Kaelen sat alone in his dimly lit apartment, the faint hum of the Codex still lingering in the air like an unwelcome guest. Thorian’s words echoed in his mind, their weight pressing against his chest with every passing second. “You’re marked.” The phrase circled, over and over, making it hard to focus on anything else. He had just started to come to terms with this… whatever it was… and now Thorian had thrown another layer of complexity onto it all.
His fingers absentmindedly traced the edges of the Codex, the faint glow pulsing beneath his fingertips like a heartbeat.
Then, without warning, a sharp beep cut through the silence.
Kaelen’s breath hitched as he glanced down at his wrist. The bracelet blinked to life, its interface flashing a message across his skin:
"COMING. ETA 15. BE READY."
All the air seemed to rush out of the room. For a moment, Kaelen froze, staring at the glowing letters like they were something from a nightmare. His mind raced, every thought crashing into the next in a frantic mess of panic and confusion.
Lyrian was coming. His team was coming. To him.
They knew.
There was no other reason for them to come here—not like this. Not unannounced. Not after everything that had just happened with the Codex and Thorian. Kaelen felt the walls closing in, the panic rising in his throat, his mind spinning out of control. What did they know? How much? Was it about the Codex? About the Veilborne powers? Had Core finally pieced it all together? Were they coming to take him in?
He shot up from his chair, his movements frantic, pacing the room. His heart pounded against his ribs as though trying to break free, his breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps.
What would he tell them?
How could he explain all this to Lyrian—Lyrian—his closest friend, his ally for so many years? He’d been keeping so many secrets, lying by omission, twisting the truth whenever it suited him. And now it was all falling apart.
Kaelen clenched his fists, a wave of guilt crashing over him. He had already betrayed Lyrian once, that much was certain. Ever since he’d started to uncover the power within him, he had kept Lyrian in the dark, rationalizing it as necessary. But now, with the possibility of facing him, of seeing the betrayal in his eyes, Kaelen felt sick to his core.
What could he possibly say? That he’d been marked by a shadowy entity from a forgotten race? That the Codex was whispering secrets to him, slowly pulling him into a darkness he couldn’t understand? He’d sound like a madman, and even if Lyrian believed him, that wouldn’t stop Core from hunting him down.
The Codex.
Kaelen’s eyes flicked to the glowing tome on the desk. The damn thing was part of this—all of this. If Lyrian saw it, he’d have questions. Questions Kaelen didn’t have answers for. He needed time—time to figure out what he could reveal and what he had to keep buried.
But there was no time. Fifteen minutes.
He pressed his palms to his face, his mind racing. His apartment felt suffocating, every object around him suddenly foreign, dangerous. There was no way out of this. Lyrian was coming, and Kaelen didn’t even know what the conversation would be. Was he walking into a trap? Was Lyrian coming to arrest him? Or… could this be something else? Could it be a coincidence?
No. Not with Lyrian. Not with his team. They were careful, methodical. And if they were heading to Kaelen’s place, it wasn’t for a casual visit.
Kaelen’s throat tightened, a flood of paranoia sweeping over him.
He needed to prepare.
Kaelen grabbed his long coat from the hook, throwing it over his shoulders in one swift motion. His hands instinctively went to check the sword strapped at his side and the magic-infused pistol, making sure everything was in place. The weight of his weapons grounded him, but his mind raced in all directions, panic rising in his chest. He hadn’t expected this, not from Lyrian.
Suddenly, a knock. Sharp, precise.
Kaelen froze, heart hammering in his chest. They’re here.
He inhaled deeply, willing his hands to stop trembling, trying to regain some semblance of composure. He crossed the room, each step feeling heavier than the last, and opened the door.
Lyrian stood there, his trademark grin plastered on his face, looking like he hadn’t a care in the world. Behind him, the rest of the team—Jax, with his usual smirk, and Nyra, arms crossed, eyes narrowed in her no-nonsense way. Rina lingered quietly at the back, her expression calm but alert. They looked... normal. Like this was just another day
Kaelen blinked again, the pounding of his heart starting to slow. The sight of Lyrian and his team standing there, casual and relaxed, didn’t fit the scenarios his mind had been racing through. No accusations, no weapons drawn. Just... normal.
Lyrian cocked an eyebrow, taking in Kaelen’s wide-eyed stare. “Damn, Kaelen. You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Did somebody die, or are you just happy to see me?”
Jax snickered from behind him, leaning against the doorframe with his usual cocky smirk. “If someone died, I hope it was dramatic. You know, something with explosions.”
Nyra rolled her eyes, arms crossed, as she shot Jax a warning glance. “We’re not here for theatrics.”
Rina, standing quietly at the back, remained calm as ever, her sharp gaze sweeping the room before she stepped forward. “He looks like he’s been through something,” she observed, her voice soft but direct.
Kaelen’s mouth opened, but no words came out at first. His brain struggled to catch up. “Wait... What are you guys doing here?” he finally managed, his voice still strained with confusion.
Lyrian’s grin didn’t falter, but his tone shifted ever so slightly. “We were sent here, buddy. Got word of an unusual power spike in this area.” His eyes flickered with a hint of concern as he continued, “Figured we’d check it out. Thought we’d drop by and see if you noticed anything... off.”
Kaelen’s heart skipped a beat. They had detected the surge from the Codex. The energy that had pulsed out when Thorian was there... it hadn’t gone unnoticed. He had to think fast.
“Power spike?” Kaelen echoed, trying to sound casual. “I... haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary.”
Nyra’s gaze sharpened as she stepped forward. “Nothing? You sure about that?” Her voice was steady, but there was a subtle edge to it. She wasn’t buying the calm act.
Kaelen shrugged, forcing himself to keep his expression neutral. “Just the usual. Been quiet here.”
Lyrian studied him for a moment longer, the playful grin gone from his face, replaced by something far more serious. He stepped closer, his green eyes searching Kaelen’s. “You’re sure, man? ‘Cause this wasn’t just a little blip. We’re talking massive energy here, enough to make the tech back at Core go haywire.”
Kaelen tensed, panic threatening to bubble up again. The shadows stirred in the back of his mind, restless and agitated. He couldn’t let them know. Not yet.
“I’ve been laying low,” Kaelen lied, keeping his voice as steady as possible. “Haven’t been messing with anything that would cause a spike.”
Jax raised an eyebrow. “Laying low? You? Since when?”
“Since the mercenaries decided to make my life more interesting,” Kaelen shot back, deflecting with a dry chuckle.
Nyra didn’t look convinced. “You sure that’s all it is? No... strange occurrences around here?”
Lyrian’s gaze lingered on Kaelen for another beat, his expression tightening as though he could sense something wasn’t right. “Alright,” he said slowly. “If you say so.”This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Kaelen swallowed, forcing a smile. “What, you don’t trust me?”
Lyrian returned the grin, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Always trust you, man. But something weird’s going on, and I’m guessing you’re involved somehow. Just... be careful.”
Kaelen felt a surge of guilt, but he couldn’t let them in on everything yet. Especially not the Codex. Not Thorian. He had to keep it under wraps until he understood what was going on.
Rina, still standing by the door, checked a small device on her wrist. “The readings are fluctuating, but the energy spike is definitely centered around this area.”
Jax stepped forward, crossing his arms. “So, we check it out, or what?”
Kaelen’s gut twisted.
“Look, there’s nothing here,” he said, his tone a little too quick, too defensive. “Maybe it’s just a glitch. You know how these tech readings can be.”
Lyrian watched him carefully. “Glitch or not, we’re supposed to report back. And I’m not leaving you out of this, Kaelen. If there’s something going down, I’d rather have you on our side than wondering what’s happening.”
Kaelen took a breath, forcing himself to nod. “Fine. I’ll help.”
As they turned to leave, Lyrian paused at the door, glancing back at Kaelen with a half-smile. “Just don’t blow up the neighborhood while we’re at it, alright?”
Kaelen managed a weak grin in return. “No promises.”
But as the door clicked shut, Kaelen''s chest tightened with the familiar, gnawing guilt. He clenched his fists, the urge to slam them against his own face rising with every heartbeat. Lying to his best friend—again—made him feel like the lowest kind of traitor.
A coward.
He almost wished he could punch himself hard enough to end it all, to escape the weight of his own deceit.
As the team moved through the narrow, winding streets of Shadefall, the atmosphere shifted from Kaelen’s tense apartment to the familiar chaos of the district. The dim glow of streetlamps flickered overhead, casting long shadows that danced across crumbling buildings. The air was thick with a mix of industrial fumes and magical residue, giving the place a sense of unpredictability that kept them all on edge.
Rina’s device beeped softly as she scanned the area, her eyes flicking from the screen to the streets around them. “Still picking up traces, but nothing concrete,” she muttered.
Jax sighed loudly, rolling his eyes. “Shadefall, man. Place is always a mess. You could walk ten feet and find three different kinds of weird magic going on, and none of it will make sense.”
Kaelen snorted, walking beside Lyrian as they navigated the uneven cobblestone streets. “Welcome to Shadefall. Where nothing makes sense, but somehow everything works. Kinda like Jax.”
“Hey,” Jax shot back, his tone mock-offended, “I’m a beacon of order and logic, thank you very much.”
Nyra didn’t even look up from her own scanner, her voice dry as she replied, “You’re about as logical as a drunk pixie trying to fly in a windstorm.”
“Bold words from someone who still can’t find their keys half the time,” Jax retorted with a grin, earning a smirk from Kaelen.
Rina cut in, her calm voice barely rising above the noise of the street. “Focus. We’re getting mixed signals because the district’s full of magical interference. But something triggered that spike, and we need to figure out what.”
Lyrian chuckled softly, leaning over to Kaelen. “Typical Shadefall, huh? Place always feels like it''s about to fall apart, but somehow... never does.”
Kaelen nodded, his eyes scanning the darkened alleyways, keeping himself on alert despite the casual banter. "It''s like the city itself is teetering on the brink, waiting for something to push it over the edge."
The device in Rina’s hand gave another faint beep, and she frowned. “There’s definitely something nearby, but it’s... faint. Could be residual magic, but it’s strange. Not like anything I’ve seen before.”
Jax shrugged. “Maybe it’s just some old magical junkyard setting off the readings. Shadefall’s full of them. I bet we’re hunting down some broken wizard’s toaster that’s been sparking for a century.”
Nyra’s lips twitched. “Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing we’ve found.”
They turned a corner, coming across a small market that was still open, even at this late hour. A few vendors sat beneath dimly lit tents, selling an odd mix of magical trinkets, mechanical gadgets, and completely ordinary items like bread and vegetables. The crowd was sparse, but the hum of activity gave the place an odd sense of life.
Kaelen watched as a man with a cart full of enchanted mirrors tried to hawk his wares to a woman clearly uninterested. The mirrors shimmered, reflecting distorted versions of the world around them—some with too many eyes, others showing glimpses of things that couldn’t possibly be real.
“I swear,” Jax said, shaking his head, “every time we come to Shadefall, I feel like I’m in some twisted carnival.”
Kaelen smirked. “You’re not far off. Shadefall’s basically a circus where the clowns have magic wands.”
Nyra sighed, her patience clearly thinning as they stopped near one of the stalls. “If this spike doesn’t show itself soon, I’m going to start questioning if we’re chasing phantoms.”
Jax grinned. “Phantoms, huh? Sounds like fun. Maybe we’ll get a haunted toaster, too.”
Rina glanced at her screen again, furrowing her brow. “It’s fading... but it’s still there. Just scattered.”
Lyrian scratched his head, his usual carefree demeanor tinged with a hint of frustration. “You know, I was kinda hoping we’d find something exciting. Like, I don’t know, a cursed artifact or a portal to another dimension. Not... this.”
Kaelen rolled his eyes. “Shadefall doesn’t do exciting. It does confusing, frustrating, and mildly terrifying. But exciting? Not so much.”
Jax made a face, looking around. “I dunno, this place has its charm. You never know what you’re gonna get. One time I saw a guy trying to sell a pair of boots that supposedly made you fly. Turns out they just made you hover three inches off the ground and spin in circles. Hilarious.”
Nyra, now visibly irritated, huffed. “We’re wasting time. The signal’s too weak to pinpoint anything, and we’re walking in circles.”
Kaelen, feeling the tension in his shoulders ease a little, allowed himself a brief laugh. “What’s the rush, Nyra? Missing your hot date with the cursed toaster?”
Nyra shot him a glare. “You’re all going to be the death of me.”
“Hey, at least you’ll go out with style,” Lyrian added, still grinning. “Maybe you’ll get sucked into a mirror dimension or something.”
As the group continued their search, weaving through the market and into more narrow, shadowy alleyways, the playful banter didn’t entirely mask the undercurrent of unease. They knew something was off in Shadefall. Even if the signals were mixed, something had triggered that spike.
Kaelen’s mind wandered as they walked, thinking back to the Codex. He’d have to tread carefully. If the team got wind of what he was hiding, things could go from mildly awkward to outright dangerous. For now, though, he could afford to keep up the fa?ade. The signals would eventually die down, and they’d leave with nothing.
Or so he hoped.
The radar beeped again, and this time, it wasn’t faint. Rina stopped in her tracks, her face paling slightly. “Okay... that’s definitely not a broken toaster.”
Jax grinned. “Now we’re talking.”
As they continued down the winding streets of Shadefall, Kaelen’s unease only deepened. The banter around him—Jax cracking jokes about haunted toasters and Nyra’s dry comebacks—faded into the background as he focused on their route. Something about the path they were taking felt wrong, familiar in a way he couldn’t quite place.
He glanced around at the crumbling buildings, trying to pinpoint why he felt so off-kilter. The streets of Shadefall had always been unpredictable, but this was different. It was as if they were being drawn toward something... or someone.
Rina’s scanner beeped again, a louder, more persistent noise this time. “We’re getting closer to whatever it is,” she muttered, her brow furrowed as she analyzed the data. “But it’s still scattered.”
Jax shot her a teasing grin. “What? No haunted boots this time?”
Nyra shook her head, ignoring him as she turned to Kaelen. “You feel anything weird? You’ve lived here longer than any of us.”
Kaelen stiffened, his gaze flicking ahead. “Not sure yet,” he lied, his voice tense. “This place is always weird.”
In truth, he was starting to get a bad feeling. The streets, the turns they were taking... something was clicking into place in the back of his mind, a realization that hadn’t fully surfaced yet. His pulse quickened as he walked alongside Lyrian, his feet moving almost on autopilot.
Then it hit him.
They were heading toward the district where the old man lived. The very same building he’d just been in hours ago, where he had discussed the Codex with Thorian. Panic fluttered in his chest, but he tried to keep his expression neutral. His mind raced, trying to come up with excuses, rational explanations for why their scanners were leading them to the one place Kaelen needed to avoid at all costs.
He shot a glance at Lyrian, wondering if his friend had noticed the same thing. But Lyrian’s face was as relaxed as ever, still absorbed in whatever banter was happening between Jax and Rina.
Kaelen’s thoughts spun out of control as they got closer. The street was narrowing, the familiar buildings growing larger in his vision. He could practically see the old man’s apartment in the distance, hidden among the shadows. His heart thudded against his ribcage.
Just as Kaelen was about to suggest they turn around, Lyrian suddenly halted. He raised a hand to his ear, his easygoing grin slipping into something more serious as he listened to a voice coming through his comm.
The others noticed the change immediately. Jax stopped mid-sentence, glancing between Lyrian and Kaelen. “What’s going on?”
Lyrian’s expression darkened, and his voice, normally light and casual, took on an urgent tone. “Change of plans. We need to head back. Now.”
Nyra frowned, crossing her arms. “What’s happened?”
“We’ve been assigned a new mission,” Lyrian said, glancing at the team. “It’s big. We need to return to Core immediately. Commander Andras is calling for us.”
Kaelen blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift. Relief warred with confusion as the idea of leaving the old man’s district seemed like a reprieve... until Lyrian added, almost as an afterthought, “Andras also wants you on the mission, Kaelen. He specifically asked for you.”
His thoughts spun, every possible explanation flashing through his mind. Do they know about the Codex? About Thorian? Or is it just coincidence? His pulse quickened again, his instincts screaming at him to refuse, to walk away, to find any excuse to avoid this. But he couldn’t. Not in front of Lyrian. Not without raising suspicion.
“Me?” he said, trying to keep his voice steady, though he knew it was too late to hide the shock. “Since when does Andras want me involved in Core missions?”
Lyrian looked at him with a smirk, though his eyes carried a more serious edge. “Seems like Andras is starting to get attached. Must’ve been that whole ‘saving our skins from those mercenaries’ thing.”
Kaelen clenched his fists, his mind racing with questions he couldn’t afford to ask aloud. He knew Lyrian’s comment was just for show. The real reason Andras wanted him involved had nothing to do with gratitude. Andras had always been suspicious, always keeping Kaelen at arm’s length because, unlike the others, Kaelen wasn’t Core—just an independent agent they happened to need. This wasn’t about trust. It was about keeping him under closer watch.
“Fine,” Kaelen finally muttered, his voice tight. “Let’s get this over with.”