Night draped the city of Erebus in its cold embrace, and the streets seemed to hold their breath as Cael moved through the winding alleys. The letter's message burned in his mind — the Veil, a mystery wrapped in shadows, beckoned him onward like a siren's call.
Whispers, half-heard and half-remembered, drifted from dark corners of the old market district. Tales of the Veil — a hidden passage, a sacred trial, a threshold between worlds — spoke of power and peril intertwined. Those who sought it rarely returned unscathed.
With every step, the inverted star upon Cael's breast pulsed softly beneath his worn garments, a heartbeat tethered to the curse he bore yet also to a promise unknown.
At the edge of the district, an alley swallowed in shadow deeper than the night itself awaited. There, a figure cloaked in mystery awaited silently, a presence both foreboding and familiar.
"Cael," the voice came low, threading through the stillness, "You seek the Veil. But know this — it will strip away more than your secrets."
Cael hesitated, the weight of unknown truths pressing down like the sky itself.
To turn away was to forsake answers; to step forward was to invite the Horned Star's hunger ever closer.
The night stretched before him — a razor's edge between salvation and oblivion.
The figure extended a hand, revealing a talisman carved as a shattered star — a key to crossing the Veil.