Kael spun around, holding the torch high.
But the chamber was still.
The only movement came from the flame-shaped symbol on the open book, which pulsed in time with the mark on his wrist. He closed it slowly, heart racing. The air had grown colder, and the walls seemed to listen.
Then he heard it—not a sound, but a presence. A whisper that wasn't spoken aloud.
The Veil is thinning...
The words settled like frost on his skin. He didn't know how, but he understood them. Something ancient and dangerous lay just beyond the edge of this world—a boundary known only in myths. The Veil.
And it was breaking.
Kael turned the pages of the book again. This time, they revealed drawings of creatures made of shadow and fire, cities swallowed by darkness, and bearers like him—each marked, each fallen.
At the center of the final page was a symbol he hadn't seen before: a burning crown split down the middle.
Suddenly, his torch flickered.
A gust of unseen wind swept through the room, and for a moment, Kael saw something move behind the rows of glowing books—tall, cloaked in smoke, watching.
The Veil was no longer holding.
And it had seen him.