The streets of Sira were unnervingly quiet that night, the fog thick and suffocating. Even familiar alleys seemed alien, as if the city were reshaping itself around Prince.
He moved deliberately, Nasir's body silent and precise, every step cataloged. His Reflection Avatar flickered beside him, a subtle extension of awareness, probing the city beyond what eyes could see.
Observation first. Analysis second. Action last.
The Hidden Meeting
The warehouse in the Old Clock District had been only a test. Tonight, Prince had traced another lead—a signal hidden in faint Veil patterns, almost invisible.
The building was abandoned in appearance, but the threads of energy around it hummed subtly. Veil wards pulsed faintly, designed to detect souls of significance.
Prince crouched near a side entrance, letting the Reflection scan ahead. Inside, figures moved with deliberate coordination. Masked, cloaked, their motions calculated, like a ritual in motion.
Veil faction meeting, he noted. Observing, exchanging information, reinforcing power.
The First Threat
A sudden shift in the threads alerted him. One of the masked figures had noticed something—the subtle disturbance of his Reflection Avatar.
Prince did not panic. He analyzed. The figure moved toward a hidden sigil on the floor, preparing a defensive response.
The Reflection stepped forward, perfectly mirroring Prince's mental commands. A faint distortion in the air distracted the masked figure. Prince slipped into the shadows.
The city itself seemed to acknowledge him. Every wall, every shadow, every stray sound was a tool in his observation.
Unveiling a Secret
Through the gaps in the warehouse walls, Prince observed a strange device: a blackened mirror, etched with runes and faint sigils. The Veil threads around it twisted unnaturally, almost alive.
Someone—or something—was using it to record the Veil threads, manipulate hidden paths, and monitor arrivals like him.
Prince's mind cataloged everything. Not just observation… this is experimentation.
This faction wasn't merely guarding power—they were mapping the Veils, studying the city's hidden threads, controlling knowledge.
Power lies in knowledge, he thought. And in patience.
A Whisper from the Veils
The Reflection Avatar trembled slightly, responding to threads beyond Sira itself. Something tugged faintly, cosmic and alien.
Prince's calm remained intact, but he could feel it—the first whisper of the Veils' deeper truth. Threads stretched beyond the city, beyond the known paths. Awareness was dangerous. Curiosity could be fatal.
He exhaled slowly, returning focus to immediate threats. The masked watchers would not leave him alone for long.
Prince—conscious, calculating, observing—made a decision. The secret would wait. He had learned more than most survived in years. Patience now would yield far greater understanding.
The night closed in, thick with fog, shadows, and secrets.
Sira had revealed a fragment of its truth. The Veil factions had underestimated him.
And Prince had only begun.