The trial ended as abruptly as it had begun. The weight lifted from his hand, but the echoes of billions of lives—their final moments, their fear, their pain—lingered in his mind like smoldering ash.
When he returned to his mother, Maelira greeted him warmly, unaware of the torment he had endured. Ashborne smiled faintly, masking the turmoil inside.
"Now, about your birthday… what would you like for a gift?"
He hesitated a moment, then replied lightly, "I'll think about it."
Ashborne promised he would think about what he wanted.
Then Maelira's tone shifted. "Your father… he wants you to guard the Third Princess of the Duskbound Imperium."
Ashborne frowned. "Why me? There are stronger people who he can hire or order. I can't even wield Singularity Veil, every time I ask him to teach me about it, he always ignore me."
Maelira hesitated, seeing the light of curiosity ignite in his eyes. She sighed. "Keep it secret from him for now. You know how he is about this."
Ashborne's eyes brightened. "Singularity Veil?"
"Yes," she said softly. "It is the power to manipulate tachyonic particles, particles that do not exist in this dimension, but in a higher one. We live in the Third Dimension. The tachyons, on the other hand, are in a higher one… though no one truly knows where they exist. Not even your father. The Veil can only be used by one member of House Vaelric per generation, so it means… for you to use it, your father…"
Maelira's voice faltered slightly, her eyes betraying the weight of what she was about to say.
"Your father would have to die."
Ashborne's heart clenched. I can't… I won't… he thought, a storm of conflicting emotions roiling inside him. I can't use it because father is alive… and I don't want him to die. But if this power is meant for me… why must it be bound by such a cruel rule?
He clenched his fists, struggling to make sense of it all. Such a picky power… Why does it have to be only one member at a time? And I still haven't even learned the origin of it. Whenever I ask, Father always dismisses me.
Maelira softened, placing her hand gently on his shoulder. "Do not despair, Ashborne. The Veil chooses its moment, and you… will find your way to it in time. For now, learn. Observe. Prepare. Someday, the Singularity Veil will be yours—but you must be ready, both in mind and in heart."
"Since it exists in a higher dimension," Ashborne said thoughtfully, "we can't use it as-is in ours. So we must… degrade it?"
Maelira's eyes widened slightly, then she smiled faintly. "Correct. As expected—you are clever. That is exactly how the House Vaelric manipulates it. The Veil has two forms: Aetherion, the pure tachyonic particle, and Voidrift, the application of it. Voidrift is how we bend it to our will. The pure form is too dangerous to control directly in this dimension."
She paused, letting the weight of the revelation settle. "The origin… it is unknown. Limitless. Only one Vaelric at a time can command it. The books say this, and so it has always been."
Ashborne listened, enraptured. Maelira clapped her hands softly to draw his attention back.
"Anyway, your father wants you to guard the Third Princess," she said.
"Aww… why do I have to do such a drag thing?"
"Her life is in grave danger," Maelira explained. "The elders of the Imperium—those who oppose her mother—planted a coup d'état to frame her. They aim to eliminate the 3rd princess and her mother before the Emperor can return. The Emperor is away, handling a civil war in another kingdom, and he does not yet know the threat against them. That is why she must be protected until she reaches him safely."
Ashborne frowned. "And… why me specifically? There are other soldiers stronger than I am. I can't even wield Singularity Veil yet."
Maelira's expression softened. "Because you are the heir. And because your father trusts you—even if you think you are not ready. Our forces are largely engaged in Cindralith. You are the only one available to ensure the princess arrives safely at the Emperor's side. Your mission is to stand between her and those who would see her dead."
Cindralith, a land that is as big as a kingdom, given to us to nurture and clean, is a deadly land filled with countless monsters, where only the strongest survive. The Emperor gave the land to us to tame it because of the highest-grade magic stones found there… Ashborne thought, sighing.
"Ugh, fine. So when do I leave?"
"As soon as possible," Maelira replied.