You can only kill in the shadows for so long before the darkness starts whispering back.
I felt it when I closed my eyes.
Heard it in the space between my thoughts.
A voice—not loud or commanding, but low. Patient. Always there.
At first, I thought I was losing it. Too much time in the Hollow Grid, too much blood, too much power too quickly. But then came the dreams.
They didn't feel like dreams.
---
I stood in a chamber with no walls—just infinite shadow, rippling like water. A throne of obsidian hovered at the center, and behind it… nothing. Not blackness. Not emptiness.
Oblivion.
> "You are chosen, Elias Black."
The voice echoed through the air and through me.
> "You walk where none dared. You've unlocked the Fifth Thread."
"I didn't ask to."
> "That's why you were worthy."
A pause.
> "It's time."
"Time for what?"
> "To choose your next path."
A screen appeared—sleek, dark silver instead of blue. The usual system notifications were gone.
In their place:
---
[Shadowroot Progression Unlocked]
Choose your Branch:
[Shadecaller] – Master of deception and manipulation. Blend with shadow. Control illusions.
[Eclipseblade] – Merge blade and shadow. Speed, silence, and death.
[Veilborn] – Become one with the veil. Gain passive shadow regeneration and traverse between the real and the hidden.
WARNING: This choice is permanent.
---
I hesitated.
Each option pulsed with potential.
Shadecaller tempted me with trickery.
Eclipseblade called to the fighter in me.
But Veilborn…
That was something else.
Not just an assassin.
A presence.
A force that existed beyond reach.
A phantom behind every breath.
I didn't want to kill like a weapon.
I wanted to move like a system.
I reached out and selected:
> [Veilborn]
The shadows exploded around me.
---
I woke up gasping.
My mana surged, doubled.
My body tingled.
I opened my status screen.
---
[Name: Elias Black]
[Class: Veilborn | Former: Commoner(?)]
[Level: 8]
[HP: 100 | MP: 430]
[Affinities: Shadowroot 11%]
New Passive Skill: Shadow Recovery
Regenerates 2% MP per second while in dim light or darkness.
New Active Skill: Veilwalk (Lv. 1)
Phase between spaces. Teleport up to 10 meters through line-of-sight shadow. Cooldown: 20s. Cost: 50 MP.
---
I didn't even know what half of that meant yet.
But I felt it.
The city no longer felt too large. The Guild no longer felt untouchable. I could disappear and reappear within seconds. Attack from any angle. Survive anything.
But every gift has its cost.
---
Later that night, Lira found me in the ruins again.
I didn't speak.
She did.
"You chose the veil."
I nodded.
"You're bleeding into it already. I can barely sense your presence anymore."
I looked down. My hands shimmered faintly, like heat haze. My breath didn't fog the cold air.
"What happens if I go too far?" I asked.
She hesitated.
"You stop being human."
"Do you think I care?"
She gave me a sad smile.
"I think you will. Later."
---
The next morning, a girl found me.
Not Lira.
Not a noble.
She was... ordinary. Pretty, soft-spoken, carrying a satchel full of herbs and bandages. I recognized her from the outskirts—the healer apprentice who used to smile when I passed.
Now she stared with wide eyes, holding her satchel tight.
"I heard what they say about you," she said, voice trembling. "But I don't care."
I frowned. "You should."
"You saved those kids from the wretches last week. My little brother was one of them."
I blinked. "That wasn't…"
She stepped closer. "They told me he came back saying a 'shadow man' pulled them from the dark."
I remained silent.
"I want to help," she said. "Let me stay near you. Let me learn."
"I'm not a hero."
"I know."
She blushed, then dropped her eyes.
"But you don't turn away from pain."
I didn't respond.
She stayed by me anyway.
---
That was the beginning of Ayla.
Not a mage. Not a fighter.
Just someone who believed I was still worth something, even if the rest of the world screamed otherwise.
She patched my wounds after fights. Carried potions. Cursed like a drunk guard when I ignored my injuries.
I didn't stop her.
I didn't send her away.
But I didn't let her in, either.
I couldn't.
Not yet.
---
By the end of that week, I could Veilwalk through entire buildings.
I'd tested it—phasing through the Arcanum's outer wall just for fun.
I didn't take anything.
Didn't kill anyone.
I just left a message.
Scratched into the floor of the Guild library's forbidden archives:
> "Your system's broken. I'm not."
---
Kael found me that night.
He was bleeding. Worse than before. One eye swollen shut.
He dropped to one knee, then laughed.
"You're pulling ahead."
I handed him a healing flask.
He didn't take it.
"You're stronger than me now."
"That bother you?"
He grinned. "No. It terrifies me."
We sat in silence for a while.
Then he said something I didn't expect.
"They're calling you a shadow prince now."
I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because no one's seen you in daylight for days. You walk through walls. You bleed like a ghost. And every time a bounty hunter comes close, they vanish."
I stared at the horizon.
Storms were gathering again.
"The veil offered me power," I said.
"And you took it."
I nodded.
Kael looked at me, serious now.
"Just don't forget who you were before it whispered."