Late one stormy night, Zindra sat alone by his small window, staring at the city lights. Liyaya had just left after another evening together. She was starting to notice he was hiding something — and the guilt weighed on him like a mountain.
As lightning cracked across the sky, Zindra felt a sudden shift in the air. He closed his eyes, tuning his senses beyond his human disguise. There it was — a presence he hadn't felt in years: Meakery Senlord.
Outside his apartment, the rain fell in heavy sheets as a faint glow pulsed in the alley. Zindra rushed down the stairs and stepped into the storm. There, hovering above the wet concrete, was Meakery Senlord — a small, shifting orb of living energy wrapped in silvery light.
"Zindra of Cyne," the orb spoke directly into his mind. "Sanavak has crossed the barrier. It feeds now, even here. You must awaken fully, or Earth will fall."
Zindra's heart raced. He had hidden his powers so well, he had almost forgotten how strong he truly was. But just as he reached out to touch the orb, Liyaya's voice echoed behind him.
"Zindra? What is that?" She stood at the alley entrance, her umbrella falling from her hand as she stared at the floating light.
Before Zindra could answer, a chill swept through the alley. The shadows around the trash bins seemed to bend and crawl toward them. The air turned thin — as if something was sucking the very breath out of the world.
Sanavak was here.
Zindra stepped in front of Liyaya, his human disguise flickering at the edges as Meakery Senlord merged with him, covering his arms in glowing runes. He turned to her, eyes now shimmering with the power of Cyne.
"Stay behind me, Liyaya. No matter what you see — don't run. I promise, I'll explain everything… if we survive this."
The shadows twisted into a shape, invisible yet moving the rain around it — a monster made of air and hunger. Zindra clenched his fists, feeling the ancient power of his people surge through him once more.
The first battle for Earth had begun.