Before you start reading this...
This chapter will have it's spoilers...but it won't be that deep...
If your still here, let's dive in.
This story won't hold your hand.
The world you're about to enter is cruel, twisted, and hungry.
Power doesn't come as a blessing—it comes with chains. Every step forward will be paid for in blood, and sometimes survival isn't victory… it's just the chance to suffer another day.
Kaelen's generation grows up in a world where the Veil is just reality. They don't know peace; they know survival.
The mc: Kaelen.
Begins with nothing. A crippled scavenger with no future, no status, and no hope.
But when the Veil tears open and drags him inside, he doesn't die. He awakens something different.
Something wrong. A power that devours, whispers, and corrupts.
This is a journey of survival, betrayal, and revelations buried in darkness.
The world has its own hiarchly.... it's powers governing the world. The rift that opens around the world are called veils.
People journey in the "veils" willingly looking for power or are sucked in.
It all started 100 yrs ago....now the people of the world have adapted to it workings.
Power scales.
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1. Initiates – Humans who've never entered a Rift. No powers, survival relies on instinct and tools. Most die first try.
2. Novice Echo Bearers – First-time survivors with an Echo. Powers exist but control is unstable.
Early Kaelen sits here. Well...after a good ol adventure that is.
3. Adept Echo Bearers – Survivors of multiple Rifts; control is reliable. Can manipulate Echo fragments and minor environment effects.
4. Veteran Echo Bearers – Experienced survivors. Can combine Echo abilities, advanced combat and defense.
5. Elite Echo Bearers – Extremely strong. They have Mastered the Echoes, can dominate other Echo Bearers, influence the Veil.
6. Forbidden / Legendary Echo Bearers – Rare, corrupted, unstable. Consume other Echoes for exponential growth. Kaelen has potential for this, but huge risk to mind and body.
Now that, that's out of the way.... let's talk about the echoes....since I mentioned it a lot in the power scalings.
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What Echoes Are
Origin:
Echoes are fragments of the Veil that bond with a human survivor after they survive a Rift. They're not "powers" you just learn—they're alive in a sense, reflecting the Veil's essence.
Nature:
Each Echo is unique to its host. It's like a shadow of the Veil imprinted on your soul. They can manifest as:
Physical abilities (super strength, speed, regeneration)
Energy manipulation (flames, shadows, aether blasts)
Constructs (weapons, wings, barriers, or beasts born of the Veil)
Mental abilities (enhanced perception, instincts, whispers of foresight)
Bonding:
First-time survivors are Novice Echo Bearers, and their Echo manifests raw and unstable.
The stronger the bond with the Echo, the more control and abilities the bearer gains.
Too strong of an Echo without proper control can corrupt the host, turning them into a Forbidden / Legendary Echo Bearer....or worse, a Veilmarked, (gonna talk about this later in the novel, don't worry).
Consumption / Growth:
Echoes can absorb fragments of weaker Echoes to grow stronger.
This comes at a mental cost: the more you consume, the more the Veil whispers, slowly eroding sanity or morality.
Limitations:
Echoes are tied to the Veil. Being cut off from it too long makes them weaker.
They can be unstable under extreme stress. Raw Echoes can backfire or even harm the host.
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Echoes = living fragments of the Veil bonded to humans. They're powers, companions, and potential curses all in one. The MC's Eclipse Wraith (you will see it later) is one of these—special, predatory, and slowly shaping him as he survives the Veil.
Journey along side Kaelen.
There will be horror.
There will be loss.
There will be choices that leave scars deeper than wounds.
But there will also be growth, defiance, and a spark of hope burning against the abyss.
If you're ready for a tale that tests the human soul against fear itself, then step into the Veil.
Once inside, there's no going back.