The stranger's name was Kael, and he moved like a man who had seen centuries pass and bled through most of them.
Eli staggered to his feet, trying to make sense of the violet glow still throbbing under his skin. The symbol burned like a brand, faintly visible through his shirt — a jagged spiral intersected by a sword.
"You're saying I've been… chosen?" Eli asked, voice shaky.
"Chosen, cursed — take your pick," Kael said flatly. "The shard you touched wasn't just an artifact. It's a fragment of the Veil."
Eli frowned. "Veil?"
Kael sighed. "The barrier between this world and the ones we're not supposed to see. The old realms. Magic, monsters, gods, and worse. Ages ago, a pact sealed it. Veilwalkers maintained balance. But the pact broke. The Shadekin — nightmares in flesh — are slipping through."
"So what do I do? Fix conduits with a sword now?"
Kael pulled something from his coat — a hilt, simple and metallic.
"This is a relicblade. Only those touched by the Veil can wield it."
He tossed it at Eli. It pulsed the second his fingers touched it. With a whisper of wind and fire, the blade extended — silver etched with glowing runes, humming with barely restrained power.
Eli stared. "Holy crap…"
"Congratulations. You're officially marked for death. First lesson: the Shadekin can sense you now."
Kael's words barely registered before the first shadow struck.
The alley's end bloomed open like ink bleeding through paper. A creature, all jagged limbs and writhing tendrils, crawled through. Its face was a shifting mask of eyes and teeth. No footsteps — just silence and hunger.
"Hold the blade steady!" Kael shouted.
Eli raised the relicblade. Instinct kicked in — not his own, but something older. The sword moved with him like a living thing. He slashed once — a blur of silver light — and the creature screamed, folding into dust and shadow.
Eli panted. "What the hell was that?!"
Kael looked grim. "A scout. The Shadekin know the Veil is weakening. They'll send more."
"Then what?" Eli asked.
Kael's eyes glowed brighter. "Then we go hunting."