The sky above New Orleans cracked wider.
Not enough for the thing beyond to emerge fully.
But enough for everyone present to understand one horrifying truth:
Something on the other side was trying very hard to enter.
The massive eye beyond the fracture remained fixed entirely on Drake.
Watching him.
Recognizing him.
Waiting for him.
Ancient pressure rolled downward from the widening crack in reality hard enough to shake the entire cemetery. Tombstones splintered. Mausoleums groaned under invisible weight. Black mist surged wildly between graves like an ocean reacting to the moon.
And in the center of it all—
Drake stood motionless while crimson-black energy erupted around him violently.
Not controlled anymore.
Not fully restrained.
Reality cracked around his body in jagged spirals before snapping back together seconds later.
Klaus stared openly now.
Because this no longer resembled supernatural power.
This looked fundamental.
Like gravity.
Like time.
Like existence itself struggling to contain something larger than it should be.
"Drake."
Ciri's voice cut through the cemetery sharply.
Immediate.
Focused.
Real.
The fractures around him paused instantly.
Not vanished.
Paused.
His head turned slowly toward her.
And everyone saw it.
Conflict.
Not external.
Internal.
Something ancient inside Drake pulling toward the widening fracture while the human part of him fought desperately to stay grounded.
The eye beyond the crack blinked once.
Open.
The whisper echoed directly into every mind across New Orleans.
Humans collapsed screaming in distant streets.
Witches lost control of active spells instantly.
Vampires staggered beneath sudden existential terror.
Even Elijah's composure fractured slightly.
And Drake—
Drake took one unconscious step toward the fracture.
Morrigan moved instantly.
"NO."
Ancient silver-black power exploded outward from her in violent waves as she slammed one glowing hand against Drake's chest.
The impact shook the cemetery.
Symbols older than language ignited briefly across Drake's skin beneath his shirt before fading instantly.
He froze.
Blinking sharply.
Like someone waking violently from hypnosis.
Ciri grabbed his hand immediately afterward.
Grounding him harder.
Drake inhaled sharply.
The cosmic pressure around him fluctuated wildly before stabilizing slightly.
"What…"
Morrigan looked genuinely shaken now.
"You heard the Call."
The faceless envoys lifted their heads slowly from throughout the cemetery.
"The Wanderer remembers."
Drake's jaw tightened instantly.
Fragments of memory slammed violently through him again.
Endless Gates suspended between dead stars.
Ancient entities kneeling in darkness.
Worlds opening and collapsing beneath his hands.
And voices—
Always voices—
Calling him home.
"I remember enough," Drake growled quietly.
The envoys stilled immediately.
Because something dangerous entered his voice then.
Not cosmic.
Human.
Protective.
The kind of anger born from someone refusing to lose themselves.
Drake looked back toward the fracture in the sky.
And this time—
Anger replaced confusion.
"No."
The word shook the cemetery.
The eye beyond the fracture narrowed instantly.
The pressure intensified hard enough to crack nearby crypts apart.
You belong beyond the Gates.
Drake laughed suddenly.
Cold.
Dangerous.
"I belong wherever I choose."
The sky cracked further.
Every envoy in the cemetery screamed simultaneously.
Not in pain.
In worship.
The sound echoed across New Orleans like a nightmare choir while black mist surged violently through the streets beyond the cemetery walls.
Streetlights exploded across the French Quarter.
Windows shattered.
Humans panicked blindly while supernatural creatures fled deeper into hiding instinctively.
Elijah stepped protectively beside Rebekah immediately.
"This is escalating rapidly."
"Understatement of the century," Rebekah muttered while staring at the sky.
Klaus meanwhile looked fascinated.
Terrified.
But fascinated.
Because after a thousand years of existence—
He was witnessing something beyond every supernatural mythology he'd ever encountered.
And somehow—
Drake still stood in the center of it refusing to kneel.
Interesting man.
The eye beyond the fracture focused fully on Drake again.
And suddenly—
Memories slammed into him harder than before.
Not fragmented this time.
Clear.
Painfully clear.
He stood before endless Gates suspended between collapsing realities.
Ancient entities bowed behind him while universes burned in distant darkness.
And his own voice echoed across existence itself:
Seal them.
Then screams.
Infinite screams.
The Gates closing.
Reality severing itself apart.
Entire dimensions collapsing away from one another permanently.
And him—
Standing alone afterward.
Exhausted.
Terrified.
Choosing exile.
Choosing mortality.
Choosing humanity.
To escape becoming whatever stood beyond those Gates.
Drake staggered violently backward.
Ciri caught him instantly.
"Drake!"
His breathing sharpened unevenly.
"…I remember."
Morrigan's expression tightened immediately.
"How much?"
He looked toward the fracture in the sky silently for several seconds.
Then finally—
Quietly—
"I locked them out."
Silence crushed the cemetery.
Even Klaus stopped smiling.
Because suddenly—
Everything made horrifying sense.
The Forgotten weren't invaders.
Not exactly.
They were exiles.
Cast outside existence itself.
And Drake—
Drake had abandoned them there.
The eye beyond the fracture pulsed once violently.
Traitor.
The word struck the cemetery like a physical shockwave.
Tombs shattered apart.
Black mist exploded skyward.
And every envoy rose simultaneously.
New Orleans shook.
Not metaphorically.
Actually shook.
Buildings trembled throughout the city while the Mississippi River surged violently against its banks.
Far beneath the cemetery—
The ancient prison cracked further.
Morrigan looked toward Drake sharply.
"You cannot listen to them."
Drake's expression darkened.
"I know."
But his voice carried uncertainty now.
Because the worst part—
The truly horrifying part—
Was that some ancient buried piece of himself understood the Forgotten completely.
Understood their rage.
Their isolation.
Their endless imprisonment beyond reality.
And part of him wanted to answer the Call.
Ciri noticed immediately.
So she stepped directly in front of him.
Forcing his eyes onto hers.
"Stay here."
Simple words.
Absolute certainty.
Drake focused on her face.
White hair.
Green eyes.
Human heartbeat.
Warmth.
Reality.
Anchor points.
The storm inside him stabilized slightly.
Good.
Because otherwise—
New Orleans might already be gone.
The eye beyond the fracture pulsed again.
More impatient this time.
Open the Gates.
Drake's power surged violently in response.
The cemetery cracked apart beneath him.
And somewhere deep inside himself—
The First Wanderer began waking fully.