Chapter 71: A message from the other side.

Julia slipped the gun back into her coat, her expression completely unchanged, as if she had just swatted a fly. "Listen well," She announced, her voice echoing into the dark, night. "As of this moment, there will be no more holidays or outside visits until this matter has been investigated thoroughly. No Soul Maiden is to leave this island. The only time any of you will ever cross that water is when you are chosen to go beyond the Veil.

We have taught you that it is okay to die for humanity. It is your sacred duty, the reason for your glory. If you were not Soul Maidens, you would be struggling for survival outside with all the low-borns. If you don’t want to die, focus on getting stronger. Focus on achieving the highest resonance and becoming overlords like tigers on mountains.

Do you know how long it has been since we last saw a Soul Maiden that reached the Legendary level of resonance? One whose bond with their beast is a perfect soul fusion? Even the Divine Soul Maiden is still working towards it. She has not forgotten her duty in fighting for you and fighting for humanity.

So, don’t let her down. Each one of you here was handpicked among the many existing Soul Maidens to join her army because you were the best of the best. Learn to appreciate what you have been blessed with. There will be no more exemptions on this mission, young...adult, as long as you are her Soul Maiden...you can be selected. Dismissed."

The Divine Maidens shuffled away slowly. Some were sniffling, others were trembling. Half of them were regretting accepting the invitation to join Trinity’s personal army of Soul maidens. They had come looking for a quick rise in status and power, not to die.

But what could be done now?

Julia returned to her office, moving to stand by the giant glass window. Outside, the ocean was dark and full of shadows, but her eyes were fixed on the Veil. It stretched across the horizon like a massive sheet of multicolored energy but the colors seemed to be fading.

Every now and then, the Veil would violently shift, moving like fog carried by wind.

Suddenly, a deafening shockwave rattled the glass pane lightly, followed by a sickening screech, like iron claws scraping against a chalkboard. It sounded exactly as if something big and hungry had just slammed into the veil from the other side, testing the strength of the wall.

Warden Samantha, stepped up beside Julia. She had a bruise on her cheek, the dark circles under her eyes deep enough to hold soup. She adjusted her wrinkled uniform and sighed. "That’s happening more often now, Head Mistress. Last week, it was once a night. Now? It’s every few hours."

Julia didn’t react. She didn’t even look at Samantha. "The Somnivores are growing impatient, they want to send their beasts over here. Those bastard aliens can smell our fear, Samantha. They can tell the Veil has weakened." She crossed her arms, her jaw tightening. "How many high-grade resonance stones do we have left in the vault?"

Samantha winced, rubbing the back of her neck. "Uh, about that... we only have one hundred left. And then there will be nothing to support the veil. Ten rounds left."

"Idiots," Julia hissed. "Take ten of the resonance stones immediately. Toss them into the primary anchors of the Veil to boost the barrier. I don’t care if we run out next month; if that wall drops tonight, we won’t live long enough to worry about next month anyway."

"Right away," Samantha said, scribbling a note on her palm. But she didn’t leave. She fidgeted with her cuffs, her face turning an uneasy shade of pale. "There’s... one more thing, Head Mistress. A bit of a weird situation. We picked up a strong Soul maiden signal a few minutes ago."

Julia frowned. "A signal? From beyond the veil?"

"Yes," Samantha swallowed hard, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Soul maiden Margery Kush who was meditating heard the call."

Julia snapped her head around, her cold eyes locking onto Samantha so fast that the warden nearly tripped backward. For the first time tonight, the icy, unbothered mask Julia wore completely cracked. She looked excited. "What did you just say? No one has heard anything from beyond the Veil in three months. Who was transmitting?"

"Eliza Kurr, but the static was terrible," Samantha said, waving her hands defensively. "It was heavily corrupted by an interference. We couldn’t get a location only a name. The message cracked up badly, but through hypnosis we managed to make Margery recall what she heard."

"What was the message?" Julia bellowed.

Samantha looked out the window at the pulsing barrier, a cold sweat breaking out on her forehead. "According to Margery, Eliza just kept screaming, ’They’re coming through. King level, there is a king level beast coming.’"

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the room. For a few years now, there had been rumors that the Somnivores had created stronger mutated beasts beyond the Veil. Beasts beyond the high level, which Trinity had decided to name King level. But nobody had ever seen one in the Veil or beyond it. King level was a myth. Humans needed it to be a myth!

"We still haven’t received any reports of sightings on strange beasts, just the usual ones. Get me this Soul Maiden and a recording of the hypnosis," Julia ordered, her voice trembling slightly before she forced it back into a hard, commanding tone. "Right now."

"Yes, ma’am! Moving at lightning speed!" Samantha practically bolted out of the room, tripping over her right foot in the process. She didn’t get up, just continued out on all fours, like a gorilla.

A few minutes later, Samantha rushed back into the room with the Soul maiden who was gasping for breath. She handed over a recording slip. Julia grabbed it, her fingers tight around the device. She didn’t waste a single second. She didn’t even bother dismissing Samantha. "Maiden, let us go."

This wasn’t just a breach; this was a planetary assembly emergency. This was something that had to be reported to the Divine Soul Maiden immediately.

Turning on her heel, Julia rushed out into the dark corridors, her mind racing faster than a flash of light.

*****

Meanwhile, in Beast Valley, Zyra walked through the corridor, leading to her chosen bedroom. Hunter followed close behind, his voice low but insistent.

"Why did Beauty call me a beast?" he asked. He had asked the question through dinner, and he planned to continue until he got an answer. But neither Beauty nor Zyra seemed eager to respond.

They didn’t know that there were secrets about him surrounding his birth that his mother refused to share. Hunter had a feeling that Beauty might know something.

Zyra touched the door to her bedroom, opening her mouth, but that was when she felt the ground tremble. Hunter felt it too, and he froze. All earthlings were familiar with those tremors. It was another side effect of the apocalypse.

Hunter frowned, gaze fixed on the furthest window at the end of the corridor. "It’s coming from beyond the veil," he said cryptically, his voice carrying a weight that made Zyra’s skin prickle. "Something very strong wants to break through."

Zyra’s heart raced. "What is it?"

Hunter turned to her, his expression hard. "Leave your door open, you never know when we might need to escape. My door will remain open too. Your training begins tomorrow. Rest early, don’t waste time watching television." He walked off, leaving her with unanswered questions.ℯℯ𝑙.