A single strand of faint, shifting light stretched through the air in front of him.
The veil.
After all his encounters with the seemingly endless thread of energy, he felt as though it had been guiding him toward something. Instinctively he reached for it.
Vayne's vision blurred as he began to lose consciousness, the entity's grip tightening around him.
Why did his hand move toward the thread now, when every moment before it had recoiled from him—as though his very existence was something it refused to accept?
And why, in that final breath between fear and oblivion, did it finally choose to answer?
His fingertips brushed the thread, and in that instant, the world stopped moving. The thread wrapped itself around his fingers.
It didn't feel like light anymore. Not really. There was something beneath it, something aware. It moved over his skin as if it knew him, drawing itself closer until he could no longer tell if he was holding it or if it was holding him.
Then it began to pull him in. Not by force, but with purpose, weaving itself around him like it meant to make him part of something larger.
For a split second he saw the street fold inward. The mist twisted into a violent spiral. The entities stretched into pale smears.
Then everything went black as he fell through the world.
The ground disappeared beneath him.
He closed his eyes. All that remained was the feeling of falling through something endless. Vayne clenched the thread harder, but it was no longer only in his hand. It had crept around his arms, his throat, his chest.
It had chained him.
Panic started to rise in him, slow and heavy, until he forced his eyes open.
The moment he decided to open his eyes the feeling stopped. He was on his back.
Cold water ran down the side of his face. The first thing he saw was the sky. It was dark. A darkness that looked as if it had been painted over the world again and again until no light was able to escape.
At the center of the sky, an eclipse hung motionless.
A black circle swallowed the sun, leaving only a thin ring of pale light around it. The ring pulsed faintly.
Rain fell from the sky above. Vayne pushed himself up. His fingers sank deep into the wet, dark grass.
He looked around only to be surprised. Around him stood the ruins of something that seemed old. Broken stone walls rose out of the ground in uneven pieces. Arches stood up without anything to hold. Cracked steps that led nowhere. Pillars leaned over, and some lay on the floor broken.
Something about it reminded him of the Lowline district, though this place felt far older and long abandoned.
Vayne turned his head.
Beyond the ruins, an endless plain of dark grass stretched into the distance, moving gently under a wind he could not feel.
His back was soaked from lying on the grass. Rain poured down his face. His breath came out as cold visible air.
Where am I?
He looked down at his shaking hands. Rain slipped between his fingers and ran cold across his palms.
His breathing was uneven. The pressure around his throat was gone, but his body had not forgotten it. His eyes moved around the ruins.
Am I still in the veil zone?
Vayne flexed his fingers slowly.
Is this my actual body?
No. No, that didn't make sense. He hadn't been moved. He had fallen through something. It felt almost spiritual like only his soul was experiencing the fall.
He lifted his gaze and began walking through the dark grass, toward the only thing that stood out in the empty plain. The ruins waited ahead, half-buried in rain and shadow.
What happened to Lune?
He was lost in thought as he walked. None of this felt real at all, but standing around trying to make sense of every impossible thing would only waste time.
The ruins grew closer. The grass beneath his feet was thick and wet, dragging against his worn shoes every step. The eclipse above gave just enough light for him to see the broken shapes ahead.
Vayne slowed and stepped under the broken arch.
This feels eerie.
He muttered under his breath.
"I just want to go home."
The ruins opened into a small clearing.
Near the center, someone sat on the broken base of a pillar, hunched forward and staring down at his hands.
Vayne stopped as soon as he saw him. His eyes widened.
Is that... me?
The figure had the same face and clothes as him.
It noticed Vayne had stopped and slowly looked up.
Neither of them moved. The expression on its face matched his completely, down to the same confusion and fear he could feel tightening in his own chest.
What the fuck...?
The other him didn't move. He just kept staring with his wide eyes.
Vayne took a step forward.
'Vayne' who was sitting on the stump flinched back.
The movement made Vayne stop. They stared at each other through the rain.
"Hey," Vayne said, but the word died in his throat.
"No," he said, taking half a step back.
"What the hell are you?"
The longer he looked at the figure, the more confused he became. A person could look familiar. A person could remind him of someone. This was different. This was his own face looking back at him with fear that did not belong there. In his mind he rejected the sight before he could understand it. There had to be some trick in the ruins or the veil or whatever place he had fallen into. Because if there wasn't, then the thing in front of him was not himself.
'Vayne' flinched at the question as if the words had struck him.
For a moment, he only stared back. His mouth opened slightly, but nothing came out. The rain ran down his face and gathered at his chin before falling into the grass below.
Vayne waited for an answer.
"Say something."
'Vayne' looked down at himself. His hands moved over his soaked shirt, then up to his face, touching his cheek as if he needed to make sure it was really there. When his fingers reached his mouth, his breathing hitched.
"I don't know," he said.
Vayne's eyes narrowed. 'Vayne' noticing this change in expression exclaimed.
"I don't know," he repeated, louder this time. "I don't know what I am."
Hearing his own voice say those words made Vayne's skin crawl. The ruins felt colder than before. Even with the rain beating against the broken stone.
"Why do you look like me?"
'Vayne' swallowed. His eyes moved over Vayne's face with the same horror Vayne felt staring at him.
"You look like me," he whispered.
Vayne stared at him, waiting for the lie to show. It never did. There was only confusion, raw and terrified, spreading across a face that should have belonged to him alone.
'Vayne' looked down at himself again. He seemed to hate doing it, like every time he checked his own body, he found another reason to panic.
Vayne broke the silence.
"So how did you get here?"
'Vayne' let out a shaky breath.
"I don't know. I already told you. I don't remember anything."
"That's convenient."
'Vayne' looked at him even more confused.
"No? It's not particularly convenient for me."
Vayne didn't respond. He had mostly regained his composure, but irritation was starting to build. It had been one thing after another and he couldn't catch a break.
The other boy's voice shook more than his own. That bothered him. He wanted it to sound fake. He wanted some obvious sign that this thing was pretending. Instead, 'Vayne' looked like he was barely holding himself together.
"Right here, on this stone I woke up. I don't remember walking here. I don't remember falling asleep. I don't remember having a name. I just opened my eyes, and everything was already like this."
"And you didn't think to move?"
'Vayne' looked away.
"I tried."
"You tried?"
'Vayne' nodded slowly.
"I tried to get up. My arms worked. My hands worked. I could turn my head. I could feel the rain. But every time I tried to move my legs, they wouldn't listen. I thought maybe I was hurt but theres nothing on my leg to prove that."
"So you've just been sitting there?"
'Vayne' looked up at him.
"Well, I didn't exactly choose to."
Vayne just kept looking at him. The answer he gave was normal. 'Vayne' had no name. No memories. No idea where he was or how he had gotten there. He claimed his legs would not move. He wore a deeply troubled expression on his face.
He almost would have believed him. But something about it did not sit right. He spoke too clearly. He understood questions. He answered them properly. He was able to explain his situation and defend himself with clear words.
For someone who remembered nothing, he knew a lot.
Maybe it meant nothing. 'Vayne' probably was just scared and confused. Maybe Vayne was looking for a reason not to trust him because trusting something with his face felt insane.
Vayne took one slow step back.
'Vayne' noticed immediately.
"What?"
Vayne did not answer. The rain kept falling. The eclipse was pulsing above them. A thin strand of faint light was seen.
It was almost impossible to see in the rain but the same kind of light as the thread that had pulled Vayne into this place was wrapped around 'Vayne's' ankle.