The spiraling stairs of the bell tower groaned beneath their feet, each step a warning of the age and decay that held the structure together. Dust floated in the cold air, shimmering faintly in the pale lantern light, and the mist outside seeped through cracks, curling like spectral fingers around the warped wooden beams.
Alex led the way, one hand pressed against the railing, the other ready to channel the Veil's energy. His arm throbbed from the graze of the turned villager's claws, but the pulse of power in his veins now seemed to partially dull the pain.
Tara followed close, still clutching the rescued villager. "I can feel it," she whispered, voice tense. "The Veil… it's… stronger up here. And… watching."
Liam's breathing was shallow, one arm hanging uselessly by his side. "I feel it too. Like… it's alive. Waiting for us to slip."
Jordan trailed behind, muttering curses under his breath. "I hate everything about this place. Why do we climb up creepy towers in villages that murder people with… bones-bending magic? Seriously. What logic—"
He stopped mid-complaint as a low, vibrating growl echoed from above. The floor beneath them shivered slightly, like the tower itself was responding to the unseen threat.
At the top, the chamber opened into a wide, circular space. The bell hung precariously above, rusted chains groaning faintly in the stale air. Shadows pooled along the edges, writhing and twisting in anticipation.
And then they saw it.
A Veil-touched miniboss—a man, once a blacksmith perhaps, now grotesquely transformed. His limbs were elongated and warped; his spine arched backward unnaturally, ribs jutting out at jagged angles. Veil energy coursed visibly across his skin, black veins glowing faintly, and his eyes burned with a green, unnatural fire. His hands ended in claws, tips curving like sickles, dripping with dark ichor.
The creature's voice echoed from the chamber, deep and broken:"Outsiders… intruders… you feel the Veil in you. It belongs to me. It's mine!"
Alex felt the pulse of the Veil surge violently in his chest, almost as if responding to the miniboss's claim. Shadows at their feet coiled, responding instinctively to his unspoken command.
"Get ready," he hissed. "We need to hold together. Use the Veil… but control it. Don't let it control you."
The miniboss lunged with terrifying speed, claws raking through the air. Liam raised the lantern just in time, its pale blue glow forming a fragile protective bubble around the group. The first swipe grazed Alex's shoulder, tearing a shallow gash. Pain flashed sharply, but the Veil's energy flared in response, knitting the wound partially closed in an eerie, cold sensation.
Tara extended her hands, pushing Veil energy outward to strike the miniboss. Shadows wrapped around its legs, attempting to bind it, but it tore free with unnatural force, sending a gust of wind that nearly knocked them all backward.
Jordan swung the iron pipe with desperation, striking the miniboss in the knee. It howled, jerking violently, and the sound echoed like bones snapping. One of its arms twitched uncontrollably, clawing at Jordan. He barely avoided a strike that would have crushed his shoulder.
The Veil pulse within Alex surged, almost begging him to push further. He focused, letting the energy flow from his hands into the floor, creating a barrier of writhing shadows that coiled around the miniboss's torso. The creature thrashed violently, limbs folding and snapping, its howls echoing through the tower.
Tara tried to stabilize the rescued villager, who trembled in her arms, screaming softly. "It's okay… it's okay. We're going to stop it…"
The miniboss roared, swinging wildly. Liam tried to flank it, holding the lantern aloft, but the creature's claw connected with his side, sending him crashing against the stone wall. Pain shot through him as ribs cracked, leaving him gasping and barely conscious.
Alex felt a surge of guilt and panic. "We can't let it get to him!" he shouted, pouring every ounce of Veil energy he had into a direct strike. Shadows leapt from his arms like living tendrils, wrapping around the miniboss. For a moment, it screeched, caught in the mass of coiling darkness.
Tara joined, pushing her energy into Alex's. The shadows twisted tighter, constricting the creature, but the Veil reacted violently. The tower groaned, stones and wood shaking under the strain.
The miniboss's voice was raw with pain and fury. "You… cannot… control… the Veil!"
Alex's arms shook, Veil energy burning through him. He realized suddenly that the Veil wanted more than just action—it demanded surrender, control, even aggression, and it whispered to him, urging him to cross a line he wasn't sure he could bear.
Jordan shouted, "Do something! It's going to kill us all!"
With a final, desperate push, Alex channeled everything he had through his hands. The shadows struck the miniboss full force. It let out a final, inhuman scream as its body twisted violently—bones snapping audibly, limbs folding into impossible positions. Its back arched, claws digging into the floor as it collapsed, writhing once before going utterly still.
The room fell silent. The Veil pulse receded, leaving a heavy, aching emptiness in their veins. Liam groaned weakly from the floor, pain radiating through his side and ribs. Tara helped him to a sitting position, while Jordan collapsed onto the floor, breathing hard.
Alex looked at the miniboss's corpse. Its body was a horrifying mess—twisted, broken, and still pulsating faintly with residual Veil energy. A chill ran down his spine. "It's dead," he whispered. "But… at what cost?"
Tara's hand trembled as she brushed her fingers through the air, trying to calm the Veil. "We're… we're alive. But it feels like… we changed. The Veil… it's more than power now. It's something that wants us to do… things."
Jordan groaned. "I don't care what it wants. I just… don't want to feel what it felt like controlling it. That thing… it was horrible."
Liam coughed, wincing as pain shot through him. "I… think I'm broken. But… we're still here. Somehow."
Alex nodded grimly. "We've survived, but the Veil has made its claim. Every time we use it… it knows us, learns us, tests us. And Direford… Direford isn't finished yet."
Tara glanced out a cracked window. The mist below the tower swirled, whispering, alive with anticipation. "We've won this fight, but the next… it might not be just a turned villager. It might be the ones controlling them."
Alex clenched his jaw. "Then we prepare. We heal, we rest, and we climb higher. Every step in this village is a test, every death a warning. And the Veil… the Veil is awake in us now. There's no going back."
The lantern in Liam's hands pulsed faintly, almost as if agreeing. Shadows shifted gently along the tower walls, their whispering quiet for the first time since the fight. But the party knew—this was only the beginning.
Direford's horrors had not yet revealed their full measure.
And from somewhere beyond the fog, they could feel a presence watching, waiting… calculating.
Lord Drakov was aware.
And the Veil demanded their obedience—or their destruction.