Morning light spilled through the stained-glass windows of the church, painting the floor in soft blues, greens, and reds. For once, no one woke up with a weapon in hand. No monsters outside. No whispers in the dark.
Just… quiet.
⸻
They gathered near the altar — all of them.
Shoto. Elizabeth. Pate. Gage. KJ. Brandon. Riley. The other two survivors.
Eight souls, worn thin, but still breathing.
Shoto stood at the front with the journal open in one hand. "Alright," he said, voice steady. "We're all here. Let's figure this out."
They went around one by one.
• Pate and Gage talked about the vault, the guardians, and the symbol of light and blood.
• KJ shared what happened with the manipulator — how Brandon saved him, and how close he came to losing control.
• Brandon added what little he knew about being drawn into Valoria — how he woke up knowing only one thing: find KJ.
• Riley's group explained their own survival — storms, illusions, the mark on the quiet boy's arm, and the strange creature they'd seen moving in the north.
Shoto laid out everything about the Hollowed Ring, the Veiled agent's final words, and the massive creature that had landed somewhere far away.
Finally, Elizabeth showed them the latest journal entries. The room fell silent as she read:
"It has a name. It remembers you."
"Not all who fall through the veil are friends."
"Choose who you trust. Or die beside them."
⸻
No one spoke for a long time.
Gage finally broke the silence. "So… what now?"
"We rest," Elizabeth said. "Just for today. Then we decide."
⸻
That night, the group lay scattered across the pews and side rooms of the church.
The light dimmed.
The warmth faded into calm.
And one by one…
They slept.
⸻
⸻
Shoto opened his eyes.
He was lying in his bed.
His actual bed.
The mattress. The pillow. The posters on the wall. The faint buzz of a phone charging on the nightstand.
Sunlight poured through the blinds.
Down the hall, someone was making toast.
⸻
He bolted upright.
Outside the room, voices — familiar ones.
Pate yelling about cereal.
KJ saying something sarcastic.
Elizabeth's laugh, just outside the door.
⸻
Shoto stumbled out into the hallway — and saw them.
All of them.
In his house.
Wearing their regular clothes. Clean. Normal.
No marks.
No weapons.
No Valoria.
⸻
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Elizabeth said with a smirk.
And for a moment… it was like none of it ever happened.