The world faded away as Quinn knelt beside the boy in the alley. The rusted walls and cracked pavement dissolved, replaced by an endless expanse of shifting black—a void without ceiling or floor.
"This," the boy said calmly, "is the Shadow Realm's Veil. Between thought and reality. Between power and madness."
Quinn looked down. His feet didn't touch anything, but he didn't fall. The darkness held him, cradled him like a living ocean.
"It reacts to you," the boy explained. "It senses your soul, your rage, your doubts. It will use them against you unless you define yourself."
Quinn's eyes narrowed. "Then let's define me."
With a nod, the boy raised his hand. From the void emerged a shape—tall, angular, predatory. Two glowing slits for eyes opened within its featureless face. Its limbs moved like smoke, but its presence was suffocating.
"This is Velux, the Shadow of Judgment," the boy said. "He tests the unworthy."
Before Quinn could ask anything else, Velux surged forward. No sound, no warning—just a blur of black that slammed into him with a force that shattered his concentration.
Quinn was thrown into the void, tumbling through space until he willed the shadows to catch him. They obeyed—barely.
"What the hell was that?" Quinn shouted.
"The test," the boy replied from nowhere and everywhere. "You don't fight it with brute force. You show it why you deserve the pact."
Velux appeared again—closer this time—reaching out with a massive claw of dark tendrils. Quinn dove aside, forming a shield of compressed shadow. The impact cracked it like glass.
"Your power reflects your clarity," the boy's voice echoed. "So tell me, Quinn… what do you fight for?"
Velux attacked again. Quinn gritted his teeth and dodged, summoning two daggers of shadow that he hurled toward its chest. They sank in, but Velux didn't falter.
"I fight to protect my family!" Quinn yelled.
Velux paused.
Quinn's voice rose. "I fight because the world's unfair. Because I've lost too much. Because I refuse to be a pawn in anyone's game."
Velux's form trembled, its smoky limbs distorting.
"I don't want to be a god," Quinn said. "I just want the power to choose. My life. My fate. My way."
With that, he slammed his palm into the ground. Shadows exploded outward in every direction. A wave of raw willpower, unfiltered and furious.
Velux staggered.
Then it bowed.
Quinn blinked. "Did I… pass?"
The boy's voice returned, softer this time. "You didn't dominate it. You earned it. Velux sees your truth."
The towering shadow shrank into a thin wisp and flew into Quinn's chest. A faint black mark bloomed across his collarbone, like ink beneath the skin.
"The first pact is sealed," the boy said. "You now carry the judgment of Velux. He will watch over your actions. Use his power wisely."
Quinn stood, chest heaving, adrenaline still burning.
"There are others," the boy continued. "Each one harder. Each one more dangerous. But every name you claim brings you closer to mastering the shadow."
Quinn clenched his fist, feeling a new strength pulsing beneath his skin. Controlled. Alive.
He smirked.
"Bring them on."