As Veytan whispered the ancient words, he stepped toward the ground that separated them from the grave, raised his blood-stained hand, and knelt to draw a complex circular sigil on the cold stone. Interwoven lines, overlapping circles, and symbols that seemed torn from the memory of forgotten gods formed before their eyes in a mesmerizing, majestic sequence.
At the center of the sigil, he drew a large symbol resembling a sun with eight rays, from which jagged lines jutted like thorns. Beside it, he carved a terrifying image of a roaring lion's head, its eyes glowing with eternal wrath, and its fangs bared as if biting time itself.
When the drawing was complete, Veytan stood in the center of the sigil and raised his arms toward the stone ceiling. His voice, no longer a whisper, now boomed resonating from the very heart of the castle:
"O ancient seal, shade of the first chains, you whose curse was etched into my bones
By spilled blood, by the imprisoned light, by the broken silence
Break!"
The sigil trembled, its symbols glowing a deep, blood-red, then began to rise from the ground as if transformed into fire made of light. The air compressed suddenly, and Musa and Emilia felt a crushing pressure on their chests, as if the entire castle was holding its breath.
Then suddenly a sound, like a muffled explosion, echoed not in their ears but in their very souls.
The torches went out. Darkness engulfed them for a few seconds before a faint violet light surged from beneath the ground, flowing through the sigil and vanishing into the walls... as if something truly had broken.
Veytan raised his head, his chest heaving, and said in a quiet voice, yet one charged with a hidden triumph
"The chains are broken... only one remains the way out."
He looked at them, the light of the sigil reflecting off his face.
"The curse is fading... we'll be free, soon."
No sooner had the incantation been spoken and the seal broken than a terrible sound echoed through the castle as if the earth itself was screaming. The mansion groaned beneath the strain of unraveling. Its walls cracked, its ornaments crumbled, and dust fell from the ceiling like ash. Amidst the chaos, pale spirits erupted from the walls and the floor faces distorted, their features blurred, as though they had been deliberately forgotten.
The spirits screamed not the cries of the living, but a wail trapped between life and death. They rushed toward them, and Musa shouted in panic"What are those?!"
Veytan yelled, his arms outstretched
"The lost souls… those the castle devoured. They were part of my curse, and now that it's broken, they're free mindless and aimless!"
With a sharp motion, he struck the ground with his palm, conjuring a vortex of shadow that swallowed the first wave of spirits, turning them to soft ash. But they kept coming more and more, as if a gate beyond time itself had been opened, unleashing hundreds, even thousands.
Veytan shouted again, snapping his fingers:
"Hold on to me!"
And in a heartbeat, they found themselves standing before the mansion's main gate—the exit bathed in a dim light, as if it were the only glimmer of hope in this hell. But suddenly, the distance stretched again, the path ahead transforming into an endless corridor, growing longer with each step. The magic that had carried them no longer worked.
Veytan growled,
"The space is warping… the curse is collapsing, and time itself is shattering! There's no escape now unless we run!"
He took off first, then shouted back,
"Run!"
Musa grabbed Emilia's hand her strength draining after the blood loss and helped her run beside him. They sprinted, chased by the spirits bursting from walls, floors, and ceilings. The dead leapt over them, shrieking as the trio stumbled on the edge of terror and exhaustion.
Then just as they neared the door a feral shadow lashed out. A vicious spirit, its features a blur, caught Emilia's leg and yanked her backward.
Emilia screamed,
"Muuusa!"
Musa froze. His eyes widened, his body paralyzed with horror. He watched helplessly as his friend was dragged into the darkness, her scream torn from her throat.
Then suddenly
Time stopped.
Everything froze the spirits, the dust, the screams even the sorrow.
And then
The moment replayed.
The same instant, only ten seconds earlier. Musa running beside Emilia, the spirit hadn't touched her yet.
"What…?!" Musa gasped, his heart lurching.
Emilia looked at him with wide eyes, stunned.
Before either could react, Veytan grabbed them both and shoved them through the open door into the light.
Suddenly...
They were outside.
Cold air. A damp breeze. Stars above. They had escaped. At last.
They stood beyond the threshold, chests heaving, skin slick with sweat. Behind them, the old castle crumbled as if being folded out of time itself. The three stood still, darkness hanging above them but lighter, somehow, than the darkness they had left behind.
Musa stared at the collapsing castle, his eyes trembling with the weight of what had happened. He whispered,
"Did we really… do it? Did we escape that nightmare? Is the story of the cursed mansion… over?"
Emilia was staring at her bloodstained hands, unable to believe they were still alive. Veytan stood in silence, shoulders squared, long hair dancing in the wind, his face bearing the eerie calm that precedes a storm.
At last, he spoke without turning to them
"The seal is broken. The mansion will vanish… But what matters most… is that I am free."
Emilia asked, her voice tinged with dread,
"What now? Where will you go?"
He turned toward her, eyes gleaming with something ancient and fierce:
"To their castle… to their stolen throne… to those who believed the age of Veytan had ended. They will learn blood does not forget."
But before he could depart, Musa stepped forward, blocking his path with a scowl:
"I won't let us be the spark that births another monster. No matter how dark the past… the present cannot bear the fire of your vengeance."
Veytan responded with a cold gaze
"I didn't ask your permission. But you'll understand, soon… this isn't vengeance. It's balance."
Emilia looked between them and spoke, her voice the bridge between two worlds"Let's rest first… then talk. Each of us survived, but only in pieces."
As the remnants of the castle faded into the distance like a mirage lost to time, Emilia turned to Veytan, her voice low and heavy with warning
"We must leave this place… now. If we linger, eyes we haven't seen yet may find us… and next time, there may be no escape."
Veytan didn't answer. Instead, he extended his hand into the void. Suddenly, a thick darkness spilled from his body as if night itself coursed through his veins. The shadows wrapped around them like a cocoon, veiling them from all that surrounded them, then began to move carrying them through a tunnel of endless dusk.
Moments passed… or perhaps ages… until the darkness unraveled.
They now stood in a vast, silent courtyard, scattered with gravestones like forgotten memories. Before them rose a great marble monument, its faded golden letters etched into time:
"Here lies Michael I… First Protector of the Crown."
Musa stared at the inscription, his voice hoarse:
"Is this it? Norin…?"
Veytan nodded without looking at them. He stood before the tomb like a statue carved from sorrow and fury, and muttered between clenched teeth:
"I just wanted to look into the face of his betrayal… even if carved in stone. To be sure… he's truly beneath the dirt."
No one replied. Silence fell between them, heavy as an unspoken funeral. Finally, Mousa broke it, trying to gather the shattered pieces of himself:
"Veytan… don't rush toward revenge in madness. I know pain is tearing you apart, but haste now could doom us all. We don't know who they've become… or what kind of power the royal bloodline now hides."
Emilia nodded instantly"We must tread carefully. Their blood still runs strong… and they didn't bury us as they did you. They won't make the same mistake twice. And they've likely already sensed the fall of the mansion. They'll be ready for you."
Veytan was silent for a long moment, then sighed, as if releasing a thousand years of torment
"Your words carry weight… I won't let rage lead me into another abyss. We'll wait… and plan."
Then, suddenly, he turned to Musa with searching eyes and said"But there's something I couldn't ignore… When the spirits seized Emilia in the mansion, she should have been lost. But something rewound time exactly ten seconds and reset the moment as if it never happened. That wasn't magic… it was something deeper."
Musa gasped, his voice trembling
"Are you saying… I did that?!"
Veytan answered calmly
"I'm saying you belong to a rare kind… or rather, a kind that's never been recorded. A gift that manipulates time? That's no ordinary power. That's… unprecedented."
Musa lowered his head, drowning in a flood of memories his father telling him his eye was a curse… the mysterious deaths of his loved ones… the loneliness, the fear, the endless guilt.
He whispered, as if to himself"Then… why did my father say it was a curse? Why… did he lie to me?"
No one answered. The question was too deep, too raw. But Emilia placed her hand on his shoulder, sharing his sorrow without a word.
He raised his head again, voice steadier, more resolute
"Veytan… what are these gifts? And what are these Tiers you speak of?"
Veytan gave a crooked smile, empty of warmth"I'm no academy professor… nor a guide for half-talents."
He began to walk away, as if the question didn't deserve a reply. But after a few paces, he stopped and said without turning"…But fine. I'll teach you when the time comes. Because understanding your gift may not only change your life… it may change the world. Though I doubt it."
He walked off alone. Neither of them asked where he was going. For now, they were simply relieved… to be free of him even if only for a while.