The dinner table buzzed with the comforting sound of laughter and lighthearted conversation. Savoring the peace. Plates clinked, and banter flew between them, but then, all at once, the air shifted.
They felt it—an undeniable presence.
The Nightveil.
---
The Nightveil.
An event that began ten years after Damon's birth.
It wasn't an army of demons or a towering foe.
It was something far more sinister—a plague-like force that defied logic and understanding. Invisible and intangible to ordinary people, it brought instant death to anything it touched, masked as natural events: a sudden heart attack, a collapsing tree, or the aftermath of an earthquake. No one knew of its existence, save for the Genesis of the Six.
When the first Nightveil struck, the world was vast, composed of twelve continents:
1. Azoria
2. Bryston
3. Caelum
4. Drexara
5. Elyndor
6. Faloria
7. Gildara
8. Hypatia
9. Ithoria
10. Jorath
11. Kyros
12. Lysandra
But the Nightveil reduced that number to four.
Only Kyros, Azoria, Elyndor, and Gildara endured, and it was no coincidence. Damon, Noah, Sherphina, and Zane—their very presence repelled the Nightveil. As children, they hadn't understood why they were spared, nor the significance of their existence. They simply stayed in their homelands, clinging to family and hope, as the other eight continents fell to ruin. Survivors prayed, but the devastation left scars that would never heal.
-Present-
Cole leaned back in his chair, balancing it on two legs with a smug grin on his face.
"You're up this time, Cole. We're all wiped," Adrian said, setting his utensils down with a sigh. "You're fast enough to cross three continents before we can finish dessert."
Cole raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh, come on. Why don't you ask Sherphina? She may not be as fast as me, but she's no slouch either."
Sherphina shot him a sharp look. "Don't even start. We've been covering for you every time while you sit here cracking jokes. It's about time you did your part."
Cole raised his hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright! No need to gang up on me. I'll handle it. Happy?"
Sherphina crossed her arms. "Ecstatic."
Without another word, Cole vanished in a blur, leaving nothing but a gust of wind and the faintest chuckle in his wake.
---
Cole moved faster than a heartbeat, covering three continents in mere moments. As always, the Nightveil dissipated the second he arrived—until he reached Kyros.
Something was wrong.
The Nightveil didn't vanish as it should. Instead, it twisted and writhed, taking on an eerie, almost living form. Though still unseen and unfelt by the ordinary eye, it seemed to move with purpose now.
Cole narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What the hell…"
As he punched at the writhing shape. It vanished. Encouraged, he began wiping out the rest until the continent was safe once more. But the strange phenomenon left a lingering unease in his mind.
---
When Cole returned to Gildara, greeted by Noah's casual grin.
"Fast as ever," Noah remarked, leaning back in his chair.
But Cole's expression was far from relaxed. Adrian noticed it immediately, his brows furrowing. "What happened?"
Cole hesitated, his usual cocky demeanor faltering. "Something weird," he finally said. "The Nightveil… it didn't disappear when I showed up in Kyros. Instead, it... changed. It started moving like it was alive."
The room fell silent, tension thickening as the others processed his words.
"You're saying it's evolving?" Zane asked, his voice calm but edged with concern.
"I don't know," Cole admitted. "But whatever it was, it didn't last long. I got rid of it."
Adrian leaned forward, his eyes sharp. "This could mean a lot of things. We need to figure out what's happening before it gets worse."
The atmosphere grew heavier, the weight of the unknown pressing down on them.
Sensing the shift, Cole flashed a confident grin and leaned back in his chair. "Relax. It's not that big a deal yet. I mean, come on—didn't take me long to clean it up, right?"
His words brought a flicker of ease, but the unease lingered. They all knew that whatever this was, it was just the beginning.