Caius lay awake that night, staring at the cracked ceiling of the underground hideout.
The words from the archive book repeated in his mind.
"The Veil is the barrier between time and the abyss. It is neither living nor dead, but it watches. And when the Timeborn walks too far, it takes notice."
He clenched his fists.
I didn't just see the Hollow King. Something else saw me too.
But what did that mean?
And more importantly… what was it going to do?
He exhaled and turned on his side, but sleep didn't come. Eventually, he gave up. Pulling on his coat, he slipped out of the sleeping quarters and into the dark tunnels of the hideout.
He needed air.
He didn't remember when he fell asleep.
One moment, he was sitting near the flickering lantern in the hideout's main hall, deep in thought. The next—
He was somewhere else.
A vast, endless void stretched before him, swirling with dark mist. The sky—or whatever passed for a sky—was shattered, like cracked glass reflecting thousands of distant stars.
Caius turned sharply, his pulse pounding.
This wasn't a normal dream.
This was something else.
And then—he felt it.
A presence.
Slowly, he turned.
A figure stood in the distance. Black robes shifting like shadows, a hood obscuring its face.
Caius swallowed. "Who are you?"
The figure took a step forward. The space between them folded strangely, like time and distance didn't work the same way here.
Then, the voice came.
"You should not be here, Timeborn."
It wasn't a single voice. It was many—overlapping, echoing, some whispering, some screaming.
Caius stood his ground. "Where is this?"
The figure didn't answer. Instead, it raised a hand.
Caius felt it immediately.
A pulling sensation—like something was reaching into him, grasping at his power.
His breath hitched. He staggered back, but the force only grew stronger.
Like it was trying to rip time itself from his body.
Caius fought it, reaching for his power—
And suddenly, he was falling.
Caius jerked awake, gasping for breath.
He was back in the hideout, sprawled on the cold stone floor. His chest ached, like something had crushed the air from his lungs.
Sweat dripped from his brow. His fingers trembled.
That wasn't just a dream.
It was real.
The Veil—whatever it was—had touched him.
And it had tried to take everything.
Caius pushed himself up, his breathing uneven. He had to tell Elias.
He had to tell all of them.
Because whatever was coming…
It was no longer just the Hollow King they had to fight.