The soil was loose underfoot, as if the earth itself resisted their steps.
A narrow stone stairway led them underground—beneath the ruins of Hollowmere, hidden behind a cracked shrine. Ayaka had noticed a glyph, half-buried, pulsing faintly with Veinlight. When Rael touched it, the ground shifted, revealing a spiraling path downward.
Kaizen led the way, torches flickering against damp walls covered in ancient scripts.
The air grew heavier.
Colder.
It wasn't just the dark—it was a presence.
"I feel like we're walking into something's mouth," Maro muttered.
Ayaka didn't speak. Her eyes were fixed ahead, heart pounding—not from fear, but from the weight of something ancient.
At the base of the stairs, they entered a wide circular chamber. Giant stone statues stood along the walls—Veinborn warriors with long-forgotten armor, their faces erased, arms stretched toward the center.
And there, resting on a dais of blackened stone, was a massive iron gate.
Veins of crimson light ran through it.
Kaizen stepped forward.
The symbols on the floor began to glow.
The gate creaked open with a howl, not mechanical—but almost alive.
Beyond it, a narrow tunnel led them deeper. The walls changed—less stone, more… organic. Like the inside of a living thing.
"I don't like this," Rael muttered. "This place wasn't built. It was grown."
They emerged into a vast hall, where pillars of bone and metal pierced the ceiling. In the center lay a throne, melted into the ground. Behind it, a mural—weathered but still legible.
Kaizen approached it slowly.
And froze.
The mural depicted a burning world—cities reduced to ash, oceans boiling, mountains cracking under flame.
At the center of it all stood a figure with glowing eyes and flame bleeding from his veins.
The title beneath:
"Veinborn 001 — The Flame Eater"
Ayaka gasped. "That's… you."
Kaizen stumbled back. "It can't be."
Suddenly, the ground rumbled.
The mural split open.
And behind it—a sarcophagus.
Old. Sealed with molten bindings.
Kaizen moved toward it, drawn like a magnet. His palm hovered over it.
Ayaka yelled, "Wait!"
Too late.
The bindings ignited.
The sarcophagus burst open, and a wave of heat slammed through the chamber.
Inside… wasn't a body.
It was a mirror.
A perfect mirror.
Kaizen saw his reflection—but it moved before he did.
It smirked.
And then, it spoke.
> "You've come far, Kaizen Ryouma. But you still don't know the truth."
Kaizen stumbled back.
The mirror-Kaizen stepped out of the sarcophagus, flames dripping from his hands, eyes glowing like dying stars.
> "You are not just a Veinborn. You are the first. The prototype. The weapon."
Ayaka drew her blade, but the reflection ignored her.
It stepped close to Kaizen.
> "You were created to consume flame. To become the last fire. To burn the sins of humanity."
Kaizen's voice cracked. "Why would I ever do that?"
The reflection grinned wider.
> "Because the world asked for a god.
And they built you."
Suddenly, the reflection shattered, erupting into thousands of burning crows that flew around the chamber, screeching Kaizen's name.
Kaizen dropped to his knees, vision spinning. Screams echoed in his ears.
He saw it again.
Himself. Burning the world. Laughing.
Ayaka knelt beside him. "Kaizen! Come back!"
He clutched his head.
And then… everything went black.
---
Somewhere else...
Nerovar stood before a black monolith, veins pulsing with dark energy. Beside him, the robed figure chanted in an ancient tongue.
A voice echoed from the monolith.
> "He found the Vault."
Nerovar smirked. "Good. Let him see the truth. Let him drown in it."
The voice hissed.
> "And when he breaks?"
Nerovar turned, shadows twisting around him.
> "Then we rebuild him… in our image."
---
Kaizen awoke.
Still in the Vault.
But now alone.
Everyone else was gone.
And from the walls, that voice returned—
> "You are not who you think you are.
You are what the world feared most.
You are... the end."