Chapter 19 - The Veilbound Realm

  Akari stood still, her breaths slow and measured.

  Everything around her felt alien.

  The sky above wasn’t the deep blue of the real world but a vast canvas of silver and violet, swirling like liquid metal. A crescent moon hung too close, casting an eerie glow over the endless ruins that stretched before her.

  > You have entered the Veilbound Realm.

  Welcome, Veilbound.

  She took a hesitant step forward, her boots crunching against blackened stone.

  Ruins. Everywhere. Broken pillars jutted from the ground like the ribs of some long-dead beast. Shattered statues, their faces eroded beyond recognition, lay scattered among the debris.

  The air was thick—not with heat or cold, but with something else. A weight. A presence.

  Akari exhaled slowly.

  She was used to playing it safe. To avoiding risks. But now?

  There was no way back.

  She had seen the system message—Trial of the Veil Completed.

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  But what did that mean?

  Had she really changed?

  Her fingers tightened around her sword.

  "Alright," she muttered. "Time to figure out what the hell is going on."

  She took another step.

  The moment her foot touched the cracked ground—

  The world responded.

  > System Notification: Initiating First Veilbound Challenge.

  Survive.

  Akari’s heart jumped.

  A low, guttural growl echoed through the ruins.

  Something was watching her.

  She turned, scanning the darkness between the ruined pillars—

  And then, she saw it.

  A twisted beast, hunched and skeletal, crawled from the shadows. Its flesh was stitched together with sinewy strands of dark mist. Its eyes—if they could be called that—were nothing but glowing slits, burning with violet fire.

  It moved—too fast for something that looked like it should be falling apart.

  Akari barely had time to react before it lunged.

  She rolled to the side, just as black claws sliced through the air where she had been standing.

  Too fast.

  It landed on all fours, its head tilting at an unnatural angle.

  Then—it charged again.

  Akari gritted her teeth and raised her sword—

  Clang!

  The force of the impact rattled her bones.

  She skidded back, her boots carving a trail through the dust.

  > First Veilbound Challenge - Survival Progress: 2%

  Only 2%?!

  The beast let out a hollow shriek, mist spilling from its gaping maw. It was testing her.

  Waiting for her to make a mistake.

  Akari narrowed her eyes.

  This wasn’t like before. This wasn’t a simple tutorial fight.

  If she didn’t adapt—she would die.

  Her grip on the sword tightened.

  "No more hesitation," she whispered.

  The beast lunged again.

  This time, she didn’t dodge.

  Instead, she stepped forward.

  And struck.

  Direct. Precise. Ruthless.

  Her blade sliced clean through the beast’s arm, black mist gushing from the wound.

  It screeched—stumbling, momentarily disoriented.

  Akari didn’t stop.

  With a sharp pivot, she drove her sword straight through its skull.

  The beast shuddered. Twitched. Then collapsed.

  Its body dissolved into dark mist, the energy rushing toward her.

  > Enemy Defeated.

  Veilbound Absorption Activated.

  A pulse of power shot through her veins—hot and electric, like fire and ice surging through her body.

  Her muscles hummed with new strength.

  And then—

  A shadow stirred in the distance.

  Another growl.

  Another set of glowing slits peering at her from the ruins.

  She wasn’t done yet.

  Akari exhaled.

  > First Veilbound Challenge - Survival Progress: 15%

  Her night was only beginning.