Night settled over Aeloria Academy like a velvet curtain, quiet and heavy, the moon wearing a faint violet ring that made the sky look sick and beautiful at the same time. The city outside still buzzed with magical lights and floating lanterns, but inside the academy walls, an unnatural silence wrapped itself around every stone and corridor.
Eiryn Vassir walked through the empty courtyard with his hands tucked into his coat pockets, his footsteps soundless against the polished stone. He moved with the calm of someone who had seen enough danger to be bored by it, yet his senses were sharp, tracking every shift in mana, every tremble in the air, every whisper in the shadows.
The Shadow from the Eclipse Tower hadn't left his mind. Not its shape, not its unnatural breathing, and not the strange, cold intelligence he felt behind its movements. And the locket's vision… he still hadn't found an explanation for it.
He took a slow turn around the fountain, the water reflecting weak moonlight. A ripple of mana brushed past his ear. Someone was behind him. Someone very bad at being sneaky.
He didn't turn.
"Come out."
Silence answered him.
Then a leaf dropped behind him, and a tiny gasp followed.
"You're really bad at hiding," he added.
A small girl jumped out from behind a pillar, both hands raised.
"HA! I scared you, didn't I?!"
He blinked. "No."
Her shoulders dropped dramatically. "Ughh… nobody lets me scare them."
This was Miri Solen — first-year alchemy student, trouble magnet, and walking explosion hazard. Her oversized goggles made her eyes look permanently surprised, and her bag clattered like she was hiding a dozen grenades in it.
"What are you doing here?" Eiryn asked calmly.
"I followed you!"
"Why?"
"Because you're walking around at night like some anime main character who's about to fight a demon boss!"
"…Fair."
Before he could add anything, something moved beneath their feet. A shadow that didn't belong to either of them.
It slithered across the courtyard floor like spilled ink, stretching gently, almost lazily, like it enjoyed being seen.
Miri squeaked. "E-Eiryn… that's not normal shadow… right?"
"No."
The shadow pulled itself upward, forming a long spiked arm, then a torso, then a tall faceless silhouette. The air around it trembled.
Eiryn stepped forward, pulling Miri behind him casually, like one would move a bag out of danger.
"Stay behind me," he said.
Miri nodded so fast her goggles clicked.
The creature lunged with a sharp, twitching arm.
Eiryn raised a single finger.
A soft azure spark appeared, then widened into a shimmering geometric circle.
The shadow's claw slammed into the barrier with a blast that cracked the tiles under them.
Miri yelped, "WHAT LEVEL SPELL IS THAT?!"
"I made it."
"What— You can MAKE spells?!"
"Yes."
The barrier shifted into a hardened metal-like gauntlet around Eiryn's arm, glowing faintly. He dashed forward without hesitation and slammed his fist into the creature's chest.
The thing burst into shadow and smoke—
—then reformed behind him instantly.
"Persistent," Eiryn muttered.
The creature lunged toward Miri this time, claws stretching unnaturally. Eiryn materialized a glowing chain from thin air, grabbed Miri from behind, and yanked her away like she weighed nothing.
"Warn me before throwing me like a potato!!" she shrieked mid-air.
"No."
The creature paused suddenly. Its faceless head tilted. The air vibrated.
A mouth appeared — jagged, crooked, like ink torn across paper.
Its whisper sounded like rotten leaves sliding over stone.
"You… are… marked…"
Miri froze. "Okay. Nope. I don't like that at all."
The creature's body pulsed.
"Veil… watches…
He smells… your mind.
Your clarity… hurts him…"
And then it melted into the ground and vanished, leaving the air cold and the courtyard darker than before.
Eiryn exhaled slowly.
"So it can talk now," he said.
"That was TALKING?!" Miri shouted.
Golden light burst at the courtyard's edge. Principal Arannis appeared, coat fluttering, silver eyes glowing sharply.
"I sensed a mana disturbance—Eiryn! Miri! What happened?"
Miri immediately pointed at Eiryn. "BIG SHADOW MONSTER! LONG TEETH! WHISPERING NIGHTMARES! AND HE PUNCHED IT!"
Eiryn added, "She exaggerates."
"No I don't!!"
Arannis stepped closer. "Eiryn… did the shadow say anything specific?"
Eiryn paused. Then nodded once.
"It said I'm marked."
Arannis's expression darkened, all humor gone.
"The Obsidian Veil doesn't mark ordinary people," he said quietly.
Eiryn asked, "Then who do they mark?"
"Those who can destroy their plans."
Before he could respond, footsteps rushed toward them.
"EIRYN!!"
Liora sprinted into the courtyard, hair wild, breath shaking. Without a word, she grabbed his arm and started checking him for wounds like her life depended on it.
"You're hurt—your mana flow is unstable—why didn't you call me—why were you alone—"
"I'm fine," he replied.
"No, you're not—"
"Liora."
She froze.
He looked at her calmly. "I'm fine."
Her shoulders relaxed a fraction, but the worry in her eyes didn't fade. Something in Eiryn's chest tightened at the sight — a strange, unfamiliar warmth.
Miri broke the moment loudly:
"HELLO? I ALMOST DIED?! ANYONE CARE?"
No one did.
Arannis interrupted. "Eiryn. We need to speak. Privately."
But Eiryn wasn't listening anymore.
His eyes had drifted upward.
The moon's violet ring glowed faintly, the same shade as the creature's breath.
He touched the locket on his neck, feeling a faint hum inside.
Everything was connected.
The Tower.
The shadow beings.
The locket.
And now — the Veil marking him.
He wasn't scared.
He was curious.
And curiosity, when mixed with power, was far more dangerous than fear.