The Threads hummed softly, their glow a soothing rhythm that signalled the return of balance. Maya's essence, now part of the weave, resonated in harmony with the tapestry of existence. Yet, within the restored tranquillity, she felt something—an anomaly, faint but distinct.
"Adrian," she called her voice an extension of the Threads. "Do you feel it?"
Adrian's echo, dimmer than before, stirred beside her.
"Yes," he replied, his tone laced with unease. "Something is still out there."
Maya concentrated, sending her awareness rippling through the Threads. Her presence touched countless lives, their stories unfolding across timelines. Yet, in one far-flung corner of the web, she found it—a lone thread pulsing erratically, its light fading.
"It's a fracture," she murmured. "But... it shouldn't be possible. The Veil is sealed."
Adrian's essence flickered.
"If the Forgotten were entirely banished, the Threads would be silent. But this—"
Before he could finish, a sharp tremor tore through the Threads, sending shockwaves rippling across the web. Echoes distorted, their forms blurring like ink in water. Maya recoiled, overwhelmed by the sudden chaos.
"What's happening?" she demanded.
The fractured thread unravelled before her, revealing a void—a gaping darkness that radiated a chilling familiarity. From within it emerged a faint whisper, a voice neither Forgotten nor mortal.
"Did you think sealing the Veil would end us?" the voice sneered. "The Threads are ours to reclaim."
Maya's presence surged toward the void, but it was too late. A tendril of shadow darted through the Threads, wrapping around the core of another timeline. As it did, Maya watched in horror as that part of the tapestry began to fade, the lives it held blinking out like dying stars.
"No!" she cried, channelling her energy to stabilize the Threads.
Adrian's voice rang out urgently.
"Maya, stop! You can't fight it directly—it's not like the Rift or the Forgotten. This is something else entirely."
"Then what do I do?" she shouted, desperation creeping into her voice.
The shadow retreated momentarily, its presence lingering at the edge of perception. Maya felt a cold realization settle over her—it was learning, adapting to her presence in the Threads.
"This isn't over," she said, her resolve hardening. "Whatever this is, it's using the Threads to feed on existence. We have to stop it before it spreads."
Adrian hesitated, his echo flickering weakly.
"The Threads are fragile now, Maya. If you push too hard—"
"I know the risks," she interrupted. "But I didn't come this far to let it all fall apart again."
The Search for the Source
Maya focused her awareness, searching for the origin of the anomaly. The Threads trembled beneath her touch, as though they, too, were afraid of what lay ahead. She traced the shadow's path, weaving through countless timelines, until she reached the edge of the tapestry—a place where light gave way to nothingness.
Here, she found a tear. Unlike the Rift or the Forgotten's influence, this rupture felt ancient, primal, and entirely alien. It pulsed with a dark energy that seemed to exist outside the Threads' laws.
"This isn't from our time," Maya whispered. "It's something older, something... forgotten by even the Forgotten."
Adrian's voice trembled.
"The Threads might not be enough to hold this back. If this thing tears through reality—"
"It won't," Maya said firmly. "Because I won't let it."
She reached toward the tear, her essence trembling as the void pushed back. The darkness was alive, and it recognized her.
"You cannot stop what was never meant to be bound," the voice hissed, its tone deep and resonant. "The First Thread is but a thread—it cannot contain eternity."
Maya wove herself closer to the tear, preparing to seal it as she had done with the Veil. But as she touched its edge, a vision flooded her mind—a glimpse of a timeline where the Threads no longer existed. In this reality, the void ruled, its darkness consuming all light.
The vision ended abruptly, leaving Maya gasping. The shadow's voice echoed through the Threads once more:
"You are too late, Weaver. The unravelling has begun."
As the tear widened, the Threads around it began to fray, unravelling faster than Maya could repair them. Adrian's voice grew faint, his presence slipping further into the tapestry.
"Maya... I don't think I can hold on much longer."
Maya steadied herself, determination burning brighter than ever.
"Then I'll do this alone," she said. "Whatever this thing is, I'll find its source—and I'll end it, even if it takes everything I have."
The chapter closes with Maya stepping into the tear, her essence disappearing into the void, leaving the Threads trembling in her wake.