I reached the door of the old man’s building, the same unassuming entrance nestled between crumbling structures. To anyone else, it was just another forgotten relic, but I knew better. The faintest flicker of unease crept into my mind as I reached for the handle, but I pushed it aside and stepped inside.


    The air hit me, thick and warm, smelling of old parchment and incense, just as it always did. The scent was almost comforting now, a reminder that, for all the chaos outside, there were still things in this world that hadn’t changed.


    The room was cluttered, as usual. Scrolls, ancient tomes, and arcane trinkets filled every corner, the faint glow of enchanted objects casting strange patterns on the walls. At the far end of the room, behind the large wooden desk, the old man sat, hooded as ever, his piercing green eye catching mine as I entered.


    “Back so soon, Kaelen?” His voice was dry, like the crackle of ancient parchment, and carried a weight that I’d come to expect.


    I shrugged, walking closer but staying a few paces away. “You’re the only one with answers.”


    He let out a low chuckle, one that never seemed quite amused. “And here I thought you’d grown tired of our little exchanges.”


    I crossed my arms, leaning against a nearby shelf. “Not yet. Something’s… shifting. I need to know what I’m dealing with.”


    The old man tilted his head, his gaze sharp beneath the hood. “Ah, the presence you’ve been feeling… It’s no longer a whisper, is it? More like a storm at the edge of your mind.”


    I froze. His words struck me like a slap. How the hell did he know about that? I hadn’t told anyone. I hadn’t even fully processed it myself.


    My jaw clenched, and I fought to keep my expression neutral, though my thoughts were anything but calm. The tension that had followed me for weeks—the quiet unease I had chalked up to the usual chaos of the world—it wasn’t subtle anymore. It was loud, insistent, clawing at the edges of my mind. I’d barely started to understand it myself. And yet, here he was, laying it out as if it were common knowledge.


    I forced a smirk, masking the unease crawling under my skin. “Interesting guess,” I said, voice steady, even though my pulse had quickened. “But you’ve always been good at that.”


    The old man chuckled, the sound low and dry. “Guessing, you call it? No, boy. The Veil leaves a mark—on your soul, on your very being. One doesn’t need to guess when they’ve seen it before.”


    I swallowed hard, the weight of his words settling deep. I’d barely begun to use this... thing inside me, this power I wasn’t sure I wanted, and now he was talking like it had already defined me. Like he’d known all along.


    “The Veilborne,” he continued, his voice lowering. “A rare thing, indeed. You’ve felt its pull, haven’t you? But you still don’t understand it.”


    I nodded slowly, narrowing my eyes. “That’s why I’m here. I need you to tell me more.”


    He leaned back in his chair, the wood creaking under the shift of his weight. “I could tell you a great many things, Kaelen. But information—real knowledge—comes at a price.”


    I’d expected that. It was how our interactions had always gone—trade, exchange, nothing for free. But tonight, something felt different.


    “You always want something,” I said, my voice flat. “What is it this time?”


    The old man regarded me for a long moment, and for the first time in all the years I’d known him, he hesitated. His bony hand hovered over a scroll for a heartbeat before he pulled it back, resting it on the desk.


    “Nothing,” he finally said, his voice quieter now, almost… weary.


    I blinked, caught off guard. “Nothing?”


    He nodded. “The times we’re in… they’ve changed. What’s coming will not be stopped by trinkets or baubles. It’s bigger than any of us, bigger than anything I could ask of you.”


    The room felt colder, the weight of his words pressing against my chest. If he wasn’t asking for anything, it could only mean one thing: this was worse than I thought.


    “Why tell me this now?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. “You’ve never given anything for free.”


    He smiled faintly, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Because you need to be prepared. The darkness you’ve felt… it’s not just inside you, Kaelen. It’s out there, growing stronger with every passing moment.”If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    I clenched my fists, my mind racing. The presence, the Veil—it wasn’t just about me. It was part of something larger, something far more dangerous than I had realized.


    “What do you want me to do?” I asked, the weight of the question heavy in the still air.


    The old man’s gaze fixed on me, and for the first time, I saw a glint of something almost like concern in his eyes.


    “Survive,” he said simply. “And when the time comes, you’ll know what needs to be done.”


    I pushed off the shelf, the tension in the room settling into my bones. As much as I wanted to ask more, there were no clear answers here, not yet.


    Turning toward the door, I paused, glancing back at him. “What’s coming? Is it the Veil? Or something else?”


    He exhaled slowly, his milky white eye clouding over as if staring into something beyond this world. “Both.”


    That single word hung in the air like a curse, heavy and inescapable.


    The silence that followed was oppressive, the weight of the old man’s final word settling deep in my chest. But I couldn’t leave yet. Not without something more. Not without a way to fight back.


    I took a slow breath, steadying my voice. “You’ve always been good at cryptic warnings. But that’s not enough. If I’m in the middle of this—whatever this is—I need more than vague hints. I need something useful.”


    The old man studied me for a long moment, his milky eye flickering in the dim light of the room. Then, without a word, he reached into the clutter on his desk, moving scrolls and papers with deliberate slowness. His hand stopped on a worn, leather-bound tome, its cover cracked with age.


    “This,” he said softly, sliding it toward me. “Isn’t a solution. But it’s a beginning.”


    I eyed the tome, uncertain. “And what exactly am I supposed to do with that?”


    He leaned forward, his expression hardening. “You’re going to learn. You think you’ve begun to understand the Veil? The shadows? You’ve barely scratched the surface, boy. The power inside you—” he gestured vaguely in my direction, “—it’s not just about strength. It’s about control. Mastering the shadows is not about forcing them to bend to your will. It’s about understanding them.”


    I frowned, my irritation bubbling up. “And how am I supposed to understand something that wants to swallow me whole?”


    A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “By accepting that it’s already a part of you. You can’t fight the Veil, Kaelen. It’s in your blood. In your soul. The more you resist it, the more it will resist you.”


    I stared at him, the weight of his words sinking in slowly. “So, what? I just... let it consume me?”


    “Not consume,” the old man corrected, his tone sharp. “Guide. You’ve spent too much time fearing what it will make you. Instead, focus on what you can make it.”


    My gaze fell to the tome. The worn pages held no promise of easy answers, no clear instructions. But there was something about the way he spoke, the certainty in his voice, that made me think maybe—just maybe—he was right. Maybe I’d been going about this all wrong.


    “And how do I do that?” I asked, my voice quieter now, my resolve shifting.


    He tapped the tome with a long, bony finger. “Start here. The shadows are alive, Kaelen. They respond to emotion, to intention. If you can align yourself with them—if you can learn to move with them instead of against them—you’ll find that the power you seek isn’t in controlling the Veil. It’s in becoming it.”


    Becoming it. The thought sent a chill down my spine. But there was something in it, something that felt... right. Even if I didn’t fully understand it yet.


    I opened the tome, flipping through the yellowed pages. Diagrams, runes, unfamiliar symbols scrawled in ink. I wasn’t sure where to begin, but I could sense it—this was important. A stepping stone.


    The old man leaned back again, his eyes watching me closely. “You’re not the first to try this, Kaelen. Many have failed. But if you can balance on that knife’s edge, if you can walk between the light and the darkness, you’ll have something few others have ever mastered.”


    “Sounds simple enough,” I muttered sarcastically, still scanning the pages.


    He chuckled, a dry, brittle sound. “It never is.”


    I closed the tome and looked at him, my mind racing with questions I wasn’t sure I wanted answers to. But one stood out more than the rest. “What happens if I lose control? If the Veil... takes over?”


    His expression shifted, and for the first time, I saw something that looked almost like... sadness. “Then you become what you fear. A pawn of the darkness. A tool for those who wish to see this world consumed by it.”


    I swallowed hard, a knot forming in my stomach. I’d always known there was a risk—every time I tapped into that power, I felt the edge, the danger. But hearing it laid out like that, with no sugarcoating, no comforting reassurances... it made the stakes feel real. Tangible.


    “Thanks for the pep talk,” I said dryly, though the weight of his words lingered heavily.


    He smiled faintly, but his eyes remained somber. “You’ve got more strength than you give yourself credit for, Kaelen. The question is, will you use it wisely? Or will it use you?”


    I clenched my jaw, feeling the familiar tug of defiance rising within me. “I’m not some puppet. I’ll figure this out.”


    The old man nodded, though his expression remained unreadable. “Good. You’ll need that resolve. Just remember—every step you take deeper into the Veil brings you closer to the edge. Don’t forget who you are when you get there.”


    I picked up the tome and tucked it under my arm, turning to leave. But something stopped me at the door.


    “Why are you helping me?” I asked, my back still to him. “You’ve always wanted something before. Why give me this for free?”


    The room felt colder, the air heavy with the weight of the question.


    “Because,” the old man said, his voice softer than before, “there’s no price high enough for what’s coming. And whether you’re ready or not, Kaelen... you’re going to be in the middle of it.”


    I hesitated for a moment longer, the gravity of his words settling deep in my bones. Then, without another word, I stepped out into the night, the door closing softly behind me.


    Whatever was coming, I had the sinking feeling I wasn’t nearly as prepared as I needed to be. But I had no choice now.


    Time to figure out just how deep this Veil really went.