"Knowledge is a knife; some cuts heal, some wound forever."
The fog of Irsia clung to Prince's—Nasir's—shoulders like living silk.Every step echoed faintly, as though the city itself whispered:"This path is dangerous… but necessary."
He moved through a narrow alley that had appeared only in the corner of his vision.The walls were lined with inscriptions no eye should comprehend.Symbols swirled, twisting over themselves, half writing, half living shapes.
At the end, a heavy door loomed.It pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat.Carved into it: a single symbol—a Veil, layered twelvefold, with a hollow eye at its center.
Prince reached out.The air resisted him, vibrating against his skin.Then the door creaked open on its own.
Inside was a library unlike any other.
The Room Beyond Reality
Shelves stretched impossibly high, bending in geometries the mind could not process.Books floated slightly above the shelves, drifting toward him as if aware of his presence.The air smelled of ink, metal, dust, and something older—the scent of lost aeons.
Every book contained knowledge forbidden to normal eyes:
Rituals that could manipulate the Veil itself
The rise and fall of gods across countless worlds
Methods of fragmenting identity to spawn multiple avatars
Histories that had been erased from existence
A whisper in the shadows guided him:"Choose carefully. Some truths kill the mind that touches them."
Prince understood instinctively: the library was a test, and a gift.Some knowledge was survival. Some knowledge was temptation.
The First Forbidden Ritual
A pedestal in the center held a tome glowing faintly blue.Prince approached.The air thickened; the shadows leaned closer.
Opening it, he found instructions written in shifting letters, moving when he tried to focus:
"To summon the reflection within,to command the self beyond the Veil,to weave threads of existence,sacrifice memory to birth a fragment,and bind it to the host."
A chill ran down his spine.He realized: this was the method to create an Avatar.
The ritual required not just knowledge, but control over self, mind, and the Veil itself.A single misstep would tear the soul apart.
And yet, something primal stirred within him.He could feel the power in the words—the pull of inevitability.
Glimpses of Veil 12
As he read further, the library seemed to fold around him.Shelves twisted; books whispered secrets; shadows projected impossible visions.
Among them: Veil 12.
A throne shrouded in grey fog
Endless corridors bending beyond comprehension
Shadows with no source, no origin, no form
Figures moving in slow motion across space that didn't exist
Threads connecting reality, consciousness, and fate
A whisper threaded through the library:"Veil 12 does not tolerate errors.It observes all anomalies.It marks those who may ascend… and devours those who falter."
Prince realized the enormity of what he had touched.Veil 12 was not a place or a layer.It was an awareness, a presence, a godlike force that could manipulate the world behind reality.
The Price of Knowledge
He felt the first stirrings of his future Avatars syncing inside his consciousness.Memories of Nasir, fragments of futures, whispers of the Cult of Shadows—all aligned for a moment in uncanny harmony.
The whisper continued:
"Knowledge is debt. Every secret consumes a part of the seeker.Power is balance, and balance is pain."
Prince exhaled, cold sweat on his brow.But a spark of excitement flared inside him:
"This is the path. The fragments, the avatars, the Veil… all of it.This is how I will survive.And then… I will ascend."
The Library's Guardians
A shadow detached itself from the walls—tall, impossible, with eyes blinking in irregular rhythms.It spoke directly into his mind:
"Mortal who borrows godhood,every step forward will echo across fates.Every fragment birthed will remember.Every secret learned is now a chain upon your soul."
Prince met its gaze.He felt the weight, the judgment, the test.
But he also felt something else—control.A thrill.
"…Then I accept," he whispered."And I will write my own rules."
The shadow bowed slightly, receding into the shelves.
The library exhaled—a sound like ink spilling into water.
Prince closed the tome carefully.The shadows of the library seemed to bend toward him, acknowledging him.The first step had been taken.
Closing Mystery of Chapter 8
Prince left the Hidden Library.The city outside had changed slightly—lanes twisting differently, lanterns flickering in eerie harmony, fog curling around the corners like living fingers.
He realized: the city remembered everything.Every step, every whisper, every thought.
And somewhere beyond, behind the Veil:Veil 12 had noticed him.
Prince smiled faintly, calm yet unnervingly poised:
"…This is only the beginning.The debt will grow.The city will watch.The Veil will wait.And I will learn."
End of Chapter 8