settled something moving in the shadows of the city.
Kael swallowed hard. "Are the cults part of them?"
Ensaria's reply was instant:
"The cults are merely pawns. Empty shells."
Rhen asked quietly, "Then what is the real enemy?"
Ensaria's light dimmed as if choosing the least soul-breaking words.
"They are source-eaters."
"Creatures that feed on the core consciousness of worlds."
"And they want Mira."
Mira flinched. "Me? Why always me? Am I like a magnet for disaster?!"
Eren answered flatly, yet there was something almost sympathetic in his tone:
"Because your body is Eden's core vessel. Without you, the Gate cannot be sealed again."
Kael dragged his hand down his face. "Bro this isn't even an operation anymore. This is apocalypse-tier stuff."
Ensaria spoke again, suddenly gentler:
"Mira… your body is changing because my resonance awakened."
"You must choose."
The air tightened.
Mira swallowed. "Choose… what?"
Ensaria's answer made all three men stiffen:
"Allow me to take partial control when necessary… or refuse and face fatal consequences."
"Fatal how?" Mira asked.
Ensaria answered without pause:
"Your body cannot sustain two active consciousnesses without synchronization. If you refuse… your body will collapse."
Mira paled.
Rhen muttered a curse.
Kael nearly fainted.
Eren wasn't surprised at all.
Ensaria continued:
"This choice is not to dominate you."
"It is to keep us alive."
Mira closed her eyes her body trembling, breath shaky.
"I… I need time…"
Eren stepped closer, voice low:
"We'll help you, Mira. But you must stay strong. The world can't survive without its Guardian."
Ensaria added:
"And the enemy is close to finding you."
CRASH
The warehouse door exploded inward.
The air shifted.
Dark.
Cold.
Hissing like ancient whispers.
And through the shattered doorway…
stepped a humanoid creature with silver, pupil-less eyes, its body like liquid shadow.
Kael screamed, "OH GREAT THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT HUMAN!"
The creature spoke its voice layered, like three people speaking at once:
"Guardian… located."
Ensaria inside Mira flared with light.
Eren drew his sword.
Rhen braced to strike.
Their greatest battle… had just begun.