It had been three weeks since the bond was severed.
Three weeks since the kiss.
Three weeks since Niki vanished.
Mona stood on the edge of the cliff behind the mansion, eyes locked on the stars.
But they didn't shine the same anymore.
The nights felt colder.
Quieter.
Too quiet.
"Are you going to tell me what's really going on?"
Sunghoon's voice came from behind her. She didn't turn. She didn't have to.
He already knew.
"I still feel him," she said.
Sunghoon was silent for a moment. Then: "So do I."
She finally turned, her silver-white hair glowing in the moonlight. "It's not like before. It's different. Like… something inside him is cracking open."
Sunghoon nodded slowly. "Then it's time."
Mona narrowed her eyes. "Time for what?"
Sunghoon stepped forward and held out a map. Ancient. Blood-inked. Marked in runes only Lightborn and Bloodborn could read.
"Veylor's throne is buried deep in the Hollow Realm. If Niki's still connected to it—if that's where he's gone…"
He met her eyes.
"We're going to bring him home."
Meanwhile – Hollow Realm
Niki stood in a field of ash.
His boots crunched over the skulls of forgotten spirits. His hands were wrapped in scorched cloth. He hadn't spoken in days.
He no longer hungered for blood.
He hungered for nothing.
That was more terrifying.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Mona choosing someone else. Not with malice. Not with hate.
But with gentleness.
"You were never meant to be hers," the voice inside hissed.
"You were born for this."
"To wear my name. To finish what I began."
Niki growled, clutching his head. "I'm not Veylor."
"Then why do you still burn?"
He fell to his knees, screaming.
And the shadows heard him.
Back in Lumora – The Mission Begins
Mona and Sunghoon, dressed in black armor laced with bloodrunes, met the others in the Hall of Flame. Enhypen stood around them—Jake, Heeseung, Jungwon, Sunoo, Jay.
"Are you sure about this?" Jake asked. "He left. Maybe he wanted to."
Mona didn't flinch. "No one wants to disappear. Not when they've been loved like that."
Jay sighed. "We're going with you."
"No," Mona said. "This is my war."
Sunghoon put a hand on her shoulder. "Our war."
They locked eyes. Unbreakable.
And stepped through the veil.
In the Hollow Realm
The land greeted them with silence.
The trees twisted upward like screaming ghosts. The sky was black, shot through with veins of red lightning. It smelled like burnt dreams and old pain.
Sunghoon kept his blade drawn.
Mona kept her heart guarded.
Everywhere they walked, shadows flinched.
She could feel him.
Close.
Broken.
But still… him.
They reached the edge of Veylor's tomb.
And saw him.
Kneeling.
Still.
A crown of ash above his head, burning with quiet flame.
His eyes were closed, his lips moving with silent words.
But when he opened them—
He was crying.
"Mona," he whispered, like a prayer.
She ran to him.
But he didn't rise.
He couldn't.
"I burned it out," Niki said. "The part that loved. The part that wanted."
"I thought if I could kill it, I'd kill Veylor too."
"But he's still here."
She knelt beside him, cupping his face.
"You're still here," she said. "And that's what matters."
He shook his head. "Don't touch me. I'm not safe."
"I'm not afraid of you."
Sunghoon stood behind, watching, silent, blade sheathed.
"You should be," Niki said.
"Because I'm not Veylor anymore.
And I'm not Niki either."
"I'm something new."