They turned the corner into Orion's neighbourhood, the air still and cool beneath the quiet glow of the streetlights.
The neighbourhood was surprisingly intact. Streetlights flickered softly, a few cars sat neatly parked and untouched, and the air didn't smell of smoke, ash, or blood. It was peaceful - eerily so.
Orion hadn't paid much attention at first. Between the darkness, exhaustion, and the fact that he'd been deep in conversation with his brother, whom he hadn't seen in a while, he didn't think much of it.
'Maybe the demons didn't do that much damage after all,' he thought, exhaling with faint relief.
But the moment they turned onto his street, that relief shattered like glass.
He froze mid-step. 'No way…'
"What the fuck?!"
His house stood there - completely intact. No gaping hole where a hulking demon had crushed it, no claw marks scarring the pavement, no sign of the chaos he had witnessed hours earlier. The street looked so normal that it almost mocked him.
Bastion frowned, glaring at him for swearing - a bad habit he couldn't quit. But before he could scold him further, he noticed the way Orion grabbed his own head, breathing unevenly.
The kid looked pale. Panicked.
'Is this idiot having a mental breakdown?' Bastion realised silently.
Orion's thoughts spiralled fast and hard.
'No, don't tell me I imagined it all. Was everything - those demons, the Veil, that weird eyeball - just some government trick? A hallucination? Have I actually lost it? No, that can't be. It was way too detailed, too vivid. Unless… aliens? Super-advanced tech messing with my brain? No, no, that's stupid - wait, is it?'
'There has to be an explanation. The headquarters, that wristwatch the Order gave me, the system… that was all real, right? Right, System?'
{Yes. The host can rest assured that this is all real.}
Orion exhaled in shaky relief, then froze again. 'But wait… if this wasn't real, wouldn't the System be part of the illusion? Of course, it would say that. What if-'
Thwack!
A massive palm smacked the back of his head again, snatching him out of his spiralling thoughts.
"Snap out of it, dimwit," Bastion grumbled.
"Hey! I'm serious, how does this make sense?" Orion shot back, rubbing his head.
Bastion let out a booming laugh. "Oh, that's why you suddenly looked confused and zoned out."
"That's not an answer," Orion deadpanned.
"Yeah, yeah," Bastion said, waving a hand. "Look, I'm not the best at explaining stuff, and honestly, I don't fully understand it myself."
"Oh, really? Shocking," Orion muttered sarcastically.
Bastion gave him that glare again - the kind that could silence a room - before sighing. "Alright, fine. Think of it like this. The Veil is basically… a fold in space. A copy of the human realm. Like saving a backup file of the world. Only those who are marked can access it. The Veil acts like a protective barrier around our reality, containing demons that try to cross over."
"So whatever happens in the copy doesn't affect the original?" Orion summarised quickly.
"Pretty much," Bastion confirmed. "But if too much chaos builds up - if there's too much spiritual or demonic activity - it can spill over. That's why we exist: to keep the Veil stable. We exterminate powerful demons, manage concentrations of cursed energy, and handle clean-up afterwards. Their bodies reek of corrupted energy, which is like a dark version of Spirit Energy."
He crossed his arms. "Auxiliaries and low-ranking exorcists usually handle that grunt work."
Orion was quiet, absorbing every word. The explanation fit together neatly, clicking into place with everything he'd seen.
'I must've been pulled into the Veil when the System activated… or when that eyeball merged with me,' he reasoned internally. 'The surge of energy that caused must've opened a path. But they said the Order can detect breaches. So either the System cloaks me, or I somehow slipped through without disturbing the barrier. Maybe I'm… different.'
He frowned. 'No, that's a stretch. It was probably the System. Still… I'll be back there eventually, won't I? If I want to be an exorcist, I'll have to. But without agreeing to work for the Order, there's no way they'll hand me one of those magical keys.'
Orion didn't bother thinking about it too deeply. When there's a will, there's a way. Still, he turned to his brother and asked. "Is there any way to get in and out of the Veil if you don't have one of those keys? Without, y'know, tearing the world open?"
Bastion hummed, scratching his jaw. "Maybe. But I wouldn't be the best person to ask."
"Yeah, what did I expect?" Orion muttered flatly.
Bastion smirked. "Hey, I'm the muscle, not the brains. That's more Ravion's department."
Orion blinked, surprised his brother had basically read his mind. "Speaking of him, where is that bastard anyway?"
Bastion shrugged. "No idea. He's always busy with his own… nerdy work."
"So, he's an exorcist too?"
"Yes - well, kind of. He'll explain it better himself. All I know is that I'm a lieutenant, and he's just an operative." Bastion puffed up his chest proudly.
"Really? I thought he'd be way higher ranked than you."
Bastion's brow twitched. "Well, he doesn't get much recognition and rarely deals with demons directly. He's more research-oriented. But the guy's a genius - his brain's something else."
"I can imagine," Orion said.
And then..
Ahem.
A deliberate cough cut through the quiet street.
They froze.
Neither of them had sensed anyone approach, yet a new presence stood behind them - calm, composed, and suffocatingly familiar.
Orion slowly turned his head.
And there, standing in the dim glow of a streetlight, was the very person they were just speaking about...