The Veil Trial Begins
The floor of Edmond Hall split open.
Lines of blue and black light crawled across the marble like veins, pulsing with life. The air hummed — a deep, resonant vibration that made even the strongest recruits flinch.
Zerathos gripped his wrist nervously. The dark crystal watch glowed faintly, syncing with the pulsing lights on the floor.
> "Students 1 to 10, step forward," Flint's voice boomed, echoing through the hall.
"Remember, this is no playground. Essence Veil tests your spirit — not your muscle."
As the first group stepped into the light, their bodies shimmered, pixelating into particles of glowing essence before vanishing completely. The crowd watched in silence — a mixture of fear and awe.
Zerathos swallowed hard.
> "Is that… teleportation?"
Vex nodded calmly, adjusting his glasses.
> "Not quite. The Veil doesn't move your body — it mirrors your essence inside a realm created from it. Every emotion, every fear, every memory is reflected back at you."
> "So, if I'm afraid of something—"
> "It'll hunt you," Vex finished, tone flat.
Zerathos felt his stomach twist.
> "Great."
Enter the Veil
> "Next group! Numbers 31 to 40!"
Vex glanced at his tag. "Thirty-eight."
Zerathos looked down — "Thirty-nine."
> "Figures," Vex muttered. "Stay close. No matter what you see."
They stepped forward together into the glowing ring. The floor beneath them dissolved into black smoke, swallowing their legs.
The light intensified—then silence.
A single chime rang out.
The Realm of Reflection
They stood in a vast plain of silver sand under a crimson sky.
In the distance, jagged monoliths jutted from the ground like broken teeth. The air shimmered with energy, bending the horizon itself.
Zerathos's eyes widened.
> "This… feels too real."
Vex knelt, touching the sand. It rippled like water under his fingertips.
> "Essence reality. The Veil uses your essence to build a world from your mind. Everything here exists as long as your consciousness does."
A faint pulse erupted through the air.
Their watches blinked.
Trial Start — 10:00 Minutes Remaining
Objective: Reach the Beacon Core.
Penalty: Instability / Essence Drain
> "Ten minutes," Vex said, standing. "Let's move."
They started walking, the sand shifting beneath their boots. The silence of the Veil was unnerving — no birds, no wind, only the hum of raw essence.
Then came the whispers.
At first faint — like echoes behind their thoughts. Then louder, clearer.
> "Zerathos…"
"Why did you survive?"
"Why you?"
He froze.
The whispers were familiar — voices from the slums. From the day he lost everything.
> "Ignore it," Vex said, glancing back. "The Veil reads your memories. If you react, it grows stronger."
But the whispers turned into laughter. Then figures began to rise from the sand — silhouettes of people he once knew.
Their eyes glowed red, faces twisted in mockery.
One stepped forward, her voice cutting through his chest.
> "You left us to die, Zerathos."
He stumbled backward.
> "No… no, I didn't—"
The figures charged.
---
The First Manifestation
Zerathos's body reacted instinctively.
He raised his arms, essence flickering faintly around his hands — but it sputtered out. Nothing.
The phantoms leapt, claws of black energy slashing toward him—
Vex's hand moved faster.
A glyph flashed across his palm, summoning a radiant barrier that split the air like glass.
> "Barrier of Archivum," he muttered.
The phantoms hit it and shattered into smoke.
> "Are you insane?" Vex hissed. "You almost got devoured by your own memory!"
Zerathos gasped, trembling.
> "I— I didn't know they could move."
> "Everything in the Veil moves," Vex said coldly. "Even guilt."
He turned, scanning the horizon. "We're not alone anymore. The Veil reacts to instability. More will come."
The Phantoms Awaken
The red horizon cracked open — dark tendrils surged upward, forming hundreds of humanoid shapes.
Each one bore a distorted fragment of memory — half slum-dwellers, half beasts, their bodies burning with crimson essence.
> "Too many," Zerathos said, backing away.
"Then we run," Vex replied, summoning a glyph circle beneath his feet. His essence flared — a golden pulse that propelled them forward in a burst of speed.
The ground trembled. The phantoms howled and gave chase.
Zerathos tried to keep up, lungs burning.
> "Vex! They're—"
One phantom leapt ahead, landing in front of him. Its claws slashed across his chest. He fell hard, gasping — but when he looked, the wound was already gone.
> "What the hell—?"
Vex turned, stunned. "You healed? That's— impossible for a Level 1!"
Before Zerathos could respond, the sand beneath him began to glow. Lines of light crawled up his arm like veins of molten gold. His breath hitched — his vision fractured.
In that split second, the world slowed.
Every phantom froze mid-motion. Even the air seemed still.
The Hidden Essence
Zerathos's pupils dilated — a faint sigil flickering within his iris.
A pulse of black-blue energy erupted outward, tearing the nearest phantoms apart in a wave of compressed essence.
The explosion illuminated the horizon — and in its echo, silence returned.
He collapsed to his knees, breathing hard. The markings on his skin faded instantly.
Vex approached slowly, eyes wide.
> "That wasn't ordinary essence. What was that?"
Zerathos looked down, trembling hands clenching the sand.
> "I… I don't know. It just— came out."
Vex stared at him for a moment longer, then sighed.
> "Keep it hidden. Whatever that was, don't show it again. The Veil records everything, and the instructors are watching."
He reached out, pulling Zerathos to his feet.
> "Come on. Beacon's close. And if you faint here, you'll die."
Zerathos nodded weakly.
Behind them, the crimson sky flickered — the Veil itself seemed to watch him now.
Their watches blinked again:
Time Remaining: 02:41
Essence Sync: 62%
Aura Stability: Warning — Fluctuating
Vex muttered under his breath, "Fluctuating essence… of course it is."
The Beacon Core
A tower of light pierced the sky ahead, pulsing rhythmically. The Beacon Core.
They ran — the shifting sand now turning into solid crystal under their steps.
Just as they reached it, the sky erupted with black lightning — the last phantom, enormous and molten, rose from the dunes.
Its voice thundered across the realm.
> "You should have died that day, Zerathos."
He froze. The same words he'd heard in his nightmare.
Vex raised his hand, preparing a glyph — but Zerathos stepped forward, eyes burning faintly.
> "No," he said quietly. "Not again."
The phantom lunged — and Zerathos moved. Faster than he ever had. The impact cracked the sand, essence bursting outward.
A blinding flash.
Then, silence.
When the light faded, the Beacon pulsed once more — steady and bright.
Return
The realm disintegrated into smoke.
Zerathos and Vex were pulled upward as their bodies dissolved back into light.
They awoke in the real hall, gasping — lying among dozens of exhausted students, some unconscious, others trembling.
Flint stood before them, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
> "Trial complete. Seventy-one percent survival. Better than expected."
He glanced at Zerathos briefly, eyes narrowing as if something about him felt off.
"Interesting."
Then he turned to the rest.
> "Rest up. You've seen what awaits those who step beyond the Veil. From this moment on — you are no longer recruits."
He paused.
> "You are Initiates of the Nexus."
The hall erupted in murmurs and exhausted cheers.
Zerathos sat in silence, staring at his trembling hands.
On his wrist, the watch flickered — a new notification flashing:
Essence Rank: 1 → 2
Class Affinity: Unknown
Essence Sync: 82%
Aura Stability: Unstable (Detected anomaly)
Vex looked over and frowned.
> "...You really don't know what you are, do you?"
Zerathos shook his head slowly.
> "No. But I think the Veil does."
End of Chapter 6