Rebirth: 100 Days Before Doomsday - Chapter 261

Chapter 261: Fractured Veil
The morning air was crisp, carrying the faint scent of damp earth as Grace stood in the center of Greenstone’s training grounds. The newly reinforced barrier shimmered above them, its vibrant green hues still glowing faintly from last night’s fusion of the new Spirit Stone.

But today wasn’t about the barrier.

It was about strengthening the warriors inside it.

She pulled out a wooden box from her special inventory that was created for the sole purpose of keeping her treasures safe. Lifting the lid, she revealed the twenty shimmering Level Two Spirit Stones in different colors – each no larger than a marble, yet pulsing with raw power.

There were a total of seventy-seven warriors in Greenstone, and right now, they all were watching Grace and the box in her hand in quiet anticipation. Most of them had seen these stones before, known about the power they held, but none had ever dared to use one.

Grace’s sharp gaze swept over them. “We have secured Greenstone for now,” she began, her voice steady. “But survival doesn’t stop at having a strong barrier. Each one of you must become stronger, faster, and deadlier. These Spirit Stones will help push your limits. But remember… power comes with pain. If you can’t endure the process, you won’t be fit to protect this place.”

The warriors exchanged glances. And one of them decided to voice out the first question. “We can actually consume these stones?”

“Yes and no.” Grace answered, confusing the warriors. “Consumption of Spirit Stones is possible, but you can’t consume the ones extracted from the beasts as they could very easily overpower you and make you go astray.”

Her gaze swept over the curious faces, knowing exactly how tempting the Spirit Stones and the power they could provide was. “The stones that we extract from the Shadow Beasts carry high shadow energy in them. Unless you get rid of that energy, you can’t consume the stones without facing any consequences.”

She was honest with them about the discoveries 2025 had made after its years long study on the stones. “The stones here are refined by me personally, and they no longer carry the shadow energy but pure elemental energies only. So, they are safe for consumption. You’ll each take half a stone at a time. Let your body adjust before absorbing the rest.”

One by one, the warriors stepped forward. As each of them took their half, they swallowed it, and the transformation began almost instantly.

The energy surged through their veins like wildfire.

Some dropped to their knees, clutching their chests as their bodies restructured themselves at a cellular level. Others gritted their teeth, enduring the raw power trying to merge with their very being. Sweat poured down their faces despite the cold. Some let out sharp gasps of pain.

“They’ll need time,” Rune spoke for the first time as he witnessed the scene with her.

Grace nodded. “That’s why we start now.”

She didn’t give them a moment’s respite. As soon as the pain began to ease, she pushed them into combat drills, forcing their bodies to adapt under stress. Their attacks were sluggish at first, as if they were unfamiliar with their own strength, but soon their movements became sharper. Faster. Stronger.

By midday, the warriors could already feel the difference, their stamina had doubled, their attacks held more force, and their recovery speed had improved significantly.

That’s right. Consumption of Level Two Spirit Stones didn’t give them access to elemental powers, it was only going to help them become stronger with what they already had.

Grace nodded, satisfied. “You’ll continue training every day until your bodies fully adjust. No exceptions.”

A collective groan echoed from the warriors, but none of them dared to complain aloud.

—

While Grace handled training, Davian oversaw the relocation of their team to the base in Hilton City. And Dr. Kian was the one supervising the matters within the base.

While Greenstone had the capacity to hold about 500 people within its fortress, the base had the capacity to hold at least a thousand people. And Grace had all the plans to find more people and create a second powerful fortress under her control.

But before that, she needed to finish her remaining plans at Greenstone.

—

That night, Rune sat cross-legged in the living room of their apartment, extending his consciousness beyond Greenstone as he did usual checking on the Veil.

Though the Veil had weakened over the millenniums, it still held, keeping most monstrous creatures at bay.

But tonight… he could feel that something was wrong with it. The same kind of feeling he experienced when he found the previous two cracks in it.

His senses stretched across the land, searching for abnormalities, and that’s when he sensed it..

A crack.

A long, jagged fracture in the Veil, it was barely noticeable to the naked eye, but he felt it like a wound in reality itself.

His pulse quickened as he sensed a second crack just moments later, and this one… was quite close to Greenstone.

Rune’s breath came sharp and fast. Things were bad. The Veil had weakened over time, yes, but two cracks appearing in one night? That wasn’t coincidence.

And then… he felt it. A presence. Something had slipped through.

And worst of all?

It was already moving.

Somewhere out there, in the darkness beyond Greenstone, a monster had arrived.

Rune’s eyes snapped open, his heartbeat hammering against his ribs. He wasn’t expecting to find the cracks this quickly when Grace just healed one just days ago.

But ready or not… the monster had appeared.

His breath came in short, controlled bursts as he withdrew his consciousness from the Veil. His eyes flickered with an ominous light as he processed what he had just witnessed.

Two cracks.

One monster.

His fingers clenched into fists. He needed to tell Grace.

Without wasting any time, he stood up and headed toward her bedroom, fully aware that he was going to disturb the sweet moments between his girlfriend and Davian. If he could, he would have withhold the information until morning, but they didn’t have the luxury of wasting even a second.