The southern sky turned to ash.
Winds howled as the air warped and twisted around the lone figure standing at the edge of the Sanctuary's perimeter. The Bonebound's cloak of shadow swayed like smoke, and the Rift tether dragging behind him pulsed with unnatural light—each beat bending reality slightly out of sync.
Ethan stood atop the southern wall, sword in hand, heart pounding.
Their eyes met—his glowing blue, the Bonebound's a warped mirror. The same color. The same power.
Kael leaned in, voice low. "That thing… it's like you."
"No," Ethan whispered. "It's what I'll become… if I lose."
Without another word, he leapt from the wall.
---
He landed in the scorched field with a crash, sword drawn, dust rising around him. The Bonebound didn't flinch. Up close, Ethan could see that his armor wasn't forged—but grown. Spikes of bone jutted from his arms and ribs, engraved with pulsating black runes.
"You've awakened," the Bonebound said, his voice echoing with otherworldly resonance. "But you're still unfinished. Half a lock. Half a key."
"I don't know who you are," Ethan said, lifting his blade. "But I'm not here to talk."
The Bonebound tilted his head slightly. "Ah… but your blood remembers me. Even if your mind does not."
The ground exploded beneath Ethan's feet as the Bonebound lunged.
Their blades clashed with a shockwave that threw nearby debris into the air. Ethan gritted his teeth, sliding back. The Bonebound's strength was unreal—like fighting a storm given form.
"You carry the last mark," the Bonebound said, his movements like liquid shadow. "But you have not bled for it yet. You have not earned its truth."
Ethan roared, swinging again, the rune-sword trailing arcs of dark light. The Bonebound blocked with a clawed gauntlet, sparks flying. "You fight like your father," the Bonebound added, twisting under Ethan's guard and landing a punch to his gut that launched him back.
Ethan slammed into a broken pillar, coughing blood.
Father.
His head throbbed. Visions flickered—images buried deep. A man's hand on his shoulder. A promise. Fire. Screams.
"You knew him," Ethan growled, wiping blood from his mouth.
"I trained beside him," the Bonebound said calmly. "And I watched him die. Not from beasts. But from your mother's choice."
Ethan's blood ran cold. "You're lying."
"I've seen the truth. Felt the Rift's memory. And you, Ethan…" The Bonebound stepped closer, raising his clawed hand. "You are both their sins made flesh."
Ethan roared, charging again—but this time, the mark on his chest pulsed violently.
Boom.
Dark fire erupted from his blade as Ethan released a slash infused with Rift energy. It caught the Bonebound by surprise, slicing through the tethered mist and forcing him back. The strike burned across his bone-armor, cracking part of his chestplate.
The Bonebound didn't scream.
He smiled.
"Yes… now you begin to see."
Before Ethan could press the attack, tendrils of black mist exploded from the Rift tether and slammed into the ground—summoning monstrous, twisted beasts from the other side. Fanged, blind creatures with too many limbs and seared flesh, snarling in unison.
"Kill the others," the Bonebound commanded, turning away. "But leave the boy. He must witness what's to come."
Ethan's eyes widened as the beasts rushed toward the walls of the Sanctuary.
"No—!"
But the Bonebound vanished, consumed by shadow.
---
Above, the alarms screamed again.
Zeila and Kael were already in motion, leading squads of Hunters to intercept the invading beasts. Arrows flew, flames erupted, and the courtyard lit up with combat.
Veyra appeared beside Ethan, eyes hard. "Report!"
Ethan's chest heaved. "He knew my father. He knew everything. And he's trying to awaken the Rift... through me."
Veyra's eyes narrowed. "What did he call himself?"
"He didn't say." Ethan stood shakily, blade still glowing. "But I know what he is."
"What?"
Ethan turned toward the battlefield, face hard. "He's the first gate. And I'm the last one."
---