Gryndale didn't sleep that night.
Seko couldn't either.
He sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the peeling wall in his cramped room — replaying every moment from the marketplace in his head — the cursed man, the shadow tendrils, the sigils, the girl who appeared like a ghost with warnings, Kalo's words…
"You've been marked since birth."
Sleep didn't want him anymore.
Morning came without mercy.
His body felt heavy, like all the weight in his life had physical mass now.
But he forced himself up.
Because today, Kalo would bring him to meet "someone who wanted to see him."
A person who might have answers about the Veil — about his nightmares — about everything.
Seko left the building with a slow inhale, hoodie on, eyes tired, but something sharper inside him — like instinct had finally woken up.
He walked to the marketplace again. It was quieter today — still shaken by yesterday's chaos. People whispered in groups — glancing around nervously — like a storm had passed but they knew more was coming.
Kalo was there — leaning against the same pillar — like nothing unusual had happened.
When Kalo saw Seko approaching, he nodded once.
"You came," he said.
Seko answered with the truth sitting in his throat.
"I need answers."
Kalo's expression turned serious.
"Good. Then prepare yourself — because answers never come cheap."
They walked.
Not talking — just moving through the city's back alleys, past old buildings, broken staircases, abandoned halls. Seko didn't know this side of Gryndale existed.
Kalo finally stopped in front of a warehouse — the kind that looked like goods should be inside.
No sign.
No windows.
Old rusted metal walls.
"This is it," Kalo said.
Seko stared.
"…This looks like a place for storing stolen things."
Kalo huffed a humorless laugh.
"You're not wrong."
He pushed the metal door gently.
It slid open — almost silently — like someone had oiled the hinges recently. Inside — it wasn't what Seko expected.
The interior wasn't dusty or empty.
It was a training hall.
Wide space.
Pillars.
Targets.
Weapon racks.
Even glowing symbols etched into the concrete.
This place… was built for combat.
Kalo didn't say anything. He led Seko deeper — and finally they stopped before a man sitting on a chair near a table.
Grey hair on the sides — short military cut — scars over his knuckles — cold eyes that had seen things most men would go insane from.
He wasn't big like a bodybuilder.
He was battle-shaped.
Different.
Like someone who'd learned strength through loss.
The man didn't stand.
He simply looked at Seko.
"So," he said with a calm voice, "you're the boy who stared at the sigils without dying."
Seko felt his legs stiffen.
The man stood finally — slowly — every movement disciplined — like a soldier who still lived by his old training.
"My name," he said, "is General Caedron Varos."
General.
Even Kalo went quiet.
Seko swallowed.
"Y-you're… ex-Apex Warden?"
Caedron answered without pride or emotion.
"I didn't leave because I retired. I left because I refused their doctrine."
Seko's mind froze.
"Why?"
Caedron walked closer — voice low.
"Because the Apex Wardens no longer protect Gryndale."
Seko blinked.
"…Then what do they do?"
Caedron looked directly into his eyes — gaze heavy enough to crush the truth into him.
"They hunt Veil-born anomalies."
Seko frowned.
"They hunt the cursed like the man in the market?"
"No," Caedron said.
A pause.
"They hunt anything the Veil touches."
Seko stared.
Then slowly his breath shortened.
He understood what Caedron was saying.
But Caedron made it clearer anyway.
"If the Apex Wardens knew you could read Veil sigils…"
he continued.
"…they would classify you as a threat."
Seko's knees almost buckled.
He suddenly felt the entire world shift — not physically — but mentally.
He thought being different was a blessing.
He thought seeing the symbols made him unique — special — chosen.
But now — it made him hunted.
Seko whispered:
"So… I'm not a candidate to join them?"
Caedron leaned closer — eyes sharp.
"You are not a potential recruit, Seko. You are a target."
The air around them felt heavier.
Kalo spoke next — quietly:
"That's why I brought you here. To protect you — before they find out."
Seko sat down — or maybe he collapsed into the chair behind him — he couldn't tell anymore. His body felt hollow.
He stared at Caedron.
"So… what is the Veil then? What's happening to me?"
Caedron didn't sugarcoat.
"The Veil," he said, "is an ancient boundary between our reality and the other planes. It leaks… sometimes. Some people born near high-signal zones absorb traces of Veil energy before birth."
Seko felt his pulse echo in his ears.
"So I was born already connected to it?"
"Yes," Caedron said. "Marked from origin."
Seko remembered the whisper in his mind yesterday.
You have been marked since birth…
This wasn't coincidence.
It was all connected.
"So the nightmares I have…" Seko continued.
"…aren't nightmares," Caedron completed. "They are visions. Early stage visions. Your blood remembers what your mind cannot yet translate."
Seko sat still.
Everything felt like a lie — everything he believed about his simple existence — his poverty — his insignificance — it was all wrong.
Caedron crossed his arms.
"You have two paths, Seko. Only two."
Seko forced himself to listen.
"One — you disappear," Caedron said. "Cut all connections, go quiet, live in hiding, and hope the Apex Wardens never learn your name."
Seko felt sick.
"And the second?"
Caedron's voice hardened.
"You learn to survive. You begin training. You learn to control the sigils — before they burn you from the inside."
Silence.
Then Caedron added:
"The Veil doesn't give gifts. It gives responsibilities."
Seko's voice trembled.
"And if I choose the first option?"
Caedron stared at him with a cold truth.
"You die eventually — either from the Veil consuming your nerves… or from Wardens finishing the job."
Seko closed his eyes.
So there was no real escape.
His fate — already locked.
Caedron exhaled.
"You have power — or rather — potential power. But potential means nothing without control. And your window is small."
Seko opened his eyes.
"What do you mean small?"
Caedron answered:
"You have less than one season before the Veil inside you fully awakens."
Seko froze.
"And then?"
Caedron didn't blink.
"You either become a weapon… or a corpse."
The weight of that sentence fell like a hammer in Seko's chest.
And yet — there was something else.
Something small — but burning inside him.
Resolve.
He looked up at Caedron — eyes steady for the first time.
"Teach me."
Caedron didn't react at first — he just observed Seko — silently — judging the authenticity of those words.
Then — after a long slow moment — he turned his head slightly.
"Kalo," Caedron said, "close the door."
Kalo obeyed — sliding the metal door shut.
Caedron returned his attention to Seko.
"You want to survive? Then say it again."
This time Seko didn't hesitate.
"Teach me."
Caedron nodded once — like a ritual was being sealed.
"Then training begins now."
Seko stood up.
"What do I do first?"
Caedron began walking — and Seko followed — until they reached an empty wide space in the center of the warehouse.
Caedron spoke while walking:
"Everyone has a Veil signature. Some signatures are dormant… others are volatile."
He stopped and faced Seko.
"Your signature is active. The sigils you see are proof of that."
Seko swallowed.
"So how do I control it?"
Caedron lifted one finger.
"You don't control the Veil by force. You listen to it."
Caedron pointed to Seko's chest.
"You listen from inside."
Seko blinked.
"How—"
But before he finished — Caedron suddenly slammed his palm into Seko's sternum — not hard enough to injure — but enough to shock his breath.
Seko staggered backward, stunned.
"What are you—"
Caedron stepped forward sharply.
"You are thinking like a human. Stop thinking like a human."
The sentence wasn't metaphorical.
It was literal.
And Seko realized — slowly — he wasn't supposed to use the Veil.
He was part of it.
Caedron finally said:
"Close your eyes."
Seko did.
"Breathe slowly," Caedron continued. "Not with lungs — with awareness."
Seko tried.
He took slow breaths.
His mind quieted.
The warehouse faded.
Darkness.
Then…
a glow.
Symbols.
The same sigils — floating around him — shifting — rearranging — forming shapes like constellations.
He heard faint whispers — not disturbing — but ancient — like voices speaking through the ages.
He reached toward one symbol — not physically — but mentally — and it pulsed with recognition — responding to him.
Then suddenly — the symbol flashed — and Seko gasped — stumbling backward — opening his eyes.
He was sweating.
Breathing fast.
Caedron didn't look surprised.
"That was the Veil acknowledging your presence," he said.
Seko stared at his trembling hands.
"That was… real."
Kalo, standing to the side, nodded.
"You connected faster than I expected."
Seko turned to Caedron.
"So… I have a chance."
Caedron's face didn't soften — but his tone changed slightly.
"You have more than a chance. You have potential to surpass even me — if you survive."
Seko exhaled slowly.
Then Caedron concluded:
"Your first lesson begins tomorrow. And Seko…"
Seko looked up.
"…do not tell anyone outside this hall what you are."
Seko nodded.
He turned to leave — but Caedron added one last thing — with grave weight.
"And remember this, Seko. The Apex Wardens aren't watching Gryndale because they want to protect it… They are searching for someone. Someone like you."
Those words made Seko's spine shiver.
But he didn't back down.
He left the warehouse with Kalo — the evening wind of Gryndale colder than usual.
And Seko felt it:
He crossed a line today.
A line that no ordinary person could return from.
Whatever chapter his life was before — it is gone.
The new chapter had begun —
and he was no longer just a boy who dreamed of greatness.
He was now a hunted anomaly…
on the verge of awakening.