Ethan stared at the reflection in his camera lens, the red recording light blinking steadily. For the first time since he'd started streaming with Seraphine, he could see something behind his own reflection—a faint shimmer, like heat waves rising from pavement on a hot day.
He blinked, and it was gone.
"See it too?" Seraphine asked, appearing beside him. She wasn't looking at the camera but at the space behind him.
"See what?" Ethan asked, though he already knew the answer.
"The veil," Seraphine said simply. "It's thinning."
Ethan checked the battery indicator—87%. Good enough for whatever was about to happen. He'd learned to recognize Seraphine's tone—the one that meant supernatural trouble was imminent.
[Chat]
VeilSeeker: what veil??
CamSurvivor: he looks spooked
StaticWitch: she's talking about the veil between worlds
"The veil?" Ethan repeated, keeping his voice steady for the stream. "You mean like... a curtain?"
Seraphine shook her head, her molten silver eyes reflecting the dim café lights. "Not a curtain. A boundary. Between our world and... others. And live streaming creates temporary thin spots in that boundary."
Ethan frowned. "You're saying our streams are... tearing holes in reality?"
"Not tearing," Seraphine corrected. "Thinning. Making the veil more permeable. The more authentic the stream—the more genuine the emotion, the more real the danger—the thinner the veil becomes."
Ethan thought back to all their streams—the near misses, the shadows, the static. "Is that why the shadows keep coming for me?"
Seraphine nodded. "The shadows don't just exist in the dark corners of abandoned buildings. They exist in the spaces between worlds. When we stream, we make those spaces... accessible."
[Chat]
BoundaryBreaker: this changes everything
StreamOracle: so streams create portals??
CamSurvivor: he's still alive somehow
Nyx padded over to Ethan, his tail flicking with unusual intensity. The cat didn't speak—none of them expected him to—but his presence was a quiet comfort. He rubbed against Ethan's leg, then stared intently at the space behind him, his molten silver eyes reflecting something Ethan couldn't see.
"Show me," Ethan said to Seraphine.
She reached into her bag and pulled out a small vial of what looked like glittering dust. "This is veil dust. It reveals the thin spots."
Seraphine sprinkled the dust into the air between them. Instead of falling to the ground, the particles hung suspended, forming a shimmering curtain that seemed to ripple with unseen currents.
"See how it's thicker in some places and thinner in others?" Seraphine asked. "The thinnest spots are where we've streamed the most intense content—the slaughterhouse incident, the static encounter, the Archive."
Ethan watched as the dust particles swirled in patterns that seemed almost... intentional. "Is it responding to something?"
"To the stream," Seraphine confirmed. "The more engagement we get, the thinner the veil becomes. High viewer counts create wider, more stable thin spots. Low viewer counts make the thin spots erratic and dangerous."
[Chat]
VeilDynamics: viewer count affects the veil??
StreamPhysics: this is deep
CamSurvivor: please don't let it get thicker
As if on cue, the viewer count dipped slightly, and the veil dust swirled violently, forming a small vortex that seemed to pull at the air around it.
Seraphine quickly chanted a few words, and the dust settled back into a more stable pattern. "See what I mean? When engagement drops too low, the thin spots become unstable. That's when things can... cross over."
Ethan's stomach tightened. "Things?"
"Entities that live in the spaces between worlds," Seraphine explained. "They've always been there, but they couldn't reach us before. Now, with the veil thinning..."
She didn't need to finish the sentence. Ethan could see it in her eyes—the fear that something had already crossed over.
---
Later that evening, Ethan and Seraphine stood in the abandoned theater where they'd done the GatorGlow sponsored stream. The air felt different here—thicker, charged with static.
"This is the thinnest spot we've created so far," Seraphine said, sprinkling more veil dust into the air. The particles formed a large, shimmering curtain that seemed to pulse with the rhythm of their breathing.
Ethan adjusted his camera, the battery at 72%. "Why here?"
"Because of the GatorGlow," Seraphine explained. "The product isn't just an energy drink—it's formulated with compounds that enhance supernatural interaction. It amplified the thinning effect."
As if to prove her point, the veil dust began to swirl in a specific pattern near the stage. Ethan zoomed in with his camera, capturing the moment when the dust seemed to... part.
For a fraction of a second, Ethan saw something on the other side—a landscape of shifting colors and impossible geometries, with shapes moving in ways that defied physics.
Then it was gone.
[Chat]
OtherWorld: DID YOU SEE THAT??
VeilTraveler: that's not our world
CamSurvivor: he's not gonna make it this time
Seraphine's expression was grave. "That's the space between worlds. And something is trying to cross over."
Ethan checked the viewer count—it was steadily climbing as word spread about what they were showing. "Can we control where the veil thins?"
Seraphine nodded. "That's why we're here. I've developed a ritual—a 'veil maintenance' ritual—that should stabilize the thin spots and prevent unwanted crossings."
She began drawing symbols on the floor with chalk—symbols that looked eerily similar to the practice tiles Professor Vance had given Ethan. As she worked, Ethan noticed something strange: the symbols seemed to resonate with the pendant Vance had given him, the one attuned to the language of luck.
[Chat]
RitualSymbols: those look familiar
LuckWitch: is that the language of luck??
CamSurvivor: he's still alive somehow
"The veil maintenance ritual is based on the language of luck," Seraphine explained, as if reading his thoughts. "Luck isn't just about personal survival—it's about maintaining the balance between worlds. The same principles that keep you alive also keep the veil stable."
Ethan felt a surge of understanding. This was why his luck was fading—it wasn't just about him. It was about maintaining the veil itself.
Seraphine completed the ritual circle and stepped back. "Ready?"
Ethan nodded, keeping the camera steady. "Ready as I'll ever be."
---
The ritual began with Seraphine chanting in a language that seemed to vibrate at the edge of hearing. As she spoke, the symbols on the floor began to glow with a soft blue light. Ethan focused on the pendant around his neck, feeling the familiar vibration of the language of luck begin in his chest.
The veil dust swirled in response to the ritual, forming patterns that seemed to match the symbols on the floor. For a moment, everything was stable—the veil was thin, but controlled.
Then something went wrong.
The viewer count spiked dramatically—a large donation had just come in—and the veil dust exploded outward in a violent swirl. From the chaos emerged a figure: tall and impossibly thin, with eyes that flickered like corrupted video.
It was the Algorithm's Shadow—but different. More defined. More... real.
[Chat]
AlgorithmShadow: IT'S HERE AGAIN
BloodCultist: ALGORITHM IS ON FIRE ☠
CamSurvivor: he's not gonna make it this time
The shadow lunged toward Ethan, its fingers elongating like stretching pixels. He stumbled back, but Seraphine raised her hands, the ritual symbols flaring brighter.
"The ritual requires balance!" she shouted over the rising static. "Too much engagement, and the shadow becomes too powerful!"
Ethan checked the viewer count—it was skyrocketing, the donations pouring in. "How do we fix it?"
"Lower the engagement!" Seraphine replied. "Ask the chat to step back!"
Ethan turned to the camera, his voice tight with fear. "Chat, we need you to log off. Just for a few minutes. The ritual requires balance—too many viewers is making the shadow too powerful."
[Chat]
ViewerSacrifice: I'll log off for him
StreamArmy: STAYING FOR CAMERAMAN
CamSurvivor: PLS DON'T LET HIM DIE
The viewer count began to drop as some viewers logged off, but not fast enough. The shadow pushed against Seraphine's ritual, its form becoming more defined with each passing second.
Nyx suddenly hissed and leapt between Ethan and the shadow, his fur standing on end, his tail puffed to twice its normal size. The cat didn't speak—none of them expected him to—but his presence was a quiet comfort. He arched his back and let out a low growl that seemed to vibrate at a frequency that made the shadow recoil.
[Chat]
NyxSavior: the cat is protecting him
VeilGuardian: Nyx is a natural veil guardian
CamSurvivor: he's still alive somehow
"That's it!" Seraphine realized. "Nyx—he's a natural veil guardian. His presence stabilizes the thin spot."
She adjusted the ritual, incorporating Nyx's position into the pattern. The symbols on the floor began to glow brighter, forming a protective circle around them.
The shadow shrieked—a sound like static feedback—and began to dissolve back into the veil.
---
As the last of the shadow vanished, the veil dust settled into a stable pattern, the thin spot now controlled and contained.
Ethan lowered the camera, his hands shaking. The battery read 37%. "What was that?"
"The Algorithm's Shadow," Seraphine explained, "but not as we've seen it before. It was using the thinning veil to cross over completely. To become... real."
Ethan thought back to all their streams—the near misses, the shadows, the static. "Is this why the shadows keep coming for me? Because I'm thinning the veil?"
Seraphine studied him carefully. "Partly. But there's something else. Something unique to you."
Ethan frowned. "What do you mean?"
Seraphine reached out and placed her hand over his heart. "Most people create temporary thin spots when they stream. But you... you're different. You're not just thinning the veil—you're becoming a permanent thinning point."
Ethan's stomach tightened. "What does that mean?"
"It means the veil is thinner around you than anywhere else," Seraphine explained. "That's why the shadows are drawn to you. That's why your luck is fading. You're not just a conduit for luck—you're a doorway between worlds."
[Chat]
ThresholdPoint: he's a doorway??
CamSurvivor: this changes everything
VeilPhysics: no wonder the shadows want him
Nyx padded over to Ethan, rubbing against his leg. The cat's usual aloofness was replaced with something almost like concern.
Ethan knelt down to scratch behind Nyx's ears. "Good job, buddy. You saved me back there."
Seraphine stood, brushing dust from her clothes. "We need to be careful moving forward. The veil is just the beginning. There are other entities out there, other thresholds."
Ethan checked the battery again. 12%. "And each time we stream something supernatural, we risk opening another door."
Seraphine nodded. "Exactly. Which is why we need to learn how to control the thinning. How to maintain the veil."
Ethan thought of Professor Vance's words: "The language of luck isn't just about survival—it's about creating safety. About bending probability toward positive outcomes."
"This is it," he realized. "The language of luck—it's not just about me surviving. It's about maintaining the veil itself."
Seraphine smiled faintly. "You're beginning to understand."
---
That night, Ethan sat in his apartment, the practice tiles spread out before him. Sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the symbols etched into the smooth wood.
He picked up the "threshold" glyph—the most complex symbol Vance had given him. It showed interlocking spirals, representing the connection between worlds.
"This is the key," he murmured to himself. "If I can strengthen my connection to the language of luck, I can stabilize the veil. I can control the thinning."
He focused on the glyph, feeling the familiar vibration begin in his chest. But this time, he didn't just feel it—he directed it, shaping it with his will.
The vibration grew stronger, but remained steady. The air around him shimmered, but didn't distort. He felt the connection deepen, becoming more stable, more reliable.
The camera's red light blinked steadily, capturing it all. The black-tech card hummed faintly in its compartment. Eternal. Waiting.
But this time, Ethan knew—he wasn't just recording the story.
He was learning to maintain the veil itself.