The camp was quiet, but Kaien's mind roared. Rest was a luxury they could not afford—not when the Veil's darkness crept ever closer.
That night, Elias gathered the team beneath a sky smeared with distant stars. His voice was steady but heavy. "The Veil's power comes not just from their tech or magic—it's fueled by echoes."
Iria frowned. "Echoes?"
"Fragments of past realities," Elias explained. "Memories, emotions, even entire events that never truly happened — trapped between the folds of existence. The Veil harvests them to rewrite history, reshape minds."
Solryn's frost-tipped fingers tapped the ground. "That's why Veridan's villagers became shadows — echoes of what was, twisted and lost."
Kaien felt the weight of that truth. The Abyss wasn't just a power—it was a bridge between what was real and what was false.
"We have to find a way to sever their connection to these echoes," Kaien said, his voice low.
Elias nodded. "And that means going deeper into the Veil's heart than anyone has dared before."
A chill wind swept through the camp, carrying whispers of forgotten memories and hidden lies.
Kaien's sword gleamed faintly in the moonlight, a beacon against the gathering darkness.
"We're no longer just fighting enemies," Kaien said. "We're fighting the past itself."