The door creaked open, and two figures stepped into the room.
The first woman moved with an ease that suggested she had long grown used to being watched. She wore a flowing white dress beneath a black cloak, the fabric catching the light in soft waves. Her arms were covered in black gloves, each wrist wrapped in gold jewelry shaped into the unmistakable insignia of golden wings. Even her boots were trimmed with gold, polished enough to reflect the room's glow. Everything about her radiated authority. A high-ranking Riftborn, without question. Maybe even guild leadership.
The second woman followed closely behind. Her attire was darker, a black robe lined with thin golden strands that shimmered like threads of molten metal. A deliberate cut along her left side exposed a long, toned thigh, marked with a tattoo of a golden wing. But unlike the first woman's symbol, each feather in her tattoo sharpened into the shape of a blade. It wasn't decoration. It was a statement.
Both of them carried the quiet presence of people who had seen Arkael more times than anyone should. The air around them felt heavier, like the veil itself had seeped into the room with them.
"I apologize for the late introduction," the woman in the white dress said as she took the seat across from me, offering a warm smile.
"No worries," I replied, though my own smile felt a little stiff.
The woman in the black robe stayed silent. Her presence alone filled the room more than any words she could have spoken.
Aunt Jeya entered from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a small towel. "Seyfe, this is Garrenya. The woman in white. She is the guild leader of the Hikolima Blade Guild and also the family heir."
"Ah… huh." My voice cracked slightly. My mind scrambled to find something more intelligent to say, but nothing came.
Garrenya let out a soft laugh. "Relax. I am not one for formalities," she said, waving her hand lightly as if brushing the tension out of the air.
She leaned back comfortably. "Your aunt is a close friend of mine. Technically, she is my junior by three years. So it is quite something to have my junior personally request your enrollment into our guild."
I swallowed. "I see."
"The veil will open in two weeks, and we want you ready for your first descent into Arkael," Garrenya continued.
I hesitated for a moment before asking, "I was wondering why you decided to have me enroll early. Aside from getting me prepared before the event."
A quiet chuckle slipped from her lips. "Because after the first phase of the veil, any riftborn who survives becomes a target. Guilds will bombard you with offers the moment you return. And some of those guilds are not what they claim to be. There are reports of fakes, scammers, people trying to gather new riftborn for their own gain."
She tapped a finger lightly on her knee." As a gesture of care for my junior here, I decided to take you in before anything suspicious tries to latch onto you. And based on your results, you qualify. So I figured, why not?"
Her smile returned, calm and unshaken.
And for the first time, I understood just how serious this was.
She reached into her cloak and handed me a thin folder. The paper was warm, as if she had been holding it for a while. I opened it carefully, trying not to look too eager.
Inside were several documents stamped with red markers. Photographs, lists, insignias that looked almost legitimate, and pages of notes describing forged guilds and criminal syndicates disguised as recruitment offices. But the last few pages carried something far heavier.
A graph. A downward line. A slow and steady fall across three years.
"As you can see, the number of riftborn rising each year has been declining," Garrenya said, her voice losing some of its earlier ease.
The graph dipped more sharply toward the end. A pit forming at the bottom. The current year was the lowest yet.
"The International Guild Council made a decision because of this." Garrenya tapped the page lightly. "Experienced riftborn will be entering during the first phase of the veil. As for newly awakened riftborn, those whose embers are still to be ignited, they will be allowed to enter through the cracks the veil manifests afterward."
I frowned slightly. "So the council wants the veterans to go first and gather intel. To find out why the numbers are dropping."
"Exactly," she said. "Those who have already survived a first phase are being sent again to uncover the cause of the decline."
Her eyes shifted toward the silent woman beside her.
"Only a hundred and fifty riftborn worldwide were approved to enter the first phase this year," she continued. "That includes my personal servant here, Perida."
I followed her gaze. Perida, the woman in the black robe, looked back at me. Her expression did not change. Her presence felt as if she were carved from stone.
And yet, the air around her carried a weight I could not name. A weight that made the declining numbers on the graph feel much more real than ink on paper.
"The operation will have the one hundred fifty riftborn enter first after securing the initial gravity pull. Thirty minutes later, the dormant riftborn will follow," Aunt Jeya explained.
Her words settled heavily in my chest. The first wave would face the unknown alone, clearing a path through whatever awaited on the other side.
I turned to her. "Aunt Jeya, are you one of the one hundred fifty too?"
She shook her head. "No. The majority must remain stationed on Earth in case an outbreak occurs. Someone needs to hold the line here."
Relief touched me, but it did not soothe anything. If she stayed behind, it only meant she would be watching the veil from this side while others faced what lurked within.
"Do not worry," Garrenya said. "We will make sure you are properly geared before you go in."
Her confidence should have reassured me, yet all I could feel was a low ache in my stomach. Becoming an awakened riftborn was supposed to be a milestone. A mark of honor. But now it felt like stepping into a storm that no one fully understood.
Garrenya leaned forward slightly. "We shall begin your regime tomorrow. Is that acceptable?"
Aunt Jeya nodded before I could answer, but I found myself agreeing as well. My voice felt smaller than I expected. "Yes. That works."
Tomorrow would be my first day entering the real world of riftborn training.
Tomorrow, everything would begin.
The start of something new that would change my life.
I had been anticipating it for years, imagining the moment I would finally step toward my own path as a riftborn. Yet now that it was here, the feeling that settled in me was nothing like the excitement I once pictured. It was quiet. Heavy. Almost solemn.
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling as the dim light from the street filtered through my curtains. Shadows shifted softly across the room. My heart refused to calm, beating with a rhythm too fast for sleep.
Every time I closed my eyes, the same thoughts pressed against me. Training. Arkael. The veil opening in two weeks. The possibility of not returning.
I turned to the side and pulled the blanket closer, but the warmth did nothing. The silence made everything louder.
No matter how hard I tried, sleep stayed out of reach. My mind kept conjuring the same image of the veil's black curtain opening across the sky, swallowing cities in its wake. The same image that changed the world long before I existed.
Tomorrow would be the first step toward that place.
And even though I tried to steady my breathing, the truth remained.
I was scared. But I still had to go.
I closed my eyes again, hoping that if I could not sleep, at least the night would pass quickly.
Before I realized it, my alarm began to beep.
The sudden noise jolted me upright. My heart leaped as if I had been pulled from a nightmare, though I wasn't sure I had slept enough to dream at all. I turned toward the window, blinking against the soft glare.
Morning had already arrived. Pale sunlight spilled into my room, stretching across the floorboards and climbing slowly toward my face. It felt warm, almost comforting, yet it only reminded me of the day I had been dreading.
I caught sight of my reflection in the glass. My red eyes stared back at me, slightly puffed and glowing faintly in the light.
For a split second, I flinched. Right. I forgot how terrible I look after a sleepless night.
"Ugh… I should probably wash my face," I muttered to myself, pushing the blanket away.
My legs felt numb as I swung them off the bed, but the cold floor snapped me fully awake. Today was the beginning. The real beginning. And somehow, washing up felt like the only thing I still had control over.
I took a deep breath and headed toward the bathroom.
Today… I face whatever a riftborn is supposed to become.