Chapter 335: The Veil

"What do you think?" Veronica asked, her eyes fixed on the man standing a short distance away. His body radiated a faint glow, mirrored by the pale luminescence of the moon above them.

"What?" Amanda asked, raising an eyebrow. "You mean his decision to remain here?"

Veronica nodded. "He...sounds so certain about staying that it scares me." She shook her head, her expression troubled. "Truthfully, this change in his personality makes me nervous. It’s as though he already knows exactly what needs to be done, and nothing anyone says could sway him."

Amanda lowered her gaze for a moment before looking back at the man she could never bring herself to abandon.

"So what? He’s been through things that could change anyone."

Veronica did not argue. Even when Kyle spoke of what he had witnessed, that newfound composure had faltered for the briefest of moments. It had revealed more than his words ever could, exposing just how deeply the deaths of a few people had scarred him.

"But that doesn’t mean we can let him stay here. Not a chance," Amanda said, her voice carrying the same unwavering conviction as before. She would not leave this place without Kyle by her side.

"But what if he rejects our wish and simply...kicks us out?" Veronica asked, her brows drawing together. "He can practically do anything he wants inside this Temple."

Amanda nodded. "True. But if he truly wanted to kick us out, he wouldn’t have invited us inside in the first place." She glanced toward her Commander before continuing. "Kyle knows us well enough to understand exactly what we would say after hearing his decision to sacrifice everything and remain here."

Veronica nodded in agreement. "Right. He’s giving us a chance to persuade him...to remind him of everything he’d be leaving behind if he stayed here instead of returning with us."

Amanda let out a quiet sigh. "What do you think we should do?"

Veronica shook her head. "I...don’t know. Maybe we could remind him of all the things he enjoys outside. Like gaming or archery?"

Amanda gave her a wry smile. "It sounds a little unreliable, but yes, it might work." Her gaze shifted toward Kyle. "I know that beneath that calm exterior, my warm and playful Kyle is still there. The same Kyle who would gladly spend his birthday in his room playing games rather than step foot inside some fancy restaurant."

"Who would even want that?" Veronica asked, her brow furrowing in genuine confusion.

Amanda shook her head, deciding it was time to make her move. She slowly rose to her feet.

"Ah!"

She stopped abruptly when Kyle suddenly appeared before them.

"You don’t need to, Amanda," Kyle said.

His voice was as calm as a river flowing beneath a moonlit sky.

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked, quickly glancing at Amanda.

"I can hear every whisper in this place, Veronica. I thought you had already figured that out." Kyle’s lips finally curved into a smile.

"Waah... I’ve been dying to see you smile." Amanda placed a hand against her chest, her expression brightening.

Kyle turned toward her and released a quiet breath. "You two are right. Staying here indefinitely and suppressing Knull would only increase the chances of a larger ambush. And if that happens while the Crowns are involved, humanity could meet an untimely end."

Veronica frowned. "Crowns?"

Kyle nodded. "Much like the government officials and rulers of this world, Knull serves under several fearsome Monarchs. They command thousands of monsters and hundreds of Special Grades. They have armies at their disposal, along with means of tearing through the veil when the time comes."

The information was far more alarming than Kyle’s composed tone suggested.

Veronica knew almost nothing about the other side, just like every other human who had never crossed beyond the veil. Those who had ventured there in search of answers, hoping to uncover a way to stop the Rifts from appearing altogether, had never returned.

There had been no survivors to tell humanity what waited beyond them.

So hearing even the slightest glimpse of what existed on the other side was both invaluable and deeply unsettling.

"Kyle..." Amanda’s voice softened. "What separates us from them? This veil...how strong is it?"

For once, her attention was not entirely focused on Kyle himself. Beneath her usual fascination, genuine concern for the fate of the world had surfaced.

Kyle gestured for them to sit down first. Neither woman said a word. They simply followed his lead and settled beside him.

"This veil is a protective barrier that separates the two mirror worlds. Knull is not so different from Earth. The only difference is that life, along with humanity itself, has been exhausted from that world. Every time a Rift appears, it is actually a fracture forming within the veil."

Veronica frowned. "Is there no way to prevent these fractures by strengthening the veil?"

"The veil can only be strengthened by Nightwalkers, since the two subjects are intrinsically connected. Powerful Nightwalkers produce Genesis Residue, which, in one way or another, allows the veil to withstand the ruptures."

Amanda’s expression tightened as another question came to mind.

"Can’t they be stopped completely? At some point?"

Amanda would have loved a life where she did not have to cancel her plans or leave Kyle’s side simply because some grotesque monster had crawled through from the other side. If there was truly a way to put an end to it all, she would gladly devote her time and strength toward achieving it.

Kyle regarded her for a moment before a faint smile touched his lips.

"Amanda, there is only one way to stop Knull completely."

His voice remained calm as he delivered the answer.

"Absolute annihilation of the other side."

The two women stared at him in stunned silence.

"Is that even possible?" the silver-haired woman finally asked.

"It’s not a question of whether it can be destroyed," Kyle replied. "It’s a question of whether it should be."

Amanda frowned. "Of course it should. I mean, what good have they ever brought us?"

Kyle leaned back in his seat and gestured toward the teapot resting nearby.

"If all the tea in the world were to disappear, why would the teapot still need to exist?"

Veronica’s eyes widened as the meaning behind his words sank in.

"You mean to say...humanity would disappear too?"

Kyle shook his head.

"Not humanity. The Veil."

He paused, allowing the weight of his answer to settle before continuing.

"And I must repeat what I said earlier. The Veil and humanity are two closely connected subjects. If this Temple is the plant, then the Veil is its root, distributing Genesis throughout it."

Realisation slowly dawned upon both women.

And what they understood was horrifying, to say the least.

If this continued, humanity would eventually find itself locked in a full-fledged war against the dark side.

Yet if humanity somehow managed to annihilate them before they could wipe out the human world, humanity itself would be doomed in the aftermath.

There was no victory to be found in either outcome.

One side could not destroy the other without inviting its own destruction.

"Just..." Veronica murmured, her voice heavy with disbelief. "The perfect recipe to keep us trapped in this tug of war for eternity."